Industry and Exports (Financial Support) Act

The Bill has two purposes. One is to raise the financial ceiling on support to industry outside assisted areas allowed under the Industrial Development Act 1982 (these limits were last changed by legislation in 2003). The second is to widen the support allowed by the Export Credits Guarantee Department under the Export and Investment Guarantees Act 1991. It is a short Bill with three clauses, amending the 1982 and 1991 Acts mentioned above.

Key areas

• Amends section 8(5) of the Industrial Development Act 1982, which sets the ceiling on financial assistance allowed under ‘section 8’ powers. It increases the limit allowed under section 8 to £12 billion, along with the capacity for a further four orders of £1 billion each taking the overall limit to £16 billion.
• Amends section 1(1) of the Export and Investment Guarantees Act 1991 to widen support provided by the Export Credits Guarantee Department to include exports that have already taken place.