§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what decision was reached by the Council of Ministers on 9th June on the funding of a European anti-poverty programme.
§ Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNEMy Lords, at its meeting on 9th June, the Council deferred a decision on the European Commission's proposal for an interim extension of the anti-poverty programme until the next Labour and Social Affairs Council meeting in November. Most member states, including the United Kingdom, indicated that they would be in favour of an interim programme of the kind suggested by the Italian Presidency of the Council as an alternative to the Commission's proposal; but one remained opposed to any further programme in this area until the Commission had produced a report on the current activities, as it is required to do by a Council decision taken in 1977.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, while thanking the Minister and welcoming the decision to defer, may I ask whether it is not the case that the wide range in the European Parliament, extending from the British Conservatives to the Communists, supported the funding of this proposal? Would not its deferment mean that we should lose pilot projects in Wolverhampton, Glasgow, London and Wales? Did our representatives support the Italian proposal for the modest £3 million to be spent on these projects over the next two or three years while devaluation was being considered?
§ Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNEYes, my Lords, but there is some doubt about what would happen to the projects the noble Lord referred to if their funding from the Council ceased. It is probable that those projects funded by the Home Office, which are now 50/50 between the Council and the Home Office, would be continued by the Home Office. Four different projects are covered by the Home Office; two by the Scottish Development Department; two by Northern Ireland and one by the Department of Trade in Wolverhampton.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMay I ask the Minister whether it would not immensely extend the prestige of the European Community if it did something to deal with the poverty problem in Europe which an investigation has shown has similar causes in practically all the European countries?
§ Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNEYes, my Lords, but I think it is true to say that many of the projects started by the Council have been directed more towards helping social casualties than the actual provision of cash to deal with poverty in cash terms.