HC Deb 02 July 1985 vol 82 cc100-2W
Mr. Hickmet

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance his Department has rendered to the Glanford and Scunthorpe parliamentary constituency since June 1983 in the form of derelict land grants, urban aid grants, and other similar resources available to his Department giving the sums of money concerned in each case, the organisations aided and the effect of those grants and the creation of employment.

Sir George Young

The figures are as follows:

Urban programme European regional development fund
Organisation receiving grant Capital Revenue Derelict land grant Quota section Non quota section Industrial Development Act section 13
£ £ £ £ £ £
(i) Public sector
Humberside County Council 3,750 97,010 355,200
Glanford Borough Council 653,800
Scunthorpe Borough Council 35,000 112,773 506,100 280,000 78,880
Glanford and Scunthorpe Joint Committee for the reclamation of Normandy Park 351,018
Anglian Water Authority 441,600
Severn-Trent Water Authority 99,900
38,750 209,783 351,018 2,056,600 280,000 78,880
(ii) Private sector
Pipe and Rail Limited *1,440,000

Location and number of projects
Glanford Scunthorpe
Urban programme 13
Derelict land grant †1 1
ERDF quota 2 12
Non. quota 8
IDA Section 13 3
† Initial offer of grant subject to detailed examination of proposals and tenders.
* This scheme lies partly in Glanford and partly in Scunthorpe.

The majority of these grants are related to the provision of sites suitable for development rather than to any development. It is therefore impossible to say with any accuracy what employment will be created as a result of the investment.

Mr. Hickmet

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of tax and rating reliefs obtained by companies which have set up on the three enterprise zones in Glanford and Scunthorpe to date; and what estimate he has made of future costs to the Exchequer when the zones have been fully occupied.

Sir George Young

The only enterprise zone measure for which the cost to the Exchequer can be stated precisely is the exemption from rates. The cost of this to date in Glanford borough has been £65,505 and in Scunthorpe borough £284,916. No estimate has been made at this stage of the cost of this measure when the zones are fully occupied.

Mr. Hickmet

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will describe the incentives available to companies setting up on the three enterprise zones in the constituency of Glanford and Scunthorpe; and what assessment he has made of the impact of those zones upon the creation of employment.

Sir George Young

The following incentives are provided specifically in enterprise zones.

  1. 1. Exemption from rates on industrial and commercial property.
  2. 2. Exemption from development land tax (now abolished)
  3. 3. 100 per cent. allowances for corporation and income tax purposes for capital expenditure on industrial and commercial buildings.
  4. 102
  5. 4. Employers are exempt from industrial training levies and from the requirement to supply information to industrial training boards.
  6. 5. A greatly simplified planning regime, developments that conform with the published scheme for each zone will not require individual planning permission.
  7. 6. These controls remaining in force will be administered more speedily.
  8. 7. Applications from firms in enterprise zones for certain customs facilities will be processed as a matter of priority and certain criteria relaxed.
  9. 8. Government requests for statistical information will be reduced.

Other incentives are also available within these enterprise zones. Both Scunthorpe and Glanford enterprise zones are located within the scunthorpe travel-to-work area and therefore benefit from development area status. There are two forms of incentives. Regional development grants may be made in respect of capital expenditure on providing certain new assets (plant, machinery, buildings or works) under a qualifying project or in respect of the number of new jobs created; and regional selective assistance which has two main forms: project grant: these grants are based on the capital expenditure costs of the project and on the number of jobs created or maintained. All sectors of industry and commerce, both manufacturing and service, are eligible to receive project grants, and training grants, which are based on the training costs associated with manufacturing and service industry projects. The current employment figures in these enterprise zones are: Fellexborough 94, Scunthorpe 404.