asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give details of Government grants to Smith and Nephew during the last five years in (a) Birmingham and (b) Pendle.

Except where information has already been published in "British Business" as a condition of support, it is not customary to provide details of the Department's grants to individual companies, for reasons of commercial confidentiality. The information published in "British Business" covers regional development grants and grants under certain schemes under the Industrial Development Act 1982, and is published only when a payment of grant has been made. During this period no such information has been published in respect of Smith and Nephew's activities in these areas.