§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Industry how much has been spent on industrial promotion by his Department (a) through regional bodies and (b) centrally over each of the last five years; and how much it is estimated will be spent in 1982–83.
§ Mr. MacGregorRegional development organisations in England have benefited over the past five years from grants-in-aid totalling:
Year £ 1977–78 417,000 1978–79 469,000 1979–80 627,000 1980–81 501,000 1981–82 479,000 These are grants paid by the Department of Industry on the understanding that they are spent on promotion of industrial investment.
Central Government expenditure is harder to determine, as it should include Department of Industry regional offices. These are active in fields other than industrial promotion, and, although a calculation of the cost of their work is possible, it would take some time—and expense—to produce. Excluding the regional offices, therefore—and excluding also the cost of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overseas activity in this field, which is similarly difficult to assess—central expenditure has been in the region of:
Year £ 1977–78 353,000 1978–79 679,000 1979–80 854,000 1980–81 987,000 1981–82 908,000 For 1982–83, comparable expenditure has been estimated at £610,000 for grants-in-aid and £1,093,000 for central expenditure.