§ Lord Sefton of Garstonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What efforts are being made to ensure the success of the "Incentives for Industry in the Areas for Expansion" scheme and how effective the scheme is.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Lord Trefgarne)There is no scheme as such but the booklet entitledIncentives for industry in the Areas for Expansion, a copy of which is in the Library, describes the various incentives which are available to industry to set up or expand a business in the assisted areas of Great Britain and in Northern Ireland. These incentives include a number of schemes of financial assistance which are administered and promoted by a number of Government departments. They include, in particular, regional development grants and regional selective assistance under the Industrial Development Act 1982 (and their equivalents in Northern Ireland).
In July 1979, the Government introduced certain changes to make regional policy more cost-effective and to concentrate assistance in the areas of greatest need. Expenditure on regional financial assistance in the United Kingdom has been of the order of £2.5 billion over the last four years.