§ 38. Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the total of inward investment recorded by industries engaged in motor and component manufacturing since 1979.
§ Mr. AtkinsSince 1984 there have been 83 inward investment projects in the United Kingdom in the motor and component manufacturing sectors involving the creation of around 12,000 new jobs and the safeguarding of around 18,000 existing jobs. These projects include the establishment of new businesses, the expansion or acquisition of existing businesses and involvement in joint ventures. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available. The job figures are based upon information provided to the Department at the time the investment decisions were made and take no account of subsequent developments.
Included among these figures are the major investments by Nissan in 1984 creating 2,700 jobs in the North East (later expanded in 1987, creating a further 1,400 jobs); and of Ford in 1988 which will create more than 1,700 jobs in Wales. In April 1989 Toyota announced its decision to manufacture cars in Derbyshire with the eventual creation of 3,000 new jobs. Bosch announced that it will be manufacturing alternators in Wales creating over 1,000 new jobs; and Fujitsu announced a new factory in the North East with the eventual creation of 1,500 new jobs.
From 1980 to 1987 inclusive, the latest years for which such information is available, foreign companies directly invested £0.9 billion net in the their subsidiary associate and branch conerns in the United Kingdom vehicle industry. This figure, which excludes funds raised locally understates the amount of new investment in production capacity because other overseas funding flows are included.
§ 48. Mr. WattsTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the level of inward investments in 1979 and for the most recent year for which information is available.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe latest available information on the level of inward investment in the United Kingdom is given in table 9.1 of the United Kingdom Balance of Payments —1988 (the CSO Pink Book). A copy of this publication is available in the Library.