Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what public funding has been agreed for the proposed British-Irish parliamentary group under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
§ Mr. LawsonThe British group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union will receive in 1989–90 a grant in aid of £1,575,000. This is substantially higher than the normal annual grant, as the Estimate included provision for the costs of the recent centenary conference which was hosted by the British group in London.
It is hoped that the cost in 1989–90 of creating the proposed British-Irish inter-parliamentary body can be met from sums available within this grant. Funding in future years is presently being discussed in the context of the public expenditure survey.