§ Mr. Geraint Howellsasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs he estimates were created and how many maintained in Wales as a direct result of the payment of regional employment premium, since the Selective Employment Payments Act 1966 came into operation; and if he will itemise these by district.
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§ Mr. GoldingThe availability of REP was only one of the factors taken into account by those manufacturing firms which created jobs in the development areas during the life of the scheme. It is. therefore, not possible to estimate reliably the number of jobs the creation of which could be attributed solely to the existence of REP.
Nor is it possible to estimate reliably the number of jobs which were maintained as a direct result of the payment of REP, although it is not likely to have been more than a small proportion of the number of employees in respect of whom it was paid.