§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 18 June,Official Report, 730W column 458–59, if Mr. A was a member of his Department's south-west regional office at the time of (i) the regional selective assistance grant to company L for the second project and (ii) the grants to company N since 1991; if Mr. A was a director of these companies at the time of the offers of financial assistance; and if Mr. A subsequently became a director of these companies. [35265]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 1 July 1996]: Mr. A's period as a member of the south-west industrial development board spans the dates of the grants mentioned. Mr. A was a director of company L when the application for assistance for the company's second project was considered and therefore saw no departmental papers relating to the application and absented himself from the relevant discussion by the industrial development board. Mr. A has also been a director of company N since 1987, but none of the grants to that company—because they were not regional selective assistance—were considered by the industrial development board.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those employees and external advisers that took part in the assessment of the regional selective assistance grant offered to Porthcurno Management Company Ltd. in December 1993; how many of these subsequently acted as directors of this company; and on what date they became directors. [35221]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 1 July 1996]: Departmental officials principally involved in the assessment were John Bowder, Mike Twomey and Nalem Iqbal all of the south-west office; Margaret Nimmo, economics and statistics division, and lain Osborne, industrial competitiveness division. As I explained in my answer of 29 April, Official Report, columns 363–64, Kenneth Holmes, an external accountancy adviser, was also involved in the assessment.
The case was also considered by the south-west industrial development board.
Of the individuals named, one—Mr. Holmes—subsequently became a director of the company on 22 February 1994.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade on what dates his Department's south-west industrial development board has met since 1990. [37641]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 17 July 1996]: The south-west industrial development board has met on the following dates:
732W
- 1990
- 30 January
- 27 February
- 27 March
- 24 April
- 22 May
- 26 June
- 30 October
- 27 November
731 - 1991
- 19 March
- 30 April
- 25 June
- 30 July
- 24 September
- 26 November
- 1992
- 31 March
- 28 April
- 30 June
- 27 October
- 15 December
- 1993
- 23 February
- 30 March
- 27 April
- 25 May
- 29 June
- 27 July
- 28 September
- 26 October
- 30 November
- 21 December
- 1994
- 26 January
- 23 February
- 23 March
- 27 April
- 25 May
- 29 June
- 27 July
- 11 August
- 28 September
- 26 October
- 16 and 30 November
- 30 November
- 21 December
- 1995
- 25 January
- 22 February
- 12 April
- 28 June
- 26 July
- 30 August
- 27 September
- 25 October
- 29 November
- 20 December
- 1996
- 10 and 24 April
- 26 June
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 18 June,Official Report, columns 461–64, what potential conflict of interest obliged Messrs Jordan and Harris to absent themselves from the meeting of his Department's south-west industrial development board discussing the application of Magrathea (Pendennis) Ltd. for financial assistance. [37648]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 17 July 1996]: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 July, Official Report, column 463.