§ Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what are the total public funds invested in the Courtaulds factory at Campsie;
(2) what are the total sums paid from public funds to Courtaulds Ltd. in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerUntil October 1980 it was the practice of the Department of Commerce, Northern Ireland not to divulge the amounts of financial assistance provided to industrial companies and an understanding to this effect was written into all agreements between the Department and companies. I regret, therefore, that I am unable to respond to the hon. Gentleman's question directly. However, the Public Accounts Committee has in its fourteenth report given certain details of the assistance given by the Department of Commerce towards the Courtaulds project at Campsie.
§ Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the sums recoverable by the Government from Courtaulds Ltd. in respect of its factory at Campsie, Londonderry.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerA considerable sum will be recoverable from Courtaulds Ltd. in respect of the closure of its factory at Campsie. Steps are now being taken to calculate the exact amount involved but this work cannot be completed until after production has ceased.
§ Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the projected number of jobs at the initial stages of the Courtaulds factory at Campsie; what levels were actually reached; and what was the projected and actual cost to public funds of each job and the total cost per job.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerThe original employment target for the factory was 1,510. At the end of 1979 the number of jobs reached a peak of 850; this had fallen off to 630 by the time of the announcement of closure. On the cost to public funds of the project, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to his question on assistance towards the project.