To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 19 February Official Report, column 214, on the effects of grants to companies in Wales, what information is available in his Department to assess the cost-effectiveness of grants in aid to industries located in Wales.

My Department participates in a programme of evaluation studies of regional policy instruments such as regional selective assistance and regional enterprise grants which are available in the assisted areas of Great Britain. These evaluations include an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the grant schemes.The two most recently published studies are: "Regional Selective Assistance 1980–84," an Evaluation by DTI, IDS and WOID (HMSO 1990), and "Evaluation of Regional Enterprise Grants-Second Stage," a report by Segal Quince Wicksteed Ltd (HMSO 1991). Further evaluations of both grant schemes are currently taking place.