§ Mr. AltonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how much European regional development fund funding has been allocated to Merseyside since it acquired objective 1 status; what percentage has so far been spent; and if he will make a statement. [15545]
Mr. John M. TaylorUnder the Merseyside objective 1 programme, the amount of European regional development fund allocated for 1994 and 1995 is £104 million. The amount of ERDF claims paid to date is £13.6 million.
The first ERDF projects under objective 1 were approved in late 1994. Given this, and the lead time for large capital projects, the profile of grant payments was expected to be low for the early part of the programme. One hundred and forty-one projects now have full approval to spend and claim grant, and recipients are being encouraged to take them forward promptly.