§ Mr. HindTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the assistance available from his Department and the European Community for trade and industry projects in Skelmersdale new town.
§ Mr. LeighSkelmersdale is within the development areas, so firms there are able to benefit from the complete range of assistance available under the DTI's enterprise initiative. The individual measures of support are described in existing departmental publications on the initiative, which are widely available and arrangements have been made for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.
Skelmersdale new town also forms part of the Mersey basin operational programme area, which qualifies as an objective 2 area under the European Commission structural funds regime. As such, Skelmersdale is eligible to receive European regional development funds and structural funds for appropriate projects related to infrastructure, business support and training.