§ Mr. StreeterTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the Prince programme funding has been spent in the United Kingdom since the programme's inception; on what it has been spent; what plans he has in respect of further projects; what safeguards he has put in place to prevent its use for promotional purposes; and if he will make a statement. [12343]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonTotal prince spending in the UK in 1996—the first full year of the programme—was around 450,000 ecu. Of this, around 400,000 ecu was spent on Citizens First and 50,000 ecu on information about the Intergovernmental conference.
We are committed to raising the profile of Citizens First in the UK as we fully support its aim of informing people about their rights and opportunities in the EU. We will be helping to publicise the second phase of the programme over the next few months.
We have also applied for funding from Prince to meet half the costs of our "EMU: Information for Business" guide. The guide was produced by HM Treasury to help raise awareness in British business of the practical implications of EMU for their operations whether the UK were to join or not.
We believe that the British people have a right to accurate information about the EU, whether from Government Departments or from the Community institutions.