§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list the number of applications for Industry Act 1972 section 7 assistance received by his Department from the Barnsley borough council area in 1979, 1980 and 1981, the sums of money involved with each successful application and the dates on which the payments were made.
§ Mr. MacGregor:Information on individual offers of selective financial assistance under section 7 of the Industry Act 1972 is treated as commercially confidential until the first payment of grant is made when details are published in "British Business" in accordance with arrangements announced by the then Secretary of State for Industry on 31 July 1974. Payments are made singly or in tranches over several years.
The total number of application and the value of offers in the Barnsley travel to work area—the nearest definable area for which information is available—were as follows: 360W financial support to the carpet industry since 1 January 1975; what form this assistance has taken and under which schemes it has been given; and if he will divide the amounts to show how much has been spent in (a) the North of England, (b) the South of England, (c) the West Midlands, (d) Wales and (e) Scotland.
§ Mr. MacGregor:Selective financial assistance in the form of grants has been made available to companies in the carpet industry under sections 7 and 8 of the Industry Act 1972 for the period 1 January 1975 to 31 August 1981 as follows:
1979 9 (8 successful, 1 withdrawn 1.6 1980 1 (withdrawn) — 1981–31 August 2 (under consideration) —