HC Deb 13 January 1997 vol 288 cc59-60W
Rev. Ian Paisley

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was Northern Ireland's share of the United Kingdom's payments into the European Economic Community from 1 January 1973 to date; and what was Northern Ireland's share of receipts for the same period. [10812]

Sir John Wheeler

It is not possible to determine Northern Ireland's actual share of the United Kingdom's contribution to the European Community because payments are made on a national and not a regional basis. Similarly it is not possible to identify the full extend of receipts from the Community. However, a Northern Ireland attributed share of the contribution to the EC is calculated as an accounting mechanism because of the operation of a separate Northern Ireland consolidated fund. This notional attributed share does not count as an item of expenditure within the Northern Ireland public expenditure programme and has therefore no bearing on the level of public expenditure in the Province.

Figures for the notional attribution of part of the Northern Ireland's share of the United Kingdom's payments and for those areas where the receipts from the European Community's structural funds can be separately identified are as follows:

£ million
Financial year Attributed share (part) 1 Identified receipts
1973–74 1 0
1974–75 6 4
1975–76 8 4
1976–77 13 16
1977–78 16 14
1978–79 24 19
1979–80 28 31
1980–81 28 44
1981–82 50 41
1982–83 66 53
1983–84 66 51
1984–85 68 58
1985–86 74 44
1986–87 62 77
1987–88 91 111
1988–89 85 96
1989–90 104 95
1990–91 107 110
1991–92 78 132
1992–93 121 158
1993–94 2171 186
1994–95 2173 155
1995–96 2 146
Total 1,647 1,645
1 This comprises total identified EC structural funds receipts and, from 1994–95, financial instrument for fisheries guidance receipts in Northern Ireland. Receipts under the guarantee section are disbursed centrally by the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce and are, therefore, not included in the above figures.
2 Attributed share figures for the last three years are provisional estimates which will be revised when final details of NI's attributed share of tax revenues is determined.