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We are aware of no such funds. The Commission has proposed an additional 32 million euros across the Community for an emergency scrapping fund, but this has not been approved by the Council and the European Parliament.

The provisions made under Council Regulation (EC) No. 2341/2002 will remain in force until 31 December 2003 unless amended or replaced by other measures. We await proposals from the Commission both on amendments to Annex XVII of the Regulation (days at sea controls) and on a longer term plan for cod recovery.

The Scottish Executive, in partnership with other bodies such as the Programme Management Executives, the enterprise networks, local authorities and voluntary organisations, seeks to take full advantage of the various sources of funding from European institutions, as set out in the answer given to question S1W-34834 today. All these stakeholders are actively engaged in ensuring funding streams are fully utilised and work co-operatively to achieve this end. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with Shell about a wide range of matters, and was aware that the company was considering changes to its offshore operations. The restructuring decision was one for the company itself to take.

The information requested is set out in the following table. In compiling the data, "enforcement" has been taken to mean spending by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. A detailed breakdown of figures on "sea fisheries" is not readily available: data will include some expenditure which may not be related to that. To allow proper year-on-year comparisons, all numbers are on a cash basis.

	2003-04Budget(£ Million)	2004-05Plans(£ Million)
Enforcement	13.4(14.3%)	14.2(32.5%)
Decommissioning and Transitional Aid	50.0*(53.4%)	Nil
Fisheries Research Services	16.9(18.1%)	16.4(37.5%)
Other	13.3(14.2%)	13.1(30%)
Total	93.6	43.7

Note:*The 2003-04 Budget presented to the Parliament makes no provision for this spending, which will be made during 2003-04 in a Revised Budget, but the planned spending on the schemes is included here for completeness.

Details are set out in the following table. In compiling the data, "enforcement" has been taken to mean spending by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. A detailed breakdown of figures on "sea fisheries" is not readily available: data will include some expenditure which may not be related to that. To allow proper year-on-year comparisons, all numbers are on a cash basis.

	1999-2000 Outturn(£ Million)	2000-01Outturn(£ Million)	2001-02Outturn(£ Million)	2002-03 Spring Budget(£ Million)
Enforcement	12.8(38.7%)	13.4(42.3%)	15.0(37.7%)	18.5(26.8%)
Decommissioning	Nil	Nil	3.7(9.3%)	21.2(30.7%)
Fisheries Research Services	13.4(40.5%)	15.0(47.3%)	15.8(39.7%)	16.5(23.9%)
Other	6.9(20.8%)	3.3(10.4%)	5.3(13.3%)	12.9(18.6%)
Total	33.1	31.7	39.8	69.1

The extent of take up of European Structural Funds by other UK regions is a matter for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department for Trade and Industry and the European Commission. Take-up by other member states is a matter for the European Commission. The Commission monitors progress and reports to member states through the Committee for the Development and Conversion of the Regions, which is attended by Scottish Executive officials.Take-up is measured by the so-called "N+2" regulation, under which money has to be spent within two years of allocation by the Commission. So far as the 1994-99 programmes are concerned, where project activity finished at the end of 2001, final reports will be considered by the Commission over the coming months. For the 2000-06 programmes, the first test of take-up was at the end of last year, where the majority of Objective 1 and Objective 3 Programmes had to report financial performance against allocations. Again, the information is currently being considered by the Commission.

The Scottish Executive makes no direct contribution to match funding at project level. Match funding for European Structural Funded projects is provided by the individual project sponsors, the funding for many of whom comes directly from the Scottish Executive either in whole or in part. This ensures local commitment to local priorities, accountability and value for money.

None. Decommissioned vessels are no longer active in the fishery.

There are four Structural Funds available in Scotland:The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) primarily supports productive investment, infrastructure and SME development. The Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF-Guidance section) supports measures for the adjustment of agricultural structures and rural development. The European Social Fund (ESF) supports measures to promote employment (education systems, vocational training and recruitment aids). The Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) supports measures for the adjustment of structures in this sector, and the "accompanying measures" of the common fisheries policy. These are made available through geographically defined programmes - the Highlands and Islands Special Transitional Programme, the three Objective 2 programmes (East, West and South of Scotland) and Objective 3 which supports training activities outwith the Highlands and Islands area.In addition to these there are four community initiatives, which are worth around 5% of the 2000-06 Structural Fund budget and are pilot projects/test beds for activity which, if effective is then mainstreamed into the larger funds:Interreg III: Cross-border, transnational and interregional co-operation.Urban II: Regeneration of urban areas in crisis. (Port Glasgow and Clydebank South)LEADER+ : Rural development through innovative local projects.EQUAL : Combating discrimination and inequalities in connection with the labour market.