§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many(a) successful and (b) unsuccessful attempts have been made in the last four years by United Kingdom organisations to obtain funds from the EU's Pesca scheme; and what funds have been allocated to the United Kingdom under this scheme. [12352]
§ Mr. BaldryThe Pesca scheme was launched in 1996. To date, there have been 71 applications for Pesca funding in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, of which four projects have been approved and six have been rejected. Decisions on the remaining applications will be taken early in the year.
Similar information is not available for Scotland as the Scottish Office does not hold a list of projects submitted under Pesca. Pesca is delivered in eligible areas in Scotland through local Pesca groups. The Scottish Office will collate detailed annual reports from the LPGs for transmission to the European Commission in June 1997.
Some 43 mecu—£36 million—has been allocated to the UK Pesca fishing dependent areas and this funding is due to be committed between 1996 and 1999.