§ Mr. HendryTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has considered the business plans of the English regional development organisations; and what level of financial support he proposes to offer for 1994–95.
§ Mr. SainsburyI have studied the current performance and future plans of the six English regional development organisations. I am pleased to say that they continue to make a significant contribution to the work of my Department's Invest in Britain Bureau, to the overall success of the United Kingdom in attracting inward investment, and in particular to the performance of their region. In recognition of this, I have today offered £5.605 million of grant in aid for their inward investment promotion activities for 1994–95. In total this is an increase of £50,000 on last year. Last year was an increase of £550,000 on 1992–93. I have allocated the grant aid as follows:
RDO 1994–95 grant £'000 Per cent, share of total grant Northern Development Company (NDC) 1,461,5 26.0 INWARD Ltd (in the North West) 1,173 20.9 Yorkshire and Humberside Development Association (YHDA) 1,088 19.4 West Midlands Development Agency (WMDA) 818,25 14.6 East Midlands Development Company Ltd (EMD) 400 7.1 Devon and Cornwall Development Bureau (DCDB) 664,25 11.8 These individual grants are very slightly smaller than last year except for the East Midlands Development Company Ltd., and reflect in part the need to respond to changes in assisted area coverage within the total available funding provision for all the English regions.
Grant is offered on an annual basis according to past performance, ability to absorb additional funding effectively, and for an agreed programme of future activities, with proper regard to value for money. It is Government policy to encourage direct inward investment to the United Kingdom because it contributes significantly to economic growth. Inward investment brings benefits both to the country as a whole and more specifically to the assisted areas.