§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what representations the Minister for Industrial Development has received from the North-West Industrial Development Association on the EEC's regional policy and its implications for the North-West Region of the United Kingdom; what reply he had made; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if it is Her Majesty's Government's policy, in their negotiations with the EEC Commission and other member Governments on regional policy, that the whole of the North-West Region of the United Kingdom should be regarded as a "peripheral" area; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChatawayI discussed EEC regional policy with a deputation from the North-West Industrial Development Association on 27th June. The deputation's principal concern was that the Article 154 negotiations might lead to reductions in regional aid or to changes in assisted status in the region. I assured them that this was unlikely. In the event, only our non-assisted and388W intermediate areas were designated by the Commission as central areas. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster explained to the House on 2nd July, this decision left our regional aid systems unchanged. I also had a useful exchange of views with the deputation on the proposed regional development fund.—[Vol. 859, c. 33–5.]