HC Deb 14 May 1976 vol 911 cc296-7W
Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much of the £17.6 million recently allocated to the United Kingdom by the EEC's Regional Fund has been used to reimburse the Government for their own expenditure and for what other regional development this was used.

Mr. Alan Williams

£4.6 million of the £17.6 million has been committed from the Regional Development Fund as contributions towards the cost of the United Kingdom regional aids to be paid to 105 industrial and service industry projects. As already announced, these receipts will be retained by the Government and will enable the Government to go ahead with a greater total of regional investment than could have been managed otherwise. For example, the size of the new programme of advance factory building in England announced on 28th November 1975 was fixed after account had been taken of likely receipts from the fund. £13.0 million has been committed as contributions towards the cost of 157 infrastructure projects carried out by local and other public authorities. These receipts will enable the authorities concerned to reduce their borrowing in respect of those projects.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) how much of the £17.6 million recently allocated by the EEC's Regional Fund to the United Kingdom has been allocated for projects on Merseyside;

(2) how much of the £17.6 million allocated by the EEC's Regional Fund to the United Kingdom has been allocated for projects in the North-West;

(3) if he will list those projects on Merseyside that have been allocated funds from the £17.6 million allocated to the United Kingdom by the EEC Regional Fund;

(4) if he will list those projects in the North-West that have been allocated funds from the £17.6 million allocated to the United Kingdom by the EEC Regional Fund;

(5) how much of the £17.6 million recently allocated to the United Kingdom by the EEC Regional Fund has been allocated (a) to Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) to each of the English regions.

Mr. Alan Williams

The European Commission announced its latest round of allocations from the European Regional Development Fund on 29th April. A total of £17.6 million is to be made available as contributions towards the cost of 262 projects in the United Kingdom.

The £17.6 million is distributed as follows:

England £ Projects
Northern 5,752,268 51
North-West 2,721,282 32
Yorks & Humberside 871,015 36
East Midlands 136,016 4
South-West 164,039 11
Northern Ireland 1,823,111 23
Scotland 2,939,654 41
Wales 3,191,369 64

Lists of the projects were published in Trade and Industry on 7th May. Of the fund contribution of £2.7 million to be made towards the costs of 32 projects in the North-West Region, £1.7 million relates to 16 projects located in the Merseyside special development area.

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