§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will set out those bodies receiving grants of public money to assist in and promote the development of worker co-operatives or common ownership enterprises with the amount of the grant in each case.
§ Mr. CryerThe Industrial Common Ownership Act 1976 empowers the Secretary of State to make grants and loans to relevant bodies whose purpose is to encourage the development of common ownership and co-operative enterprises. A total of £30,000 per annum is available for five years to help them provide advice about organising such enterprises.
Those organisations which have been recognised by the Secretary of State are listed below, together with the amount of grant they have received to date.
Industrial Common Ownership Movement: £25,000.Scottish Co-operatives Development Agency: £6,000.Co-operative Union: £2,000.Co-operative Productive Federation: Nil (Application for grant currently under considertion).A further £250,000 is available under the Act over five years to help relevant bodies to make small loans to co-operative and common ownership enterprises. This loan fund is being administered by Industrial Common Ownership Finance Ltd., which already operated a small revolving loan fund to help new or existing co-operatives when the Act was passed. ICOF has so far received a total of £30,000, of which £21,000 has been on-loaned to co-operative enterprises. The remainder has been used to help ICOF meet the additional expenses arising from its administration of the loan fund.