§ Mr. Fallonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the working of the public expenditure territorial block formula for Northern Ireland will be revised to take account of moneys pledged by the United States Government for future financial years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacGregorNo. The United States authorities have announced contributions to the international fund for Ireland which the United Kingdom and Irish Governments have agreed to establish. The fund will be used to stimulate private investment and enterprise, to supplement public programmes and to encourage voluntary efforts. These contributions will not affect the working of the formula used in the public expenditure survey to calculate changes to the Northern Ireland public expenditure block budget.