To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what EC prohibitions exist with regard to the establishment of a Government funded Scottish industrial investment fund able to provide security-free loans, capital repayment holidays, lower than market rate interest rates, and special support for training.

Any proposal to establish a Government-funded organisation providing state aid to industry would require to comply with the provisions of articles 92 and 93 of the treaty of Rome, including the provisions in those articles relating to notification to, and approval by, the European Commission.