Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will support an application to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in respect of job losses in Northern Ireland following the decision of Japanese Tobacco International to close its manufacturing plant in Ballymena.

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) Regulations set out strict criteria and eligibility for potential applicants. It is questionable whether the redundancy situation in this case meets EGF eligibility.

The Department of Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland, through its Redundancy Service, offers tailor-made and wide ranging packages of support measures such as those that would be funded through EGF.

The UK Government wishes to see real budgetary restraint in the EU in order to avoid unaffordable high costs to the UK. Any successful EGF application would count as a receipt to the UK and would therefore lead to a reduction in the abatement.

Pursuing domestic schemes, such as the Northern Ireland Redundancy Service, would therefore represent better value for money.

Nevertheless, if any bid that were to come forward to my Department, met the criteria and represented value for money, it would receive full consideration.