§ 54. Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will consider the introduction of local enterprise development units throughout the United Kingdom similar to that now operating in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. David MitchellSmall firms in Great Britain are eligible for a number of programmes of assistance some of which depending on location are not dissimilar in type to those in Northern Ireland. I am not, however, convinced that it would be appropriate at present to create any further publicly-funded agencies to help small firms. There are, however, encouraging signs that private sector initiatives will lead to the creation of more locally based enterprise trusts whose aims are to mobilise the resources of local communities, including large firms, to provide advice, information and access to capital and premises for small firms.