§ 27. Mr. Pikeasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department proposes to take to reverse the decline of the manufacturing industries in the north-west.
§ Mr. TrippierThe Government are continuing their policies of revitalising both the national and regional economies, providing a healthy economic framework in which manufacturing industry can continue to invest, expand and become increasingly more competitive in both home and overseas markets. In addition to the various forms of Government financial assistance available, we are successfully building on the natural resilience and ability to generate self-help at the industrial level that is inherent in many parts of the north-west. This is shown by the continuing rapid growth of new firms in the north-west; between the end of 1979 and the end of 1983 it has been estimated that the stock of business actually increased by 7 per cent.