§ Mr. HuttonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was(a) the total expenditure of and (b) the number of successful bids for funding to the intervention fund for shipbuilding in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. SainsburyThe number of merchant vessels of 100 gross tonnes and over on which funding from the shipbuilding intervention fund was offered and the amount of assistance paid in financial years from 1979–80 to 1992–93 are set out in the table.
Number of merchant vessels on which SIF was offered and the amount paid Financial Year Number of vessels on which SIF offered Amount of SIF assistance paid £ million 1979–80 20 31.9 1980–81 27 41.9 1981–82 62 49.1 1982–83 19 47.9 1983–84 14 36.2 1984–85 9 20.1 1985–86 29 25.9 1986–87 18 17.4 1987–88 13 13.6 1988–89 31 38.7 1989–90 28 37.5 1990–91 15 28.7 1991–92 10 31.1 Note: Because of the timing of the SIF grant payments, there is no direct link between the number of vessels ordered and the total grant in any one year.