The House of Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee has announced it will look at the Government’s recent support package to the UK automotive industry – the 'Automotive Assistance Programme' – which includes motorsport.
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform launched the Automotive Assistance Programme on 27 January 2009. The scheme is open to projects over £5m in value initiated by UK-based car and car component manufacturers (which includes the motorsport industry), with an annual turnover higher than £25m. It is intended to free up lending of more than £2b over two years to ensure that major UK based low-carbon investment projects are not abandoned or relocated.
The Select Committee will take evidence from representatives from the car, car component and high performance engineering industries at its meeting on Tuesday 19th May - Further information relating to this meeting will be provided at a later date.
To inform the Committee and its evidence session, any UK business with experience of the Automotive Assistance Programme are invited to submit comments by e-mail to becom@parliament.uk no later than Friday 8th May.
The Committee would be interested to hear views on:
• The definition of ‘eligible companies’;
• The application criteria for the types of projects that are covered by the AAP, including the focus on low-carbon projects;
• Whether the £5m minimum threshold excludes too many SMEs?
• The criteria used for awarding loans / loan guarantees, and how this compares with the criteria used by the EIB (European Investment Bank);
• The degree to which the award of support through this scheme has prevented, or is likely to prevent, companies from abandoning projects or moving them out of the UK;
• Whether other measures are required, and any other views of which stakeholders think the Committee should be aware.
Further information on this evidence session can be obtained by contacting the Business and Enterprise Committee team on 0207 219 5777 or at becom@parliament.uk.
