§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all those companies that have received some of the £43 million allocated to optical fibre makers, indicating the amount received by each company.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerFunds for the fibre optics and optoelectronics scheme are provided under the Science and Technolgy Act 1965 for R & D activities and under the Industrial Development Act 1982 for production facilities.
Details of assistance under the Science and Technology Act are not published because of the commercially sensitive nature of projects concerned with innovation and the development of new and improved products and processes.
Details of Assistance under the Industrial Development Act 1982 are published quarterly in British Business. The name of the company and the amount committed are given for grant offers of more than £5,000.
The information published thus far about support under the fibre optics and optoelectronics scheme is:
Company name Amount committed Date of publication in British Business Standard Telephones & Cables PLC £200,000 9 September 1983 Standard Telephones & Cables PLC £600,000 18 November 1983