HC Deb 07 February 1994 vol 237 cc88-9W
Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much central Government money was spent on developing and supporting(a) manufacturing industries and (b) business in general in Wales for each year since 1979.

Mr. Redwood

Expenditure through the Welsh Office's main schemes for business support is shown in the table. Separate figures for manufacturing industry are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The figures do not include grant in aid for development agencies in Wales, nor expenditure by DTI on UK-wide schemes.

Sir Wyn Roberts

Based on the appropriation accounts of the Welsh Office, the information is estimated to be as follows:

£ per head of population (in cash terms)
Per cent.
1979–80 1.17
1980–81 1.26
1981–82 1.77
1982–83 1.89
1983–84 2.55
1984–85 3.16
1985–86 3.94
1986–87 4.84
1987–88 7.38
1988–89 8.52
1989–90 10.37
1990–91 11.79
1991–92 14.76
1992–93 32.68

These figures are not wholly comparable in every case because of changes in classification. However, figures for total identifiable Government expenditure on education in Wales are available on a consistent basis and the information is as follows:

£ per head of population (in cash terms)
£
1979–80 192
1980–81 234
1981–82 256
1982–83 277
1983–84 291
1984–85 299
1985–86 298
1986–87 330
1987–88 358
1988–89 391
1989–90 423
1990–91 458
1991–92 521
1992–93 568