§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many bids have been successfully made for objective 1 status funding in Merseyside; and how many relate to(a) the Wirral and (b) the Liverpool side of the river. [10458]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordA total of 1,521 bids have so far received approval under the objective 1 process. Of these some 300 are based in or being delivered directly in the Wirral. A further 178 training projects involve some beneficiaries from the Wirral and a further 30 business support and technology transfer projects will benefit companies across Merseyside. This leaves 1,013 projects based in or directly aimed at residents of the other four Merseyside districts.