§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the ratio of(a) sales and (b) profit to Departmental grant under the SMART and SPUR schemes in each year since the inception of the schemes. [123537]
§ Mr. Alan Johnson[holding answer 24 May 2000]: The data are not available to provide all the information requested. However, an evaluation of SMART in 1991 forecasted a grant:profits ratio of 9:20 resulting from awards made in 1988. A second evaluation of SMART in 1994 calculated a grant:sales ratio of 1:6. An evaluation of SPUR in 1994 concluded that it was too early to assess the grant:profit ratio, given that SPUR had only started in 1991. A further evaluation of Smart is planned for later this year.