§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will set out the level of unemployment in percentage terms at the latest available date for each of the assisted areas whose designation as intermediate, development or special development areas was changed by his announcement of 14th April 1977.
§ Mr. CryerThe percentages for March 1977 were:
NEW INTERMEDIATE AREAS Aberdeen travel-to-work area … 3.7 Malton … 4.1 Northallerton … 4.1 Pickering … 4.0 Richmond … 5.8 Thirsk … 4.4
NEW DEVELOPMENT AREAS Grimsby … 6.2 Hull travel-to-work area … 7.5 Shotton travel-to-work area … 8.5
NEW SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS Arbroath … … … … 10.7 Cumnock … … … … 10.1 Dundee … … … … 8.5 Kilbirnie … … … … 12.3 Lanark … … … … 9.9
§ Sir T. Kitsonasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will set out the total amount of financial assistance given to the companies in Richmond and Northallerton employment areas through development grants in the years 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977.
§ Mr. CryerDetailed information on the amounts of regional development grants paid is available only by reference to 45W standard regions, and is published each year in the Annual Report on the Industry Act 1972. A disproportionate cost and staff effort would be required to extract and analyse all payments by individual employment exchange area. Details of individual grant payments in excess of £25,000 have been published each quarter in Trade and Industry with effect from the quarter ended 31st December 1974. One such payment has been recorded in the Richmond area, in the list for the quarter ended 31st December 1975; no such payments have been recorded for the Northallerton area.