asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total amount of Government aid to industry in West and South Cumberland from October 1964 to October 1970.

This information is not collected on a county basis, nor for the period mentioned. For the Northern development area as a whole, Government preferential assistance to industry in the six years ending 31st March 1970 amounted to some £269 million.

That answer is again unsatisfactory. Surely the Minister should be aware that Questions of this nature can be answered. Secondly, will he give any guarantee that the level of aid to industry in these areas in the next few years will not be less than it has been hitherto?

We will do our best to help this area as it has been helped in the past. As the hon. Gentleman can see from my answer, a great deal of public money has been invested. The new form of incentives produced by the Government will direct money to the creation of new jobs.