§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce the EC decision on the proposals for enterprise zones in East Durham, East Midlands and the Deane Valley; and when he expects to designate the new zones.
§ Sir George YoungI am pleased to announce that the EC has accepted, in full, our proposals for the three new enterprise zones. Once arrangements are in place to ensure that EC restrictions on state aids to industry are enforced on the new zones, I expect to issue a letter of invitation to local authorities to submit draft schemes. The subsequent United Kingdom procedures usually take about six months and designations are therefore expected in autumn this year.