§ Mr. Wareingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the future of the Merseyside innovation centre; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TraceyI have received no representations about Merseyside innovation centre other than the letter from the hon. Member dated 4 February 1986.
The centre is a project with a scope beyond the Liverpool city council area. As such it is classed as a county-wide scheme and would be appropriate for consideration for funding under section 48 of the Local Government Act 1985, but the Merseyside district authorities have so far failed to agree upon the arrangements for establishing such a scheme.
Liverpool city council and Sefton MBC have submitted bids of £50,267 and £10,400 respectively under the transitional funding arrangements. These are currently being considered by my Department. The Merseyside 403W innovation centre is also seeking other sources of future funding, and early discussions have been arranged with the EEC to look into possible funding through the European business network programme.