§ Mr. Alexanderasked the Secretary of State for Industry what response there has been to date to the small engineering firms investment scheme.
§ Mr. MacGregorThere has been an exceptionally good response to the scheme. More than 600 applications had been received by 5 May and as has been made clear from the outset these are being dealt with on a first come first served basis. With current staffing constraints it will take some weeks to process them.
In view of the sluggish levels of investment by small engineering firms in advanced capital equipment in recent years, the swift take-up of the scheme is most encouraging and suggests that it has been well-targeted.