§ 8. Mr. Andrew George (St. Ives)What progress he has made in securing matching public funds for EU objective regions. [6608]
§ The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Andrew Smith)Discussions are under way between Government and the English objective programme partnerships about identifying the match funding which regions need. Officials from the Department of Trade and Industry are taking the lead. My right hon. Friends the Minister for Trade and the Minister for Local Government and the Regions have undertaken to meet again the all-party parliamentary group on objective to discuss progress. I would describe that progress as very encouraging.
§ Mr. GeorgeIn the unseemly scramble to claim credit for securing objective status, will the Minister agree that there is an urgent need to ensure that there are adequate public match funds in place? Given that his colleagues in both MAFF and the DTI do not have sufficient and adequate match funds and that there are three other Government Departments with responsibilities in this area, does he agree that it is imperative that the Treasury steps in, takes the lead and at Cabinet level ensures that this golden opportunity is not mishandled?
§ Mr. SmithAs I have made clear to the House previously, we are in touch with all the Departments concerned and in close discussions as part of the spending review. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, who wrote to the partnerships on 24 March, was able to report good progress on precisely the issues that the hon. Gentleman is raising. There is progress on helping partnerships to identify a full range of match-funding sources, exploring the possibility of adjusting matching rates between programme measures and years; the use of some regional selective assistance as match funding; MAFF funding; on-going discussions with the Commission on increasing the flexibility between the private and public sector contributions to match funding; and the announcements in the Budget of the venture capital fund; which will greatly assist the regions, and also the £50 million for clusters. I can assure the hon. Gentleman and other right hon. and hon. Members who are concerned about objective 1 in the English regions, west Wales and the valleys that every effort is being made in government to ensure that match funding is secured.
§ Mr. David Watts (St. Helens, North)I congratulate my right hon. Friend and other Treasury Ministers on the work that they have done over the past few months to resolve the immediate problem of match funding for 1146 objective 1 structural funds. However, does not he agree that the long-term problem can be resolved only by changing the Treasury rules, achieving more joined-up government and finding more inventive ways to ensure that we do not have to look for match funding every year?
§ Mr. SmithI thank my hon. Friend for his support for what we have achieved with regard to objective 1 funding. We should not forget that it was the Government's success at Berlin and subsequently that secured objective 1 boosts for Cornwall, south Yorkshire and Merseyside worth £300 million, £700 million and more than £800 million, respectively.
We are continually looking at how we can improve the arrangements for securing match funding but, as I said, I am greatly encouraged by the progress that we are making. I shall keep in close touch with my hon. Friend, and with other hon. Members who are concerned about this matter, to ensure that the regions get the benefit that they need and which they were denied by the Conservative Government.