asked the Secretary of State for Industry what steps his Department has taken to encourage industrialists to set up in St. Helens; what success has been achieved; whether he has any further proposals for attracting new jobs to St. Helens; and if he will make a statement.

The St. Helens travel-to-work area continues to be an assisted area. It is not practical to estimate the impact of assisted area status on levels of employment in individual travel-to-work areas.