§ Mr. Harry Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many companies in Scotland have requested the assistance of the Scottish Economic Planning Department in negotiating agency loans from the European Investment Bank in each year since the loans became available; and what is the total number of employees involved in the companies.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherSince the European Investment Bank agency loan and exchange risk guarantee scheme came into operation in January 1978, 24 companies have requested the assistance of the Scottish Economic Planning Department in the negotiation of agency loans. Of this number, 11 requests were received in 1978. The number of employees in the companies at time of application totalled 3,720, and the number of jobs associated with the projects involved was estimated at 2,234.