Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the United Kingdom will benefit from the cohesion funds of the Maastricht agreement; what was the gross domestic product per capita in the United Kingdom, expressed in ecus, at 15 September; and what it is now.
§ Mr. LamontThe cohesion fund envisaged in the Maastricht treaty will be a structural fund; and the usual method of calculating relative wealth for these funds is to use purchasing power parities. On that basis the United Kingdom would not qualify for any assistance from the cohesion fund.
The latest forecast of money GDP at market prices for financial year 1992–93 is £619.2 billion, or £10,721 per head. This would be equivalent to 14,810 ecus per head at the exchange rates on 15 September; and 13,191 ecus per head at the exchange rates on 29 October.