HC Deb 16 October 1995 vol 264 cc42-3W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he examined the costings before agreeing to subsidise the building of the new Jaguar in the United Kingdom; what considerations led him to decide that the subsidy was necessary; and if he will publish the detailed evidence leading him to his conclusion. [36215]

Mr. Eggar

DTI Ministers and officials had long and detailed discussions with Ford and Jaguar to evaluate the X200 project.

The conclusions reached was that there was a strong and genuine commercial case for supporting the project. Moreover, the project will create a significant number of jobs at Jaguar and in the components supply base. The X200 project will also help secure the long-term future of Jaguar's manufacturing operations in the UK. The information provided by Jaguar to enable the valuation to be carried out was commercially and market sensitive and given in confidence to the Department.