§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money Northern Ireland has been allocated from the European social fund in each finacial year since 1 January 1973 up to 31 December 1980; how much of these receipts were paid to the private sector and how much to the public sector; how much each year represented a cash addition to the Northern Ireland economy; and how much was used to offset Government expenditure on Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerTotal allocations from the European social fund, including those to the private and public sectors, are set out below. Receipts from allocations to the private sector and certain other bodies are paid direct to these bodies; the revelent allocations are set out below separately. These can be regarded as a cash addition to the Northern Ireland economy. Other allocations, shown in the table as retained by the Government, benefit the Northern Ireland economy in that they have allowed the Government to finance a larger public expenditure programme than otherwise would have been the case.
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£ million Year Total Private Sector Public Sector Direct Allocations Allocations Retained by Government 1976 13.61 1.80 11.81 *2.63 *10.98 1977 9.57 1.24 8.33 *l.30 *8.27 1978 16.07 1.09 14.98 *1.61 *14.46 1979 24.64 1.00 23.64 *2.44 *22.20 1980 25.70 2.20 23.50 *2.93 *22.77 103. 36 8.13 95.23 *ll.71 *91.65 * Allocations are based on estimated expenditure, and with certain public bodies—industrial training boards—the"direct"/"nondirect" apportionment is not calculated until actual expenditure has been incurred. Therefore, the figures shown are estimates only.