§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what(a) Government and (b) EU funding will be made available to replace the KONVER funding of the Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Chelmsford. [61888]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 1 December 1998]: I understand that the Advanced Manufacturing Centre has expressed confidence that they will be financially viable from the year 2000.
With regard to future EU support, the Commission has proposed that from 2000 onwards EU training support will be available through the new Objective 3 for areas such as Essex. In addition, although the KONVER II Programme finishes at the end of 1999, European Social Fund moneys can be spent until the end of June 2000 while moneys from the European Regional Development Fund can be spent until the end of 2001, provided they are committed by the end of 1999.