HC Deb 10 May 1983 vol 42 c257W
47. Mr. Freud

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will assess the effect that the existence of special development area status has on the level of unemployement in the areas concerned.

Mr. Alison

It has been estimated that in the period 1960 to 1976, nearly half a million jobs were created in, or diverted to, the assisted areas as a whole, as a result of Government regional incentives. Early indications of recent research suggest that regional policy has continued to have a significant, though reduced, impact on employment in the assisted areas in recent years.