Written question asked by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Monday, 28 November 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 30 November 2011. It was answered by Mark Prisk (Conservative) on Tuesday, 6 December 2011 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Regional Assistance: Northern Ireland

Question: (3) if he will undertake an equality impact assessment of the potential effect of the removal of automatic assisted area status for Northern Ireland.

Answer: The removal of the automatic assisted area status for Northern Ireland is one of four proposed changes to the Industrial Development Act 1982. The Government's consultation covering these proposed changes closed on 2 November 2011 and we are on target to publish a response within three months of the consultation close.An impact assessment for all four proposed changes was included at annex 3 of the Industrial Development Act Revisions consultation document. The post 2013 allocation implications for Northern Ireland of removing the automatic 100% assisted area coverage will not be known until the new Regional Aid Guidelines are implemented by the European Commission and we start to draw up the 2014-2020 assisted areas map. An economic and equality impact assessment will be undertaken at this time.

Secondary information