§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what evidence he has for the statement of the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Ancram) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his letter to David Martin MEP of 1 May, that participation in the second European poverty programme would have imposed a significant extra administrative burden on central Government, and on the local authorities and community and voluntary bodies involved.
§ Mr. AncramIn reaching our decision not to participate in the second European Commission antipoverty programme, we took into account the likely level of demand as compared with the likely level of resources; and concluded that participation was bound to require significant and disproportionate work for all concerned on preparation and evaluation of projects which would not ultimately be supported. The soundness of this judgment can be measured in terms of the decision of the European Commission announced on 11 October, under which only 14 of over 250 projects forwarded to the Commission in respect of England and Wales were approved.