HC Deb 08 December 1992 vol 215 cc599-602W
Rev. Ian Paisley

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been received by Northern Ireland under each of the European Community initiatives to date; and how much of the money received in each financial year up to 31 December 1991 from EC sources has been paid into the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund.

Mr. Mates

Under the current structural funds allocation, Northern Ireland has nine approved Community initiatives. Of these initiatives, four were not approved until December 1991 and three until February 1992. The amounts received in Northern Ireland up to 31 December 1991 under the two remaining initiatives, Interreg and Envireg, were £4.67 million and £1.51 million respectively. The total forecast amounts received under each initiative up to 31 December 1992 are:

Forecast receipts to 31 December 1992
Initiative £ million
Interreg (assistance to border areas) 13.10
Stride (research and technological development) 3.75
Envireg (environmental improvement) 1.94
Prisma (assistance to firms) 0.80
Telematique (promotion of telecommunications service) 1.65
Euroform (qualifications for women) 0.32
NOW (employment opportunities for women) 0.35
Horizon (handicapped and certain disadvantaged groups) 0.18
Leader (rural development) 0.26

All money received from EC sources is paid into the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund.

Rev. Ian Paisley

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the receipts which Northern Ireland has received from the European regional development fund since 1973 has been earned by(a) infrastructure projects undertaken by non-central government bodies, (b) infrastructure projects undertaken by central Government and (c) industrial projects.

Mr. Mates

The following amounts have been received from the European regional development fund to 31 December 1991:

Infrastructure £ million
Non-central Government 120.5
Central Government 78.3
Industry 91.8
Programmes1 97.3
Total2 387.9
1 These programmes combine elements of both industry and infrastructure.
2 Includes estimated receipts for the first nine months of the 1991–92 financial year.

Rev. Ian Paisley

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the receipts which Northern Ireland has received from the European regional development fund since 1973 has been earned by(a) the private sector, (b) non-central government public sector bodies and (c) central Government.

Mr. Mates

The following amounts have been received from the European regional development fund to 31 December 1991:

£ million
Private Sector 30.9
Non-central Government Public Sector Bodies 174.6
Central Government 182.4
Total 387.9

Rev. Ian Paisley

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was Northern Ireland's share of the United Kingdom's payments into the European Economic Community from 1 January 1973 to 31 December 1991; how much was Northern Ireland's share of the receipts for the same period; and how much of those receipts was used to offset Government expenditure on Northern Ireland.

Mr. Mates

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 is calculated as an accounting mechanism necessary because of the operation of a separate Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund. This notional 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 from the European Community's structural funds can be separately identified are as follows:

Financial Year Attributed Share (part) Identified Receipts2
1973–74 1 0
1974–75 6 4
1975–76 8 4
1976–77 13 16
1977–78 16 14
1978–79 24 19
1979–80 28 31
1980–81 28 44
1981–82 50 41
1982–83 66 53
1983–84 66 51
1984–85 68 58
1985–86 74 44
1986–87 62 77
1987–88 91 111
1988–89 85 96
1989–90 104 95
1990–91 1126 110
1991–92 1100 132
Total 1,016 1,000
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 This comprises total identified EC structural funds receipts in Northern Ireland.

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.

Rev. Ian Paisley

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money Northern Ireland has received in each financial year up to 31 December 1991 from the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund, guidance section; how much of those receipts were paid to the private sector and how much to the public sector; how much of these receipts represented a cash addition to the Northern Ireland economy; and how much was used each year to offset Government expenditure on Northern Ireland.

Mr. Mates

The following amounts were received from the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund, guidance section:

£ million
Individual capital projects Other guidance schemes
Financial year Private sector Public sector1 Private sector2 Public sector Total
1974–75 0.25 0.25
1975–76 0.45 0.21 0.66
1976–77 1.87 0.31 0.27 2.45
1977–78 1.28 0.31 1.28 2.87
1978–79 0.70 0.24 2.46 3.40
1979–80 1.27 0.20 3.21 4.68
1980–81 1.91 1.05 3.35 6.31
1981–82 1.43 0.13 4.69 6.25
1982–83 2.47 0.99 3.30 6.76
1983–84 1.59 0.38 14.65 16.61
1984–85 0.95 0.28 13.29 14.52
1985–86 3.56 0.03 11.83 15.42
1986–87 2.58 0.11 5.96 8.65
1987–88 3.29 5.99 9.28
1988–89 2.31 0.51 10.05 12.87

Individual capital projects Other guidance schemes
Financial year Private sector Public sector1 Private sector2 Public sector Total
1989–90 2.84 6.60 9.44
1990–91 3.35 6.25 9.60
41991–92 0.43 13.62 3.06 317.11
Total 32.28 4.54 107.26 3.06 147.13
1 Includes the Milk Marketing Board, which is not financed from public funds although it is a statutory body.
2 Includes reference to the approximate share in Northern Ireland on various structural schemes which were applied throughout the United Kingdom.
3 Provisional outturn to December 1991.
4 To December 1991.

All these receipts present 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 decision on public expenditure allocations and their availability enables public expenditure to be maintained at a higher level than would otherwise be feasible.