What are European Structural Funds? continued...

What is the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and what can it support?

ERDF provides investment to create or maintain jobs in the region. It provides assistance:

• for people to start or to grow businesses
• to develop sites and premises for businesses
• for tourism facilities to attract visitors from outside the region.
• to help link businesses to research
• improves facilities in colleges and other places where people learn.
• ERDF can provide up to 50% of the cost of a project.

What is the European Social Fund (ESF) and what can it support?

ESF supports training and learning for people working in the region and people looking for jobs. It is intended in particular to help:

• people who are already in the workforce as well as those who are unemployed
• young job seekers and
• people excluded from the labour market.

It is used to help people cope with changes in the economy and to ensure that businesses can find employees with the right skills for the future. ESF can provide up to 45% of the cost of a project.

How are European Funds Managed?

In each area of Scotland eligible for European Funds, local partnerships like Strathclyde European Partnership consulted with the Scottish Parliament to draw up plans on how to use European Funds in their area during the 2000-06 programme period. These plans were submitted by the Scottish Executive to the European Commission. Following negotiations with the European Commission and the national government, these plans were amended and published as Single Programme Documents (SPDs). These SPDs laid out the aims and objectives of the funds in each region, established priorities under which projects were to be funded and indicated the types and amounts of financial support which were available.