§ Mr. Bagierasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many inquiries about section 8 grants were received by his Department in each year since 1974; and how many led to firm applications for section 8 grants.
§ Mr. HoramRecords are not kept of all inquiries made, but more than 3,000 copies of the Grant memorandum have been issued to industry, and officials have had preliminary discussions with several hundred firms about the section 8 scheme. These activities have so far led to 93 applications with the following results
Agreed—63, at a grant cost of £17.7 million.Reduced grant offered but not accepted—1.Rejected—4*.Withdrawn or not pursued—26†.Under consideration—14.NOTES:
* 3 of these projects are being or have been constructed.† 20 of these projects were ineligible because work had already started on the project or because the project was viable without grant.Industry continues to show a substantial interest in the scheme and a number of firms are known to be drafting applications, planning projects or examining how projects can be slotted into their investment programmes.