§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What have been or are expected to be the relative costs to the taxpayer, and how they are calculated, of firms closing down (including unemployment benefit, retraining costs, loss of manufacturing capacity, ill health etc.).
The Earl of CaithnessFirms closing down or contracting and new firms starting up or expanding are a normal part of competitive process in a market economy whereby the economy adjusts to new conditions and opportunities, thus generating economic growth. The severe practical difficulties in deciding the scope of any assessment and then the resultant relative costs, if any, to the taxpayer mean that this work is not undertaken.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What have been or are expected to be the relative costs to the taxpayer, and how they are calculated, of 5WA firms receiving support at the same level as that offered by other European Community member governments.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
On what grounds, if any, they deem costs incurred when firms close down to provide better value for money for the taxpayer than costs incurred supporting firms at the same rate as other European Community governments.
The Earl of CaithnessThe Government's policy is to set a stable economic framework within which private sector enterprise can flourish, rather than intervene in the economy in ways that have been tried by previous Administrations and seen to fail. Other EC Governments, like the UK, have been reducing state aids to industry.