§ Mr. AltonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to prevent delays in the Government office on Merseyside in processing objective 1 applications for ERDF funding.
§ Mr. EggarOne hundred and six applications have been approved in principle. Two have since been withdrawn. Forty-three grant offer letters have been issued. On 26 applications, further information is awaited from applicants. Thirty-five applications are currently with the Government office, where further information provided recently is being urgently assessed. These will be cleared as quickly as possible. Partners have been asked to ensure early provision of outstanding information, so that processing of all applications can be completed as soon as possible.