§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many(a) successful and (b) unsuccessful attempts have been made by United Kingdom organisations in the last four years to obtain funds from the EU's (i) Retex, (ii) small and medium enterprises initiative, (iii) Rechar II and (iv) Resider II schemes: and what funds have been allocated to the United Kingdom under each of these schemes. [12343]
§ Mr. Greg KnightThe European Commission's notices for the Community initiatives to which the hon. Member refers were published on 1 July 1994. The notices stated that member states' programmes should be sent to the Commission within four months. Because of the late adoption by the Commission of many of the programmes under these initiatives in the UK and throughout the EU, the first offers of grants were not made until the second half of 1995. The latest figures for project applications from UK local authorities and other bodies for these four initiatives are:
The annual trade fairs bidding competition is a long-established mechanism. In the past, we have helped industry to plan ahead by undertaking to support some large—so called "core"—events for three years. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Mr. Waller) on 17 January, Official Report, columns 392–93.
My intention is to make all support for trade fairs after the current round available through the sector challenge. This also provides industry with the opportunity to submit projects which span a three-year period.