HC Deb 20 December 1984 vol 70 cc271-2W
Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which service industries in particular will benefit from regional development allocations under his restructured regional aid policy.

Mr. Trippier

Under the new regional development grant scheme grant will be payable towards carrying out approved projects which involve the provision of new capital assets or the net creation of new jobs in development areas. One of the criteria which must be satisfied before a project can be approved is that it must relate wholly or mainly to qualifying activities.

The qualifying activities for the purposes of the new scheme are set out in the Regional Development Grant (Qualifying Activities) Order 1984 (SI 1846). All the previous qualifying activities remain qualifying, and a few activities have become qualifying as a result of the use of the 1980 rather than the 1968 Standard Industrial Classification. In broad terms the new qualifying activities in the service sector are:

  • Computer Services.
  • Technical Services.
  • Management Consultants and market research and public relations consultants (including exhibition contracting and organising).
  • Administrative Headquarters.
  • Advertising (excluding Bill posting agencies and window dressers).
  • Venture capital providers.
  • Credit card operations where they are the sole or main activity at a location.
  • Export Houses.
  • Repair (except for repair of consumer goods and vehicles, and dry cleaning and allied services).
  • Refurbishment of manufactured goods for resale or exchange.
  • Value-Added Network Services.
  • Cable Television.
  • Provision of goods and services by mail order.
  • Freight forwarders and packers.
  • Football pools.
  • Research and Development work in the industrial field carried out in specialised research establishments.

Regional selective assistance will continue to be available on a discretionary basis for service industry projects in assisted areas which meet the criteria for such assistance.

Within the above framework the degree to which particular service industries will benefit will depend on the projects which are put forward by applicants.

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will discuss with the countries of the European Community raising the current job grant limit sum of £3,300 allocated towards each new post created under his restructured regional aid scheme.

Mr. Trippier

The limit is prescribed by the European Commission under the powers given to it by article 93(1) of the treaty. I believe that the new Commission will wish to give early consideration to this general subject. The United Kingdom will naturally play its full part in the discussion of any proposals that might emerge.