§ 5. Sir David KnoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total value of grants that Scotland has received from the European regional development fund since the fund's inception. [15788]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythSince 1975, £1.6 billion.
§ Sir David KnoxHow does that compare with figures for other European countries?
§ Mr. ForsythThere is a wide range—[HON. MEMBERS: "He does not know."] I do know. It is about 10 times as much as Denmark and considerably less than Spain.
§ Mr. KirkwoodMay I ask the Secretary of State an easier supplementary question? Will he acknowledge the concern in south-east Scotland about on-going job losses in the textile industry? Does he welcome the local authority's initiative to set up a working party to try to stem the flow of job losses? Will he undertake to use his influence and that of his officials to make best use of the ERDF and objective b funding so that the local authority's efforts to try to sustain and promote knitwear jobs in the Borders are developed and promoted with vigour?
§ Mr. ForsythI assure the hon. Gentleman that I have already done so, partly because of the representations that 876 he has made. I have asked Scottish Enterprise to look at the matter. He is right to point out the difficulties in the textile industry. We are considering carefully the European scheme called RETEX with a view to providing increased support. I agree that the Borders area has considerable scope for inward investment. It is often suggested that unemployment in the Borders is such that the area should not be a priority. I do not agree with that view. Many people are having to commute out of the Borders to find work. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary responsible for industry is very much aware of the particular difficulties in the textile industry. I am sure that he and Scottish Enterprise will have moved things forward since I last raised the matter. As the hon. Gentleman has raised it, I shall certainly try to arrange a discussion soon to find out what progress has been made.
§ Mr. Bill WalkerWill my right hon. Friend confirm that the United Kingdom pays much more into Europe in taxation than we get back? Therefore, whatever we receive from the European Union is United Kingdom money coming back. I would describe it as laundered and devalued.
§ Mr. ForsythI was agreeing with my hon. Friend up to his last phrase. It is certainly true that we are net contributors to the Community. There is no such thing as European money. It is our money coming back to us under a variety of schemes for which I have to make public expenditure provision in the Scottish Office block. It does not come from nowhere. We have to make provision for it in the Scottish Office block and, as such, it is given priority alongside other expenditure on health, education and so on. So my hon. Friend is right in that respect.
The money also comes back on the basis that it represents additional expenditure. In that respect, I think that my hon. Friend will join me in recognising the good work that has been done under various European social fund and ERDF schemes in helping to make Scotland competitive and helping communities—especially fragile communities—meet the needs of competitiveness and put in place the infrastructure services that they need to improve the quality of life for their local people.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonWill the Minister address the problems in areas that do not have access to European funding because they are not included in his Department's map of assisted areas? He will be aware that my constituency has just suffered 252 job losses at Lothian Electric Machines in Haddington because of the actions of IBM in that part of the world. He must surely recognise the urgent need to create new job opportunities in areas such as East Lothian. Will the Scottish Office review assisted areas boundaries?
§ Mr. ForsythAs I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows, such matters have to be agreed. Scotland receives a very generous allocation. As the answer to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Sir D. Knox) made clear, we receive a very substantial share of ERDF funds, for example, compared with the rest of the United Kingdom. I remind the hon. Gentleman that unemployment in Scotland has been below the UK average for almost four years. Having said that, I shall certainly look at the problems in his constituency as a result of IBM's decisions and ask 877 Scottish Enterprise to see whether further assistance can be provided. I cannot offer any prospect of redrawing the map, or getting agreement in Brussels for so doing given the good deal that we have at the present time.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithBearing in mind my right hon. Friend's answer to our hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Sir D. Knox), does he agree that one problem is that the Commission constantly insists on spreading the propaganda that it is the Commission's money going to various places across the United Kingdom, not least Scotland?
Will my right hon. Friend undertake to ensure that no European flag appears on projects that have received any of that money? If that suggestion is beyond the pale, perhaps he will ensure that the Union Jack—whose size should be in direct proportion to the amount of money coming from the British taxpayer—is flown next to any European flag.
§ Mr. ForsythI do not know whether my hon. Friend would allow me to substitute the saltire for the Union Jack. It used to be the case that the Commission was rather anxious—and would often make it a condition of support—that the European flag was flown to acknowledge the involvement of the Community. That is not something that the Government do when we provide support. I shall certainly bear my hon. Friend's suggestion in mind. I am always happy to fly the flag whenever there is an opportunity to do so.