§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of payments from the European social fund has been made to the United Kingdom in each year since the fund was established.
§ Mr. GummerThe European social fund supports training and recruitment in the United Kingdom by making grants towards the running costs of schemes eligible under its rules. The proportion of the social fund budget devoted to schemes in the United Kingdom on each year since cur accession to the Community, when we first became eligible for such payments is as follows.
per cent. 1973 28.2 1974 22.0 1975 24.8 1976 19.6 1977 26.1 1978 19.7 1979 25.4 1980 23.3 1981 24.9 1982 29.0 1983 29.3 The United Kingdom has been a major beneficiary from the social fund in recent years and the fund continues to make a significant contribution to the level of training in this country.
§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the European Community budget was devoted to the social fund in each year since it was created.
§ Mr. GummerI shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.