§ Miss Boothroydasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what measures have been taken by his Department to create and safeguard jobs in the West Midlands; what has been the cost of such schemes; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what measures have been taken to maintain and encourage industry in the West Midlands; what has been the cost of such measures; and whether he will make a statement.
Scheme No. of Projects Assistance Offered (£ 000s) Associated Project Costs (£ 000s) Accelerated Project … … 28 8,778 79,449 Selective Investment … … 13 3,397 30,174 Wood Textile 1 … … 3 261 1,126 Clothing … … 27 268 858 Ferrous Foundry … … 77 19,134 82,897 Machine Tool … … 39 2,125 10,599 Paper and Board … … 2 94 395 Poultry Meat … … 1 624 2,960 Red Meat … … 9 628 5,952 Non-Ferrous Foundry … … 28 2,815 14,176 Instrumentation and Automation … … 1 29 155 Totals: … … 228 38,153 228,741 In addition, five applications have been approved under the product and process scheme for assistance of 413,400 for projects costing £928,000. The microprocessor applications scheme has only been in existence since 4th July 1978.
The Government have also provided considerable assistance to a number of firms in the West Midlands, including British Leyland, Chrysler UK Ltd. and Alfred Herbert, which has safeguarded jobs.
The National Enterprise Board has extensive investments in the region. In addition, Birmingham is one of the few areas to have a partnership arrangement under the Government's inner city policy.