§ Mr. Hickmetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the European Community Commission has reached a decision on further non-quota aid under the European regional development fund for areas in the United Kingdom affected by the decline of the steel industry.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonYes. The EC Commission has announced that in principle this further aid will be made available in respect of the counties of Clwyd and Gwent in Wales, Cleveland, Humberside (together with that part of the old travel-to-work area of Scunthorpe situated in the county of Lincolnshire), South Yorkshire (including all the old travel-to-work area of Sheffield) and the Scottish region of Strathclyde.
The United Kingdom should receive about £7.5 million from the ERDF as a result of this decision. The aid will be available after the amendments required to the existing five-year programme under Council regulation (EEC) 216/1984, and the proposals for the division of aid between qualifying areas, have been drawn up by the Government and agreed with the Commission. In drawing up these proposals the Government intend to concentrate the aid available in respect of Humberside on Scunthorpe TTWA and that in respect of Strathclyde on the districts of Strathkelvin, Motherwell, Monklands and Hamilton.
In accordance with the regulation the aid will be for the clearance of rundown areas, the conversion of disused industrial buildings, the modernisation of premises for small and medium-sized enterprises, and also for aid to small firms, including grants for consultancy, the establishment or development of common services, the promotion of innovation, and market research.