§ Lord Inglewoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they agree with the European Commission that KONVER funds should be made available, regardless of Objective 2 designation, to areas most affected by problems facing the defence industries, and whether they will support the Commission's proposals to effect the necessary changes in the regulations of the structural funds to enable this year's money to be spent in this manner.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Baroness Denton of Wakefield)The Government indeed intend that some grants from the KONVER scheme should be available to certain areas of the UK which are not designated for Objective 1, 2 or 5(b) but are seriously affected by problems facing defence industries. In addition it was agreed at the Foreign Affairs Council on 2nd July, subject to an Irish reservation, to amend the regulations to enable some such areas to have limited access to ERDF funding.