To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the European Commission notified his Department of the decision to give clearance for the commencement of the proposed scheme for (a) loans and (b) loan guarantees for the automotive industry. (261613)

The European Commission approvals for “Temporary Aid for the production of green products” and “Temporary Aid in the form of Loan Guarantees” were received by BERR on 27 February 2009.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the monetary value is of secured loans to the automotive industry which have been facilitated by his Department. (261387)

[holding answer 6 March 2009]: The Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP) received EC State Aid approval on 27 February 2009. No loans to the automotive industry have yet been offered under the AAP. A seminar was held with industry and bank representatives on 11 March to explain the programme in detail and BERR expects to receive applications shortly which it will assess as speedily as possible.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will assist the British automotive industry by introducing a programme of wage compensation. (263538)

We will continue to assess whether such a proposal can add to the real help we are already providing for industry and the people who work in it—including the up to £100 million funding under ‘Train to Gain’ that automotive firms can access.