§ Lord Inglewoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why supplementary credit approval is available in full for projects under the EC RECHAR programme and not at a similar level for those under Objective 2, and why this year unused SCA cannot be transferred from those authorities not using it to those looking for additional cover, and was the case last year.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Strathclyde)SCAs are being provided to cover fully grants under RECHAR programmes both in recognition of the special needs arising in the areas concerned and having regard to the delay which occurred in approving these programmes. This is in accordance with the agreement reached with the European Commission.
The system devised for SCAs in respect of ERDF grants in 1991–92 necessarily involved some redistribution at the end of the year. It did not provide local authorities with any certainty about the SCAs a given level of expenditure would attract. The arrangements made for 1992–93 should overcome this difficulty.