§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Lord Privy Seal how much Scotland, England and Wales have received from the social and regional funds of the EEC respectively, during 1980; and how much is to be granted to Wales, Scotland and England, respectively, for the year 1981.
§ Sir Ian GilmourGreat Britain received £135.3 million from the European social fund in 1980. Much of this consisted of allocations for training and employment measures in respect of which it is not possible readily to identify the exact amounts attributable to constituent parts of Great Britain. Allocations which can be readily identified are set out in the following table.
Receipts from the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 1980 European Social Fund (attributable breakdown) Commitments from the ERDF £ million £ million England 10.78 71.83 Scotland 5.35 21.36 Wales 9.85 33.03 Applications for assistance from the social fund are approved by the Commission. Allocations for 1981 have not yet been made.
Applications for assistance from the regional fund are considered in May, July and December of each year. The final figure for 1980 is not therefore available, nor is it possible to say how much England, Scotland and Wales will receive in 1981. But in 1981, the United Kingdom will receive 23.8 per cent. of the quota section, which represents 95 per cent. of the ERDF. The value of the fund in 1981 will not be known until the European Parliament has formally adopted the 1981 budget.