§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State f or Industry what aid has been provided by the EEC Regional Fund to Yorkshire and Humberside in 1977 to date; and what estimate he has made of the contribution to the EEC Regional Fund by Yorkshire and Humberside from the establishment of the fund to date by year.
Mr. Alan Williams,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 13th July 1977; Vol. 935, c. 148], gave the following information:
The European Commission has so far approved contributions from the European Regional Development Fund towards the cost of projects in the Yorkshire and Humberside region in 1977, amounting to £946,985. It is expected that further contributions will be approved during the year.
It is not possible to give an estimate of the contribution made to the Fund by particular regions, since the Fund is financed from the total EEC budget. It is expected that the United Kingdom will receive a net benefit of the order of £60 million from the first three years of the Fund's operation.