asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many companies have been refused temporary employment subsidy because they had received other Government aid, including interest relief grant.

I regret that precise information is not available in the form requested, but since the inception of the scheme in August 1975 12 initial applications for TES have been rejected after consultation with the appropriate Government Department or agency because the jobs involved were already being supported by public funds. In many cases—figures are not available—TES provides stop-gap aid and subsidy is terminated when Department of Industry or agency assistance is paid.