§ Dr. LadymanTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many grants of regional selective assistance were made in Wales in 1997; how many were at the maximum level; what was the average level; and how many jobs he estimates were created. [32557]
§ Mr. Hain167 offers of Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) were made in Wales in 1997. Maximum levels for RSA in intermediate and development areas are fixed by the EU and cannot be exceeded. The Government also impose cost per job limits on the total RSA that can be offered to individual projects: no offers were made to development area projects at the maximum level permitted by the limit applying to those areas; 3 cases were approved at the lower limit applying to intermediate area projects and, for the first time in Wales, 1 case was approved for exceptional treatment above the intermediate area limit.
The average RSA cost per job in development areas was £8,033 and in intermediate areas, excluding the case afforded exceptional treatment, £4,139. These offers were in total associated with the planned creation of 14,013 new jobs and safeguarding 3,468. The actual number of jobs created and safeguarded cannot be ascertained until the project in question have been completed, usually some 3 to 5 years.