§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the amount of money spent on regional development grants in the North-West in the financial years 1973–74, 1974–75 and 1975–76; and what proportion of this was attributable to Merseyside.
Mr. Alan WilliamsRegional development grants totalling £16.084 million and £40.736 million were paid in the North-West in the financial years 1973–74 and 1974–75 respectively. Approximately 75 per cent. of these grants were paid for Merseyside. In my reply to the hon. Member for Ormskirk on 23rd July—[Vol. 915, c. 640]—I estimated that about half the North-West grant in 1975–76 went to Merseyside. This should have been about 75 per cent.; the proportion has remained fairly constant over the last three years.