§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction in his Department's budget by 1995 for spending on regional financial assistance; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what were the amounts of regional financial assistance expenditure in 1979 and 1991; and if he will increase the funding in future years.
§ Mr. Sainsbury[holding answer 16 December 1992]: In the financial year to the end of March 1980, £272 million was spent on regional financial assistance. Total expenditure in 1991–92 amounted to £159 million.
The allocation of funds to individual programmes is currently being considered and will be published in the trade and industry expenditure plans report in February 1993.