HC Deb 26 February 1998 vol 307 cc482-4
6. Mr. Sanders

What representations he has had from local organisations with respect to Agenda 2000 and the reform of the European structural funds. [29883]

The Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Mr. David Blunkett)

I have received three representations from further education and from the Confederation of British Industry. In addition, my right. hon. Friend the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Disability Rights has held meetings with the Alliance for Regional Aid and the Local Government Association.

Mr. Sanders

The Secretary of State will be aware that the structural funds are divided up by regions across the whole of the European Union. The Devon and Cornwall region receives around £191 million from the present programme up to the year 2000. The problem is that, in future, the region that will determine how the programme affects our area will be the whole of the south-west region. Can the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that the special problems of Devon and Cornwall, which make the area distinct from the rest of the south-west, will be recognised in the new programmes after 2000?

Mr. Blunkett

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade and I will make every possible representation. That includes providing the foundations from our presidency in getting right Agenda 2000, and ensuring that the European social fund and the remaining structural funds are used effectively so that we protect our areas from the changes that are inevitable in that new period of funding.

Mr. O'Hara

Given that the European Union is now confident that provision for the expanded Community can be catered for from growth within the European economy, and given that the United Kingdom is currently classed as the fourth poorest of the European countries, will my right hon. Friend assure me that he and his colleagues will be fighting to ensure that there is no reduction whatsoever in the UK share of structural funds after 2000?

Mr. Blunkett

As my hon. Friend knows, it is important to this country that the assessment is based on gross domestic product and the real economy. As things improve, we hope that there will be less need for investment in regions that currently suffer deprivation, such as his area and my area. We need specifically to protect objective 2 programmes—we shall take every possible step to ensure that we do so.

Mr. Wilkinson

Is it not clear that Her Majesty's Government would be unwise to look to the European Union in the longer term to sustain jobs in regions of high unemployment in the United Kingdom, particularly in view of projected enlargement? If the European Union is unable to support British jobs, is not it crucial that the Government reduce the net British contribution in the next quinquennial financial perspective from 2000? Is not it of paramount importance that the budgetary bind has no adverse effect on enlargement?

Mr. Blunkett

The negotiations to ensure that we receive from the European Union what we put into it, and the way in which we balance broad economic objectives across the 15 nations—more when the Union has expanded—with the need to invest regionally, are part of the programme that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Cabinet are addressing. If we had had a better environment in which to approach these issues, we would obviously have been able to make more rapid progress.

Mr. Pearson

European structural fund money has played a major part in the economic regeneration of the physical fabric of Birmingham and the west midlands, and has improved the work force's employability. In welcoming my right hon. Friend's comments on the importance of objective 2 and the reform of the structural funds, may I encourage him to make representations in the strongest possible terms so that we receive our fair share of European regional money in the west midlands and in the rest of the United Kingdom? Proposals that mean that the United Kingdom will suffer a disproportionate cut are not acceptable.

Madam Speaker

Is there a question there?

Mr. Blunkett

I will do my best to answer the question as I perceived it. The answer is yes. I will ensure that, at the joint education and social affairs informal meeting in London on 12 and 13 March, we start to address these issues, so that we highlight the importance to the United Kingdom of the structural funds and draw the press's attention to the significance of getting Agenda 2000 right. I hope that that answers my hon. Friend's question.

Madam Speaker

Or his comment.