HC Deb 23 February 1987 vol 111 cc63-5W
Mr. Merchant

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the job creation measures in the north-east that have been supported by the Newcastle city action team using the £1 million fund announced by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in his statement on 14 May 1986, Official Report, column 705.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

The purpose of the fund is to stimulate job creation and enterprise in the north-east and I am pleased to say that I have approved support for a number of projects which meet that aim. They have been designed particularly to develop the infrastructure of support for small and developing business enterprise, to introduce products in the areas worst affected by shipbuilding redundancies and to provide some projects with region-wide application. The funding by the city action team was designed to provide comparatively small sums of money which were necessary to lever and to bring together other sources of support from the public and private sectors for the project. Without the grants from the CAT fund these schemes would not have gone ahead. The projects include:

  1. (1) "Design Works" — A project sponsored by the Burton Group plc involving the conversion of a derelict warehouse into a centre of excellence for all types of design including studios, work spaces, offices and exhibition facilities, providing design consultancy and services; it will provide employment and training opportunities for people in the north-east and establish a significant capability for small companies—a grant of £300,000.
  2. (2) North East Media Development Council — an innovative project to establish a regional media training centre specialising in all aspects of film and video work and giving the necessary accreditation for graduating trainees to obtain employment in the industry—a grant of £50,000.
  3. (3) Tyne River Boat Project sponsored by the Association of Marine and Related Charities to build vessels for franchised operation to carry passengers on River Tyne cruises for leisure and educational purposes—a grant of £80,000.
  4. (4) West Newcastle Enterprise Centre to provide business advice and workshop facilities, primarily to assist the unemployed in start-up-businesses — a grant of £30,000.
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  5. (5) Product Database — a project sponsored by Newcastle technology centre to establish a database facility for small companies within the region to provide information on new products and to assist companies in adapting their production policies to maintain and increase competitiveness—a grant of £15,000.
  6. (6) Preliminary work by Durham University Business School to establish the basis on which a procurement service for small firms in the region can be established, based on public sector purchasing — a grant of £11,750.
  7. (7) Business Information System On Line (BISON), a project sponsored by the Local Enterprise Agency Project North East to provide a range of computerised guidance tests, marketing data and other information for new entrepreneurs—a grant of £3,500.
  8. (8) Northern Youth Venture Fund, sponsored by the Local Enterprise Agency Project North East and attracting funds from the private sector. To provide low interest loans to youth based businesses — a grant of £60,000.
  9. (9) St. Thomas Street Stables Workshops, conversion of former stables in central Newcastle into managed workshops and office units which provide tenants with centralised services and marketing and financial advice through the Tyne and Wear Enterprise Trust — a grant of £10,000.
  10. (10) Newcastle Marketing Advice Centre — a grant of £2,000 to assist with the promotion of this centre set up by the city action team to provide marketing information and advice to small businesses and £10,000 towards the cost of networking this service to Sunderland.
  11. (11) Innovative Factory for New Technology (INFANT) — a project in Sunderland sponsored by MARI

Employees in Employment in the Timber and Furniture Industry in Great Britain
Standard Industrial Classification 1968 Order 17 ( Timber, furniture, etc) Standard Industrial Classification 1980 Class 46 ( Timber and wooden furniture)
All employees Percentage of males Percentage of females All employees Percentage of males Percentage of females
June 1961 280,000 80 20 n/a n/a n/a
June 1966 283,000 81 19 n/a n/a n/a
June 1971 264,000 81 19 n/a n/a n/a
June 1976 259,000 81 19 n/a n/a n/a
June 1981 220,000 80 20 n/a n/a n/a
Sept 1981 216,000 80 20 213,000 80 20
June 1986 n/a n/a n/a 206,000 81 19
n/a Not available.

Within the above figures, separate statistics for the furniture industry are available from 1981 as follows:

Employees in Employment in the Furniture Industry in Great Britain Standard Industrial Classification 1980 Activity Heading 4671 ( Wooden and upholstered furniture)
All employees Percentage of males Percentage of females
September1981 87,000 79 21
June 1986 82,000 78 22

The estimate for wooden and upholstered furniture are subject to considerable potential estimation error due to the relatively small number of employees in the industry. The Department's statistics do not include separate figures for apprentices in the furniture industry.