§ Mr. BatisteTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many companies in receipt of a cash grant from his Department to establish a business in Scotland have discontinued such business within five years of establishment.
§ Mr. LangInformation in the form requested is not available. However, it is possible to provide some figures for companies which have received regional selective assistance. Since the introduction of the current guidelines for RSA in November 1984, eight companies which received RSA towards establishing new businesses in Scotland are known to have discontinued such business. These companies receive some £346,000. Recovery of grant is pursued in appropriate cases. By comparison, there have been 91 projects in total which have received RSA to establish new businesses in Scotland over the same period, with associated grant payments to date of £19.2 million.