§ Lord Dean of Beswickasked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the average cost to the taxpayer over the last five years of each new job created by the Scottish and Welsh Development Agencies and the corresponding bodies in England.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Clinton-Davis)These bodies have a wide range of aims, such as attracting inward investment, land reclamation, environmental improvements and development of infrastructure. The creation of new jobs is just one of many outputs and no meaningful calculation of cost per job can, therefore, be made, without incurring disproportionate cost.