§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what are the locations of the offices of the Wales Euro Info centre; and whether he has plans to establish additional such offices;
(2) if he will make a statement on the objectives of the Wales Euro Info centre;
(3) if he will make a statement on the funding of the Wales Euro Info centre, giving the financial contribution of (a) the European Commission, (b) the Welsh Development Agency, (c) local authorities and (d) other bodies.
§ Mr. David HuntThe Wales Euro Info centre is part of an EC-wide service which aims to help small and medium-sized businesses by providing a one-stop shop for information about the European Community. It will enable Welsh businesses to be well informed about such matters as EC directives, grants and tendering opportunities. The centre will also provide a means to inform the European Commission about the needs of Welsh business.
The Wales centre is operated by WEIC Ltd., a consortium consisting of the Welsh Development Agency, Clwyd county council and the university of Wales college of Cardiff. The European Commission will provide 50,000 ecu (£35,000) in the first year and 20,000 ecu in each of the next two years. The Welsh Development Agency will contribute £65,000 in the first year, with the other two partners contributing library and accommodation facilities. The budgets for succeeding years have yet to be 697W determined, although it is expected that an increasing proportion of income will come from charges for services. The Wales centre has offices in Cardiff and Mold. I understand that there are no present plans to open additional offices, but the position will be kept under review.