asked the Prime Minister what was the Government's expenditure in each year between 1979–80 and 1982–83 on regional aid to industry in each of the English regions, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; and through which agencies this expenditure was incurred.
The information requested is as follows:
| Expenditure1 at current prices | ||||
| £ million | ||||
| Region | 1979–80 | 1980–81 | 1981–82 | 1982–83 |
| Northern | 147·8 | 146·3 | 176·3 | 159·3 |
| North West | 86·7 | 131·3 | 157·9 | 122·4 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 32·1 | 52·2 | 61·8 | 52·9 |
| East Midlands2 | 4·2 | 4·5 | 8·6 | 13·6 |
| South West | 10·7 | 11·5 | 14·8 | 16·2 |
| Scotland | 117·9 | 182·8 | 220·1 | 370·9 |
| Wales | 104·3 | 170·8 | 198·2 | 181·7 |
| Great Britain3 | 519·0 | 705·9 | 853·6 | 917·0 |
| Northern Ireland | 103·5 | 138·2 | 110·8 | 146·1 |
| United Kingdom | 622·5 | 844·1 | 964·4 | 1,063·1 |
| 1 All figures are gross and include payments to nationalised industries. | ||||
2 Includes West Midlands.
3 The Great Britain total does not always equal the sum of the component parts due to rounding.
The items included in the expenditure are regional development grants and regional selective assistance, expenditure on land and factories by the English Industrial Estates Corporation, the Scottish and Welsh Development Agencies, the Development Board for Rural Wales, and the Highlands and Islands Development Board. Northern Ireland has a different range of financial incentives available and the items included in the expenditure have been restricted to aids similar to the main forms of regional preferential assistance in Great Britain.
The agencies through which this expenditure was incurred are as follows:
| English Regions: | The Department of Trade and Industry and the English Industrial Estates Corporation. |
| Scotland: | The Scottish Office (Industry Department for Scotland), The Scottish Development Agency, the Highlands and Islands Development Board and the Department of Trade and Industry. |
| Wales: | The Welsh Office (Industry Department), The Welsh Development Agency, the Development Board for Rural Wales and the Department of Trade and Industry. |
| Northern Ireland: | The Northern Ireland Department of Economic Development and the Industrial Development Board (formerly the Northern Ireland Development Agency). |