§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make representations to the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community to increase the budget of the social fund and extend its terms of reference so that it can be used for a broader range of projects to assist disabled people.
§ Mr. Jim Lester[pursuant to his reply, 10 December 1980: In discussions of the 1981 Community budget the United Kingdom has supported proposals for an increase in social fund provision for schemes for disabled people. However, significant extensions of the fund's scope would he difficult to justify at present since the volume of eligible applications under current rules already greatly exceeds the resources available to the fund.