HC Deb 16 November 1976 vol 919 cc480-1W
Mrs. Bain

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the grants made payable by the European Development Fund in respect of infrastructure projects in Scotland in 1975 was wholly additional to funds available or potentially available from central Government sources.

Mr. Gregor MacKenzie

All appropriations approved from the European Regional Development Fund in 1975 to assist infrastructure projects in Scotland—£6,037,978—will serve either to reimburse Treasury finance for Government projects or to substitute for potential borrowings from the National Loans Fund by public authorities and other agencies in respect of approved capital investment projects. To this latter extent, the burden of capital and interest payments on local authorities and other bodies is of course reduced.