§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total budget of the European Community's support for small and medium-sized enterprises under(a) Eurotech capital, (b) the venture consort scheme, and (c) seed capital funds in each year 357W since their establishment; and what was the total allocation of each to (i) the northern region and (ii) the United Kingdom as a whole.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI have been asked to reply.
Most of the separate annual figures are not readily available, but the information available from the European Commission of the total budgets for these schemes is as follows:
- Eurotech Capital
- Eurotech Capital expenditure by the Commission since the inception of the programme mid-1991 is around 8.5 MECUs (approximately £6.3 million).
Separate figures for expenditure in the nothern region or in the United Kingdom are not available.
The Venture Consort Scheme
The European Commnity spent a total of 10.4 NIECUs —approximately £8 million—on the scheme, which ran from 1985–1993. Of this, 2.1 MECUs—approximately £1.6 million—was spent in the United Kingdom. Separate figures for expenditure in the nothern region are not available.
Seed Capital Funds
Between 1989 and 1992 the Community budget was 4 .381 MECU—approximately £3.3 million. In 1993 the budget was £1.498 MECU—1.1 million—and in 1994 it is 2.16 MECU—£1.6 million.
Separate figures for expenditure in the United Kingdom or the northern region are not available.
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total budget of the European Community scheme to create a network of business and innovation centres in each year since their establishment; and what was the total budget awarded under this scheme to(a) the northern region and (b) the United Kingdom as a whole.
§ Mr McLoughlinI have been asked to reply.
The total European Community budget available for business and innovation centres since the network was established in 1984 is as follows
Year MECU £ million 1984 1.5 0.9 1985 0.8 0.5 1986 2.8 1.9 1987 2.4 1.7 1988 3.9 2.6 1989 6.0 4.1 1990 5.5 3.9 1991 7.9 5.5 1992 7.0 5.1 1993 7.0 5.3 1994 8.0 6.0 Separate figures for expenditure in the northern region or the United Kingdom are not readily available.
Sterling/ECU conversion rates are shown at the average rate prevailing in each calendar year.