§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions the Post Office has decided not to close a sub-post office in an urban area following consultation in each of the last three years. [141550]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 3 December 2003]Decisions on post office closure proposals under the urban reinvention programme following public
Project support information Project Name Financial Year
Started
Government Grant (£)
Other Funding (£)
Source of Other Funding Target Group Outcomes RSA1 2002–03 21.54 212.28 Target businesses3 Business applicants4 305 jobs created/safeguarded St. Helens City Growth Strategy
2001–02 375,000 — Borough of St. Helens Strategy and implementation plan to provide sustainable business base in
St. Helens
Enterprising St. Helens
2001–02 471,000 307,000 ESF5 Disadvantaged communities in St.
Helens
Support for business startups in target areas
RSA1 2001–02 600,000 24.7 —3 —4 112 jobs created/safeguarded RSA1 2000–01 500,000 23.41 —3 —4 137 jobs created/safeguarded RSA1 1999–2000 21.68 210.42 —3 —4 415 jobs created/safeguarded RSA1 1998–99 22.28 218.6 —3 —4 895 jobs created/safeguarded RSA1 1997–98 23.43 233.27 —3 —4 839 jobs created/safeguarded 1 Regional Selective Assistance 2 Million 3 Target businesses 4 Business applicants 5 European Social Fund In addition to the support shown in the table, there have been a total of eight offers of R&D/Smart grant support for innovative business projects in the St. Helens area, with a total value of £509,000 since 1997.
Allocations to the Small Business Service, which provides business support across the country, are not broken down by constituency. Since its inception, the Small Business Service in the North West has received allocations as follows.
£ million Financial Year Allocation 2001–02 17.97 2002–03 18.06 2003–04 17.87