§ 10. Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total value of grants which Wales has received from the European regional development fund in each of the past two years and in the current year to date.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsNet commitments for the European Commission's financial years of 1983 and 1984 were £45.1 million and £57 million respectively. No allocations have yet been announced for 1985.
§ Mr. KnoxDoes my right hon. Friend agree that the Welsh economy would be much weaker if these grants had not been received? How much has Wales received in total from the fund since its inception?
§ Mr. EdwardsThe Welsh economy has been greatly strengthened by the infrastructure provision. I should be grateful if my hon. Friend would put down a question on the ERDF commitment for the whole of Wales since its inception. Undoubtedly our membership of the European Community has enabled us to obtain many inward investment projects. I should like to take this opportunity to express my pleasure at the fact that Brother Industries of Japan is the tenth Japanese company to announce its decision to establish a manufacturing plant in this country, this time in Wrexham.