§ Mr. Alan CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of inward investment projects into the North East was in each year since 1996. [36777]
§ Ms HewittThe figures in the table are based on information provided by companies at the time of the announcement of the decision to invest in the UK. They are based on the companies' best estimate, at that time, of the number of jobs associated with each investment.
There is no requirement on companies to notify inward investment decisions to Invest. UK and so the figures include only those projects where Invest. UK or its regional partners were involved or which have come to their notice. They are therefore likely to be an underestimate. Invest. UK is not always given financial information relating to inward investment decisions and therefore such information is not provided, as it is incomplete and would give a distorted impression against the number of projects for each year.
The UK is the No. 1 location in Europe for inward investment and the Government will continue to do all they can to maintain the UK's attractiveness as a location so our economy can continue to enjoy the substantial benefits from inward investment.
Successes in the North East Number of projects Number of associated jobs 1996–97 46 7,618 1997–98 48 12,654 1998–99 35 9,257 1999–2000 49 11,910 2000–01 38 7,959