HC Deb 19 December 1983 vol 51 cc12-3W
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in securing the risk-sharing element in the United Kingdom's budget refunds for 1982 from the European Community.

Mr. Ian Stewart

The Commission of the European Communities has today announced the decision granting a further £179 million to the United Kingdom under the risk-sharing provisions of the October 1982 agreement on budget refunds for the United Kingdom in respect of 1982. The amount of the new grants reflects the budgetary provision made by the July Budget Council. This leaves a further £57 million gross (£42 million net) of 1982 risk-sharing refunds due to be paid by 31 December 1983.

The new grants will take the form of Community support for public sector investment programmes in the United Kingdom under the supplementary measures and energy strategy schemes. The balance outstanding of £43 million on our basic refund for 1982 will be paid with the risk sharing element later this month. This will bring total gross payments of United Kingdom budget refunds for 1982 to £809 million.

The supplementary measures scheme provides for Community support for public investment programmes in the United Kingdom, principally in the assisted areas. The decisions announced today provide an additional £113 million of support for investment programmes carried out in 1982–83 by central Government and public corporations, bringing total Community support under this scheme to £513 million. The allocation of this total to regional programmes is detailed in table 1.

The amount of further Community support under the regulation establishing special measures for energy strategy is £65 million. This brings total Community support under this regulation for energy projects carried out in 1982–83 to £296 million. Table 2 details the support granted to individual projects.

Table 1
Total supplementary measures contributions to United Kingdom public sector investment programmes for 1982–83
£ million
North North West South West Yorkshire plus Humberside Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Total
Total refund including risk-sharing
Roads 6.0 16.4 6.4 8.3 24.9 33.1 9.3 104.4
Rail 6.5 6.7 0.6 10.0 11.1 2.3 0.9 38.2
Telecoms 29.4 65.9 5.1 50.0 58.5 31.9 23.5 264.3
Water and sewerage 11.7 19.1 3.9 14.0 7.4 5.5 61.6
Housing 44.3 44.3
Grand Total 53.6 108.2 16.0 82.3 94.5 74.7 83.5 512.8

Table 2
Project Numeber Name of project Type of project Total community "energy strategy" support in 1982–83
£ million
1 Heysham I-Lancashire Advanced gas cooled reactor 8.3
2 Heysham II-Lancashire Advanced gas-cooled reactor 44.0
3 Torness, East Lothian Advanced gas-cooled reactor 38.6
4 Hartlepool-Cleveland Advanced gas-cooled reactor 7.3
5 Dungeness-Kent Advanced gas-cooled reactor 6.2
6 Drax Coal-fired power station 112.2
7 Cross Channel Link-Kent Electricity interconnector linking 24.4
8 Dinorwic-Gwynedd Pumped storage power station 1.2
9 Fort Dunlop-West Midlands Combined heat and power station 1.2
10 Morecambe-Lancashire Gas terminal 20.4
11 Rough-Yorkshire Gas terminal 12.8
12 St. Fergus-Grampian Gas terminal 0.4
13 Hornsea-Yorkshire Gas storage facility 1.8
14 Dynevor Arms-Wales Gas storage facility 2.8
15 Nantgaw-Wales Gas storage facility 2.9
16 Avonmouth III-Avon Gas storage facility 2.4
17 Isle of Grain-Kent Gas storage facility 3.4
Total 295.7