§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville):My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Hewitt) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
With my right honourable friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, I am pleased to inform the House that the UK remains number one in Europe for inward investment.
UK Trade and Investment announced today, at its launch of the UK Inward Investment 2003–04 report, that there were 811 direct investments in the UK by foreign-owned companies between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004. This is an increase of 14 per cent on the year before and confirms the UK's position as the top investment location in Europe. Total jobs figures were up 8 per cent to 59,217 of which 25,463 were new jobs (down 26 per cent on the previous year) and 33,754 were safeguarded jobs (up 41 per cent on 2002–03).
This performance reflects the confidence, which companies around the world continue to show in the business climate in the UK. The number of new projects has increased by 8 per cent from 314 in 2002–03 to 339 in 2003–04, while expansions by existing investors increased by 18 per cent from 234 in 2002–03 to 285 in 2003–04.
The competition is fierce. But we will not allow our position as market leader in Europe to make us complacent. UKTI will further strengthen and sharpen its operations in priority markets and the Government will continue to ensure that the UK provides economic growth and stability and an innovative climate to attract investment.
I am arranging for a copy of the UK Inward Investment 2003–04 report to be placed in the Library of the House.