HC Deb 26 July 1979 vol 971 cc424-30W
Mrs. Kellett-Bowman

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the size and geographical locations of industrial loans which were given by the European investment bank to the United Kingdom in each of the years from 1973 to date; how many infrastructure projects the European develepment bank assisted in financing; and how many industrial projects the bank has assisted in Cumbria and Lancashire.

Mr. Lawson

From 1973 to date the European investment bank has granted loans for industrial projects in the United Kingdom totalling £325 million. Details of the size and geographical locations are as follows:

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK LOANS FOR INDUSTRIAL PROJECTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Borrower

Amount £ million

Project and Location
1973 Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation 3.5 Global loan for on-lending to small and medium-sized firms in the development areas
British Steel Corporation 14.7 Teesside iron and steelworks
British Steel Corporation 14.7 Llanwern iron and steelworks
32.9
1974 British Steel Corporation 8.0 Port Talbot steelworks
British Steel Corporation 12.0 Thryburg steelworks, near Rotherham
Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation 10.0 Glboal loan
Short Bros and Harland 2.5 Aircraft development, Belfast
32.5
1975 Distillers Company 12.0 Whisky bottling plant, Glasgow
Tate and Lyle 1.6 Glucose factory, Goole, Yorkshire
British Steel Corporation 17.5 Shotton steelworks, North Wales
Olivetti International 1.0 Typewriter factory, Glasgow
32.1
1976 British Steel Corporation 6.75 Consett steelworks, Co, Durham
British Steel Corporation 3.5 Dalzell steelworks, Motherwell
British Steel Corporation 14.7 (i) £12.6 million at Port Talbort Steelworks.
(ii) £2.1 million at Distington steelworks, Workington.
British Petroleum 19.7 Acetic acid plant at Hull
British Steel Corporation 17.0 Steelworks at Glasgow and Hartlepool
61.65

Borrower Amount £ million Project and Location
1977 British Steel Corporation 14.0 Steelworks, Motherwell
British Steel Corporation Chemicals 6.9 Benzole refinery, Teesside
British Steel Corporation 7.7 Iron foundries at Workington and Motherwell
British Steel Corporation 3.8 Steel Foundry, Motherwell
British Steel Corporation 52.7 Steelworks, Motherwell
British Steel Corporation 8.0 Iron ore reloader, Redcar, South Teesside
British Steel Corporation 3.9 Brickworks, Co. Durham
97.0
1978 BICC Metals 5.0 Copper refining plant, Prescot, Merseyside
UKF Fertilisers Ltd 5.0 Nitric acid works, Ince, Cheshire
CWS 5.0 Bottling plant, Shieldhall, Glasgow
HMG 30.0 Agency scheme
45.0
1979 (to date) Schreiber Industries Ltd 6.0 Furniture Factory, Runcorn
Tetra Pak Rausing 2.6 Paper carton factory, Wrexham
Rockwool Ltd 2.5 Mineral wool factory, Bridgend
Blaenan Plastics Ltd 0.650 Plastics factory, Blaenau Ffestiniog
Scottish and Universal Investments Ltd 2.7 Modernisation of George Outran: Co., Scotland
Ward and Goldstone Ltd 1.6 Cable factory, Skelmersdale
Sulzer Bros (UK) 7.2 Pumping equipment factory, Leeds
Garrett Airesearch 1.5 Factory to manufacture turbochargers, Skelmersdale
24.75

In the same period the bank granted loans totalling £1,165 million to help finance 80 infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom. The bank has assisted eight industrial projects in Cumbria and five in Lancashire.

Mrs. Kellett-Bowman

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much European investment bank loan money has come from the bank to the United Kingdom in each of the years since its establishment; how many of these projects were directly handled by the bank; which intermediaries handled the remaining money with the amount in each case; how many global loans have been made to the United Kingdom, giving the dates of such loans; and what proportion of the above loans came to the North-West.

Mr. Lawson

The amount of the European investment bank loan money that has come to the United Kingdom in each of the years since the bank's establishment is as follows:

£ million
1973 32.9
1974 79.9
1975 186.5
1976 258.9
1977 320.7
1978 286.3
1979 (to date) 325.9

All these loans were directly handled by the bank, with the exception of two global loans to the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation, one for £3.5 million on 18 July 1973, the other for £10 million on 28 November 1974—of which only £600,000 was drawn—and loans totalling £50 million—of which £33.3 million has been drawn so far—under a new scheme introduced on 15 December 1977 by the Department of Industry to allow companies to take advantage of the bank's loans. Strictly speaking, these are not global loans, but an agency agreement under which the Department of Industry, the Scottish economic planning department, the Welsh Office industry department and the Northern Ireland Department of Commerce act as the bank's agents in providing loans for small and medium-scale industrial projects in the assisted areas of the United Kingdom. However, the results are the same as a global loan.

About 7 per cent.—£223 million—of the above loans came to the North-West.

Mrs. Kellett-Bowman

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many small and medium-sized undertakings in the North-West have received European investment bank loans; and if he will name them.

Mr. Lawson

Three small and medium-sized undertakings in the North-West have received European investment bank loans. Details are as follows:

1974
Amount £
Tavener Rutland, Sweet Manufacturer, Liverpool 220,000
1978
Polythene Drums, Skelmersdale 750,000
Mallatrite Plastics, Levenshulme 250,000

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