§ Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will estimate how many jobs have been created as a result of industrial development incentives arising from the Industry Act 1972 in each of the following employment office areas: Haddington, Musselburgh, Tranent, Eyemouth, Galashiels and Kelso.
§ Mr. David MitchellI regret that the information is not available in the form requested. Neither regional development grants under part I of the Industry Act 1972 nor assistance under section 8 of the Act are directly linked to employment.
Information is available on the estimated employment associated with projects supported under section 7 of the Act in each of the areas, but the proportion of these projects which would have gone ahead without assistance is not known. Under the new criteria for section 7, we shall ensure that assistance is provided only for those projects where it can be clearly demonstrated that it is needed for the project to go ahead, and will provide more efficient and secure jobs.