§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many companies in Wales the industry section of the Welsh Office has assisted to act as suppliers to the new LG factory in Gwent; and if he will make a statement. [32977]
§ Mr. HainCurrent information available from the Welsh Development Agency's Source Wales, which itself has matched Wales-based suppliers to LG, shows that there are twenty two Wales-based suppliers to the company. However, we know that there are many other suppliers dealing direct with the company and with AMEC, Tarmac and their sub-contractors, which do not yet feature on the Source Wales database. The Agency is endeavouring to gather this information to provide a more complete picture.
Of the twenty two suppliers identified, a number have been supported under the Regional Selective Assistance Scheme or the Regional Innovation Grant Scheme, most of which pre-date the LG announcement. None of these have been supported for projects specifically to supply LG although the impact of that earlier support could well have helped the companies provide a service to LG.
I would not expect there to be many requests for support specifically to supply LG. Experience shows that businesses, whether they be indigenous or inward investors, want a diverse customer and supply base. While LG is already in production, that production is limited at this stage. I am confident that other Wales-based companies will do business with LG as the project progresses and develops and I am doing all I can to encourage this.