§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total capital investment in both the textile and clothing industries in each of the past 10 years; what was the number of employees per industry; and what information he has as to the level of investment per employee.
§ Mr. TrippierAvailable information is given in the following table:
applications reaching the Department of Trade and Industry after that date will be considered under the present arrangements. A new loan guarantee scheme is to be introduced from 1 June which will run until 31 December 1984. The new scheme will operate on similar lines to the existing scheme, but there will be some important changes designed to reduce the public expenditure cost and to ensure that the potential beneficiaries of the scheme are more closely defined. Under the new scheme the Government will provide guarantees covering 70 per cent. of loans by participating banks and institutions. A premium will be charged at an 595W annual rate of 5 per cent. on the reducing balance of the amount guaranteed, thereby placing a cost of 3.5 per cent. on the loans in addition to the interest charged by the bank.
Discussions will continue with the participating banks and others on ways of securing further savings and I aim to make a further announcement about the future of the scheme before the end of the year.