HC Deb 29 June 2004 vol 423 cc138-9
3. Mr. Michael Moore (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD)

What discussions he has held with the Department of Trade and Industry on the future of regional selective assistance. [180231]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mrs. Anne McGuire)

I met ministerial colleagues last week when the European Commission's proposals for amending the guidelines that govern regional state aid from 1 January 2007 were discussed. The Government's approach to responding to the Commission regarding the proposals was set out by the Minister for Industry and the Regions in a written statement on 14 June

Mr. Moore

In the borders over the past few years, more than £6 million of regional selective assistance has created more than 200 jobs and safeguarded at least another 1,000. Does the Under-Secretary recognise the importance of that funding in the aftermath of the debacles at Biosytems and in the textile industry? Will she ensure that however RSA is to be restructured, the needs of rural manufacturing economies, such as that of the south-east of Scotland, will not be ignored?

Mrs. McGuire

We are well aware of the importance of regional selective assistance to many areas in Scotland. Approximately 48 per cent. of Scotland is covered by RSA. I know that specific issues apply in the borders. In our discussions with the Commission, the Government hope to identify effective, regional targeting while ensuring that some of the most deprived and disadvantaged areas are given the economic support that they need. I encourage the hon. Gentleman and his party to make their views known in the consultation period that the Minister for Industry and the Regions announced.

David Cairns (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab)

Has my hon. Friend had a chance to study the report of the West of Scotland European Consortium, which makes a compelling case for continuing assistance to the west of Scotland, due to deprivation and social exclusion that are higher than average? Will she assure me that whatever the future holds for regional assistance, the needs of constituencies such as Inverclyde, which have higher than average unemployment and poverty, will be borne in mind?

Mrs. McGuire

I have had a glance at the document that my hon. Friend mentions. I have not read it in detail, but I endorse his views. As someone who served on the monitoring committee of the former Strathclyde objective 2 partnership, I know the importance of European funding, through structural funds and regional selective assistance, to areas such as my hon. Friend's constituency. It is one of the aspects of European partnership that is clear to people not only in Scotland but throughout the United Kingdom. It is one of the benefits of European partnership and membership of the European Union that the Conservative party often neglects to mention.