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Departments: Warwick Manufacturing Group

Volume 462: debated on Monday 25 June 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what payments his Department has made to Warwick Manufacturing Group in each year since 1997. (141908)

No payments have been made to Warwick Manufacturing Group direct. However the following payments have been made to Warwick university, of which it is part, and to Warwick Business School, also part of Warwick university:

£

Warwick University

Warwick Business School

2002-03

93,570

2003-04

38,805

56,378

2004-05

50,062

2005-06

9,595

2006-07

The Department changed its financial system in 2003 and details of payments before then could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and the university of Warwick are major assets to the West Midlands and play a significant role in attracting inward investment into the region. WMG, in particular, is one of many assets within the region which form an integral part of an overall regional proposition presented to knowledge-driven business. It is rarely possible however to attribute the success in securing an inward investment project to one single factor, as often it is the result of a combination of issues.

For example, the Airbus decision to establish a systems engineering centre for fuel and landing gear systems in Solihull in 2006 was based on a combination of factors, including skills availability, access to existing Airbus centres in both north-west and south-west England and potential engineering links to regional universities including Aston, Birmingham and Warwick. WMG was nevertheless one of a number of factors which persuaded Airbus to locate in the region.