asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the effects of the Government grants made to Gestetner Ltd. in recent years on the number of jobs and the development of new technology set out in the original agreement.

Gestetner Ltd. has in recent years received assistance under schemes run by my Department for certain projects to develop new technology to meet the requirements of a fast-changing market place. The details of such assistance and the evaluation of the results of individual projects are a matter of commercial confidentiality between the Department and the company.