Written question asked by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 February 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 February 2012. It was answered by Mark Prisk (Conservative) on Monday, 20 February 2012 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Regional Assistance: Northern Ireland

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the value to the Northern Ireland economy of automatic assisted area status.

Answer: The UK Government have carried out consultation on removing Northern Ireland's 100% automatic assisted area status from the Industrial Development Act 1982 and will be issuing a response shortly. The response will be informed by the available evidence which includes evidence on the value of automatic assisted area status to the Northern Ireland economy. However it should be noted that although removing the automatic 100% assisted area coverage could restrict the geographical location of where regional aid is given, it would not in itself mean that Northern Ireland would be able to give less regional aid.

Secondary information