HC Deb 07 June 1988 vol 134 c425W
Sir Richard Body

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether in other parts of the EEC there are assisted areas comparable in nature to the rural development areas in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Atkins

The information available to me relates to systems of national regional aids which attract European Community financial support. These all include some rural areas, as do the assisted areas in Great Britain. I have no readily available information about additional rural areas which may attract some measure of national assistance. This could not be obtained without disproportionate expense and probably some difficulty of exact comparison with British rural development areas.