§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the number of (a) projects, (b) manufacturing jobs (c) service jobs and (d) enterprise grants, promoted by local enterprise development units in each local enterprise development unit region since 1980–81 and the average cost per job.
§ Dr. BoysonGovernment assistance to small businesses in Northern Ireland is channelled through a single organisation, the Local Enterprise Development Unit. LEDU operates on an area basis with offices in Londonderry, Newry, Omagh and Belfast, where its headquarters is also situated.
The following table sets out the numbers of (a) projects, (b) manufacturing jobs, (c) service jobs and (d) enterprise grants promoted by the Local Enterprise Development Unit in each of its four areas since 1980–81.
Londonderry Office Northern Area Newry Office Southern Area Belfast Office Eastern Area Omagh Office Western Area (a) No of projects 606 579 1,308 388 (b) No of manufacturing jobs 2,123 2,489 5,750 1,630 (c) No of service jobs 436 611 2,017 395 (d) No of Enterprise Grants (In existence since end 1982) 336 245 434 164 The average cost per job over the period is £4,057.