Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is(a) his predicted expenditure on regional aid in Wales in 1988–89, excluding the Welsh Development Agency and (b) expenditure on regional selective assistance and regional development grant in 1986–87, at constant prices.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe 1988 public expenditure White Paper contained planned provision of £111 million (net of non-EC receipts) for regional aid in Wales in 1988–89. The outturn figure will be very much affected by the number of Welsh firms that take advantage of the opportunity of applying for regional development grant prior to 31 March 1988, because any valid application prior to that date will have two years from approval to take advantage of the grant.
107WThe figure for 1986–87 for regional selective assistance and regional development grant at comparable prices was £128.7 million, but £70.9 million of this was residual payments for the RDG I scheme, which was ended as a result of the review in 1984.
The substantial increase in WDA expenditure plus the increased use of regional selective assistance mean that in total expenditure on regional policy will be enhanced in coming years.