§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments have been made to British Airways for the setting up of a call centre in Belfast; and whether such payments are still being made. [160220]
§ Mr. PearsonBritish Airways operates a contact BA call centre in central Belfast which was expanded in 1998 with an offer of selective financial assistance from the then NI Industrial Development Board (IDB) totalling £512,000 for the creation of 65 new jobs.
On 18 February 2004, British Airways announced that the Belfast call centre would create a further 48 new jobs. This latest expansion has not attracted selective financial assistance from Invest NI (the successor body to IDB).
Owing to a policy of commercial confidentiality on information relating to specific companies, it would be inappropriate to disclose information about the amounts actually paid to British Airways.