§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department and the Welsh Development Agency spent on(a) inward investment and (b) developing indigenous Welsh companies in 1997; and if he will make a statement. [30950]
§ Mr. HainIt is not possible to provide a precise breakdown of Welsh Development Agency expenditure because much of it—land reclamation, urban regeneration, environmental improvements, supply chain programmes—benefits inward investors and indigenous companies. Of the £151 million spent by the Agency in 1997, £9.6 million was spent on the activities of the International Division and marketing designed to attract inward investment.
320WSimilarly, general Welsh Office support for business cannot be categorised between help for inward investment or indigenous. The breakdown between the main form of grant assistance—Regional Selective Assistance—to encourage industrial development in 1997 was stage payments of £22.561 million to indigenous businesses on 274 projects to create or safeguard 12,674 jobs and stage payments of £42.341 million to inward investment on 88 projects to create or safeguard 23,301 jobs.