§ Mr. SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of his Department's budget is allocated to initiatives which have been undertaken to secure private finance for his Department's projects. [22794]
§ Sir John WheelerAlmost 1 per cent. of the total budget of Northern Ireland departments and the Northern Ireland Office is directly allocated to initiatives which have been undertaken to secure private finance for projects. Other expenditure will be incurred in the consideration of private financial potential, but is an integral part of project appraisals and is not recorded separately. In addition, some expenditure will be incurred by agent bodies in the Health and Personal Social Services and Education and Library boards, but this information is not collected centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.