HC Deb 18 February 1980 vol 979 cc62-3W
Mr. Frank R. White

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what aid, and under what headings, has been received from the European Community in each year since 1973 for industrial projects in each of the separate regions of the United Kingdom.

Mr. David Mitchell

Commitments and receipts from the European regional development fund, since its inception in 1975, in respect of industrial projects and Government advance factories (AF) in the United Kingdom are shown in the following table:

£
1978
Commitments Receipts
North 3,399,133.85 3,342,231.64
North-West 13,504,980.6 2,541,529.8
Yorkshire and Humberside 770,605 308,482.65
East Midlands 125,300 17,000
West Midlands
South-West 688,800 236,772.16
England 18,488,819.45 6,446,016.25
Northern Ireland(2) 6,414,094.98 791,983.42
Scotland(3) 6,439,248.83 3,399,148.36
Wales 7,104,104 876,002.1
UNITED KINGDOM 38,446,267.26 11,513,150.13
1979
Commitments Receipts
North 870,547.71 5,092,248
North-West 23,927,646.17 25,484,037.34
Yorkshire and Humberside 773,266 742,686.25
East Midlands 1,071,436.8 840,814
West Midlands 39,578
South-West 200,663.8 244,440.34
England 26,883,138.48 32,404,225.93
Northern Ireland(2) 10,730,849.5 3,277,725.68
Scotland(3) 4,439,674.99 6,859,336
Wales 7,877,980 13,620,140.36
UNITED KINGDOM 49,931,642.97 56,161,427.97
(1) Where projects are not completed as forecast, any entitlement to aid from the fund may be cancelled. This aid may then be re-allocated to other eligible United Kingdom projects. In order to avoid double-counting, and to show the actual sums of money allocated to the regions of the United Kingdom, the re-allocated sums have been deducted from the commitment figures in the year of reallocation.
(2) The commitment figures for Northern Ireland do not include £1,193,511 in 1975 and £30,000 in 1976 in respect of advance factories.
(3) The commitment figures for Scotland include £4,383,800 in respect of the Kessock bridge, financed by the Scottish Development Department and Sumburgh airport, financed by the Civil Aviation Authority. (Kessock bridge: £3,100,000 in 1979, Sumburgh airport: £1,035,000 in 1975).
(4) Payments in respect of (2) could only be included, and in respect of (3) could only be excluded, at disproportionate cost.

Aid is also provided by the European Coal and Steel Community in the form of interest rebates on project loans granted under articles 54/56 of the Treaty of Paris. In 1978 and 1979, the United Kingdom was allocated £4.7 million and £8.3 million of such rebates respectively. Neither a regional breakdown nor figures for earlier years are readily available.

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