§ Ms Estelle MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has established the cause of the delay experienced by applicants for European regional development fund grants in the west midlands; and what measures he will take to promote greater efficiency in the handling of applications for the 1997–99 programmes. [24179]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordIn the west midlands objective 2 programme, a competitive entry of over 800 initial applications lead to a lengthy short-listing process. The requirement to secure additional information on the 240 full applications subsequently received then resulted in the process overall taking longer than anticipated.
Greater efficiency in the handling of applications in the 1997–99 programme will be achieved by more rigorous selection of only high-quality projects at the initial stage for subsequent detailed appraisal.