§ Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the timing of decisions concerning ERDF Objective 2 funding for the North-west for 2000 to 2006. [138649]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe North-west region will receive Structural Fund moneys through a number of channels. The bulk of these will be delivered through the Objective 2 Single Programming Document. This document is still the subject of negotiation between the Government Office for the North-west and the European Commission.
It is difficult to predict the precise time that the negotiations will be completed. The document is then the subject of consideration by the Commission's internal services committee, a process taking about four weeks. It is currently anticipated that the document will be presented to either the January or February committees for approval.