§ Mr. Bulmerasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what help, and in what form, has been provided for the carpet industry in each of the last three years;
(2) what help, and in what form, has been provided for individual carpet companies in each of the last three years under the heading of regional assistance.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe total amount of financial assistance offered by this Department, under the Industry Act 1972, the Industrial Development Act 1982 and the Science and Technology Act 1965, to carpet manufacturing companies in Great Britain was as follows:
£ 1981–82 2,234,000 1982–83 358,000 1983–84 1,385,000 Of these amounts, offers of regional selective assistance were respectively £1,906,000, £201,000 and £1,345,000.
Carpet companies in the assisted areas will also have received regional development grants, but the amounts are not recorded separately from the grants paid to the textile industry as a whole.