asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much public money has been invested by the present Government in private industry in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively, since February 1974.

The information is as follows: England £48 1 million; Scotland £19·5 million; Wales £6·4 million.The figures include all expenditure on the acquisition of share capital or the provision of loans, including loans under Section 7 of the Industry Act, between 1st March 1974 and 30th April 1975. Investment in wholly Government-owned companies is excluded. The figure for Scotland includes payments totalling £12 million in respect of the Invergordon aluminium smelter scheme.