91996E1637

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1637/96 by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission (24 June 1996)

Subject: Urban community initiative programme

When does the Commissioner expect the UK Urban programmes to start and what impact will a late start have on the performance of the programme and on the take-up of funding?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (5 July 1996)

The approval of the Urban programmes for Great Britain is dependent upon agreement being reached with the United Kingdom authorities about administrative arrangements for their implementation. The Commission hopes that such an agreement will be reached soon.

The late start to these programmes - which has been due to a number of factors - should not have a major impact on their performance or on the take-up of funding. The reasons for this are twofold.

Firstly, the Urban programming period runs until the end of 1999, and allows spending of European structural funds until the end of 2001. The Commission foresees that funding will be fully taken up by this date, provided that, as usual, matching funding is available from the programme partners.

Secondly,the Commission believes that people living in the target areas should have a real stake in the development of local Urban plans. This process and the resulting capacity building within the target communities will have a beneficial influence on programme performance.