§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what financial assistance has been given by his Department since 1980 to(a) Bowring (South West) Ltd., (b) Cablechief Ltd., (c) Cornish Stairways Ltd., (d) Fivebeat Ltd., (e) Prawn Farm Investments Ltd. and (f) Conosil Ltd. [24713]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 16 April 1996]: Two of the companies have received assistance under the Department's principal regional, enterprise and technology schemes since 1980: 546W
Company Scheme Payment £ Date Cornish Stairways Ltd. Regional development grant 47,377 1986–88 Enterprise initiative 1,265 1990 Regional enterprise grant 25,000 1992 Conosil Systems Ltd. Microprocessor application project 28,776 1995 Loans to Conosil Systems Ltd., were guaranteed under the loan guarantee scheme in 1983 and 1985.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what financial assistance has been given by his Department since 1980 to(a) M. Squared Technology Ltd., (b) Match Sportswear Ltd., (c) Smart Shape Ltd., (d) Havenfire Ltd., (e) Beares Highland Ltd., (f) Beares Engineering Ltd. and (g) H. Beare and Sons Ltd.
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 25 March 1996]: Only one of the companies has received assistance under the Department's principal regional, enterprise and technology schemes since 1980:
Company Scheme Payment £ Year M Squared Technology Ltd. Consultancy Initiative 3,000 1992 Eureka 261,525 1993–96 General Industrial Collaborative Project 58,843 1993 Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology (SMART) 57,898 1994–95 Regional Enterprise Grant 25,000 1985 A loan to Smart Shape Ltd. (later trading as South West Leisure Products Ltd.) was guaranteed under the Loan Guarantee Scheme in 1985.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what role was played by(a) Mr. Kenneth Holmes, (b) Mr. Roger Harris and (c) Mr. Michael Jordan in the granting of DTI financial assistance to (i) Pendennis Shipyard Ltd., in 1993 and 1995, (ii) Queensbury International Ltd., (iii) South West Leisure Products, (iv) ModernTask Ltd. and (v) Thimbles Ltd; and which of these individuals (1) were at the time or (2) subsequently became directors of these companies. [24714]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 16 April 1996]: Mr. Kenneth Holmes, acting as an external accountancy adviser, advised the Department on the regional selective assistance application from Pendennis Shipyard Ltd.
Mr. Roger Harris was chairman of the South West industrial development board when it considered the application by Pendennis Shipyard Ltd. but, because of a potential conflict of interest, absented himself from the board meeting in February 1993 which decided to recommend a grant.
547WIn respect of Mr. Michael Jordan's involvement in advising the Department on these cases, I refer the hon. Gentlemen to my answers of 22 March, Official Report, column 373 and 29 April, Official Report, column 364. As well as holding the directorship of Pendennis Shipyard Ltd., Michael Jordan has also been a director of Queensbury International Ltd. since August 1993. No other directorships of the five companies listed have been held by Messrs. Holmes, Harris and Jordan.