§ Mr. Michael Spicerasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been spent in regional aid in each region of Scotland since 1970.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherThe information requested is not readily available. Figures for Scotland as a whole are available on the main forms of regional preferential assistance by the Department of Industry and the Scottish Economic Planning Department and on expenditure on all forms of regional preferential assistance to industry, and these are shown in the table below:
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Fiscal year Regional preferential assistance (£ million) Main forms administered by Department of Industry/Scottish Economic Planning Department* All forms† 1970–71 16.9 95.4 1971–72 15.1 87.1 1972–73 31.5 85.0 1973–74 57.9 109.3 1974–75 80.3 145.7 1975–76 142.5 228.6 1976–77 130.3 216.0 1977–78 135.7 145.8 1978–79 147.6 159.3 1979–80 122.0 142.6 Notes:
* The main forms of regional preferential assistance available at some time during the period are Government factory building, loans and grants under the 1960 and 1963 Local Employment Acts, regional development grant and regional selective assistance under the 1972 Industry Act, and Scottish Development Agency land and factory building expenditure.
† In addition to the main forms administered by the Department of Industry/Scottish Economic Planning Department, the total includes Highlands and Islands Development Board loans, equity payments and grants, selective employment tax additional payments, the regionally differentiated element of investment grants under the 1966 Industrial Development Act, regional industrial training, assistance to tourism under the Development of Tourism Act 1969, section 4, and the regionally differentiated element of the small firms employment subsidy.