§ Lord Bleaseasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will update the information on the United Kingdom subvention to Northern Ireland published on 7th July 1987 (Official Report, vol. 488; col. 595).
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Lyell)The revised figures for the subvention from the United Kingdom to Northern Ireland for 1986–87 and the provisional figures for 1987–88 are as follows:—
1046WA
£ million 1986–87 Outturn £ million 1987–88 Provisional Outturn Grant in aid under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 845 855 Expenditure by Northern Ireland Office 480 544 Expenditure by Northern Ireland Court Service 14 15 Expenditure by Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food 79 —* Contribution from the Great Britain National Insurance Fund 175 155 Total Subvention 1,593 1,569 *Before 1987–88 expenditure by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food on certain national subsidies payable to Northern Ireland farmers was identified separately as part of the subvention. From 1st April 1987 the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland assumed responsibility for this expenditure which is now charged to the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund. The subvention total is not affected by this change. The absence of the subsidies as a discrete item in the subvention table is counterbalanced by the additional charge on the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund, which in turn tends to increase the amount of grant in aid required in order to balance the receipts and payments of the Fund. The revised figures for the additional information listed in the previous Written Answer are as follows:—
The extra cost of the Army's task in Northern Ireland 144 168 Northern Ireland Departmental Receipts from European Social Fund 53 58 Northern Ireland Departmental Receipts from the European Regional Development Fund 24 46 Receipts from the guidance section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund 9 10 Urban Renewal Regulation Nil 5 Refunds of VAT 33 31