§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total amount of structural funds paid by the European Union to Wales in 1997–98; what effect these payments had on rebates payable to the United Kingdom under the provisions of the Fontainebleau Agreement; and what was the total of matching funds from central Government funds in order to secure these structural funds. [40357]
§ Mr. HainThe total amount of structural funds paid by the European Union to Wales in 1997–98 in respect of a wide range of programmes and community initiatives operating in the Principality was £111.4 million. The effect on the UK's rebate is to reduce it by some £73.5 million (66 per cent. of the value of the receipts)—compared, that is, to the position whereby the UK had not had this level of receipt within the same total community spending. Matching funding to secure these funds comes from a wide range of public and private sources and it is not possible to provide a separate figure on those from central government funds, which are not ring fenced for this purpose.