§ Rev. Ian PaisleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much Northern Ireland's share of448W the United Kingdom's payment into the European Economic Community was from 1 January 1973 to 31 December 1987; how much Northern Ireland's share of the receipts was; how much of these receipts each year represented a cash addition to the Northern Ireland economy; and how much was used to offset Government expenditure on Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Stanley[holding answer 5 May 1988]: It is not possible to determine Northern Ireland's actual share of the United Kingdom's contribution to the European Community because payments are made on a national and not a regional basis. Similarly it is not possible to identify the full extent of receipts from the Community. However, a Northern Ireland attributed share of the contribution to the EC does exist as an accounting mechanism necessary because of the operation of a separate Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund. The attributed share does not count as an item of expenditure within the Northern Ireland public expenditure programme and has therefore no bearing on the level of public expenditure in the Province.
Figures for the notional attribution of part of Northern Ireland's share of the United Kingdom's payments and for those areas where the receipts are identified are as follows:
Financial year Attributed share (part) £ million Identified receipts £ million 1973–74 1.0 — 1974–75 5.6 3.6 1975–76 7.9 3.6 1976–77 12.7 16.0 1977–78 16.0 16.8 1978–79 23.9 23.0 1979–80 28.1 36.5 1980–81 28.2 51.0 1981–82 50.3 47.8 1982–83 65.6 61.4 1983–84 65.6 92.4 1984–85 67.9 93.1 1985–86 74.4 85.9 1986–87 1100.2 87.9 1987–88 1104.7 2141.0 Total 652.1 3760.0 1 Attributed share figures for the last two years are provisional estimates which will be revised when final details of tax revenues are determined. 2 Provisional outturn, which includes EAGGF guarantee section receipts for which the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland assumed accounting responsibility in 1987–88. 3 This comprises total identified EC receipts in Northern Ireland, including those from outside the main EC funds. All receipts represent cash additions to the recipients and are subject to normal European Community audit arrangements.
The overall level of receipts is taken into account in the Government's decisions on public expenditure allocations and their availability enables public expenditure to be maintained at a higher level than would otherwise be feasible.