asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total number and value of offers of regional assistance made to companies in West Cumbria travel-to-work areas, in Cumbria as a whole, in the North-West region and in the Northern region for the last month for which statistics are available.

In February 1982, eight offers of assistance totalling £726,000 were made under section 7 of the Industry Act 1972 towards projects in the North-West region. Of these, one offer of £45,000 was made towards a project in Cumbria but no offers were made to companies in the West Cumbria travel-to-work area. One offer of £500,000 was made towards a project in the North-East region.