Information communicated by Member States regarding state aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid

(2004/C 70/05)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XT 7/03

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: Northern Ireland

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Challenge programmes for farmers and growers

Legal basis: - Agriculture Act 1949

- Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1970

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: - 2003/04: GBP 0,20 million

- 2004/05: GBP 0,38 million

- 2005/06: GBP 0,56 million

Total: 1,15 million to train 1300 participants.

No individual recipient will receive more than EUR 1 million.

The average aid per beneficiary amounts to GBP 885

Maximum aid intensity: The actual aid intensity of the programme is 40 %. This matches the maximum allowable aid intensity of 40 % based on

- 35 % for specific training for small and medium-sized enterprises: All trainees come from SMEs as defined in Annex 1 to Regulation (EC) No 68/2001. The training is specific as is principally applicable to the employees' present business.

- 5 % regional aid. Northern Ireland qualifies for regional aid under Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty

Date of implementation: 1 April 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2006

Objective of aid: - To develop and deliver lifelong-learning Challenge programmes to all sectors of the agri-food industry

- To ensure 1300 people have completed or are participating in Challenge programmes by March 2006

- To encourage and enable participants to take informed decisions about the future of their businesses based on objective information.

- The programme will be targeted at farmers, business partners, family members and farm employees in SMEs

- The following number of training places will be provided:

- 2003/04: 200

- 2004/05: 650 (including 100 trainees from 2003/04)

- 2005/06: 1050 (including 250 trainees from 2004/05 and a further 300 will be carried forward into 2006/07)

Total trainees completing or participating in Challenge programmes as at March 2006 = 1300

Economic sector(s) concerned: Agricultural, equine, horticultural and land-based businesses

Name and address of the granting authority: Dr John Speers, Director of Environmental, Food and Central Services, Agri-Food Development Service, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Room 547, Dundonald House, Upper Newtownards Rd, Belfast BT4 3SB, Northern Ireland

Aid No: XT 16/03

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: England

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Investment Readiness

Legal basis: Ss 11 Industrial Development Act 1982

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: The scheme will provide funding to support SMES valued at GBP 1275537 over a one-year period. The funding will support around 1000 SMES which meet the definition in Annex I of the Training Aid Block Exemption Regulation (EC) 68/2001

Maximum aid intensity: The maximum aid intensity will be 70 % of the eligible training costs for general training. It is estimated that no one SME will receive more than GBP 4000 of aid

Date of implementation: September 2002

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Up to December 2003

Objective of aid: Investment Readiness seeks to train SMEs in identifying, and subsequently attracting, private sources of capital support. In particular, it will provide staff in SMEs with an understanding of:

- the various types of financing available,

- which are the most appropriate forms of funding for different projects,

- the most appropriate ways of accessing that finance, including the key information looked for by potential investors,

- how to identify non-finance issues that might need to be resolved before seeking funding,

- practical advice on the preparation of project plans and

- presentation techniques.

Research into the market for risk capital in the UK and elsewhere has identified that there is a weakness in the quality of proposals seeking risk capital - and that a number of those proposals rejected by bankers and venture capitalists contained good basic ideas but were badly presented or were seeking inappropriate support. This project seeks to remedy this weakness in the UK's SME population.

The Small Business Service (SBS), an executive agency of the UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), will run the instrument. About GBP 1,3 million public money will be made available to the project. All SMEs will be expected to contribute a minimum of 30 % of the training costs.

A more detailed summary of the type of assistance to be made available under Investment Readiness and a justification for it being "general" training is attached at Annex A

Economic sector(s) concerned: The Training Aid Block Exemption does not preclude restricted sectors but it is expected that the project will not support SMEs in agriculture or fisheries or SMEs in other sensitive sectors, i.e. motor vehicle, synthetic fibres and transport

Name and address of the granting authority: Small Business Service St Mary's House

C/o Moorfoot

Sheffield S1 4PQ Contact: Ken Cooper Tel. 0114 259 72 78

Aid No: XT 35/03

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: Yorkshire and Humber

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Centre of Vocational Excellence Programme (NG Bailey & Co Ltd)

Legal basis: The Learning and Skills Act 2000

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Not exceeding EUR 1 million (approx. GBP 624000) will be provided to the company over 3 years as follows:

- Year 1: GBP 300000

- Year 2: GBP 150000

- Year 3: GBP 100000

Total: GBP 550000

Maximum aid intensity: NG Bailey & Co Ltd is a large company based in Leeds.

The maximum aid intensity will not exceed 60 % of the eligible costs for general training (50 % permitted for large enterprises plus 10 % for disadvantaged workers as defined in Article 2(g) of the Regulation). Different maximum aid intensities will apply depending on whether or not recipients are actually disadvantaged workers

Date of implementation: 30 June 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 July 2006

Objective of aid: The electrical construction sector has a shortage of labour with the skills required for employment in a high-technology industry. This is a significant barrier to economic growth in England, especially in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Electrical construction includes: electrotechnical engineering, heating and ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration, mechanical engineering and building services.

General training

The objective of this aid is to increase the regional and national pool of labour with the high-level transferable skills necessary to meet the needs of the industry. This will be achieved in two ways: Firstly, by increasing the number of young people entering the industry through modern apprenticeship training and by improving the skills of those who are already working in the industry. (Modern apprenticeships in electrical construction provide more opportunities for young people to enter the labour market and the best possible preparation for achieving skilled and/or technician status within the industry. They also, where appropriate, provide positive progression to higher education or higher-level work.) Secondly, by increasing the number of existing employees in electrical construction companies across the Yorkshire and Humber region who upgrade their existing vocational skills. This will be achieved by expanding NG Bailey's training capacity to upskill its existing employees. The training provided will lead to nationally recognised vocational qualifications that boost productivity and also substantially enhance individual employability across a range of jobs within the electrical construction sector.

The individual aid is being granted to NG Bailey, a company engaged in electrical construction. The "general training" elements of this package will ensure that the recipients of the training programmes receive technology skills enabling them to gain employment in the electrical construction industry and across a range of other industries including electronics, electrical engineering, engineering and building services

Economic sector(s) concerned: Electrical construction

Name and address of the granting authority: Skills for Employment Division Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Level 4, Moorfoot Sheffield S1 4PQ United Kingdom Contact: Keith McMaster

Other information: This aid is approved by the Department for Education and Skills. The Learning and Skills Council is responsible for contracting with the company and for monitoring progress in accordance with state aid rules. It has delegated authority via the Learning and Skills Act 2000

Aid No: XT 42/03

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: England

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Strategy for the wider implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points in catering businesses in the United Kingdom

Legal basis: Food Standards Act 1999

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: GBP 2,9 million

Maximum aid intensity: Project funding for general training will not exceed 70 % for small and medium sized businesses

Date of implementation: 13 October 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: April 2004

Objective of aid: Training supported under this programme will be general training in HACCP based food safety management and will be transferable between firms and economic sectors. The scheme is a pilot scheme, which will be evaluated with the intention of developing a national strategy available to all employers in a future phase, building on the lessons learnt in this pilot.

The training aims to:

- Provide management and workers with clear guidance on how to control the food hazards inherent in a catering business

- Develop a comprehensive food safety management system that is relevant, specific and appropriate for each individual business.

The training will enable businesses to manage food safety risks more effectively resulting in a lower incidence of food-borne disease.

This project aims to identify the most cost-effective approach to implementing food safety management, based on HACCP principles, in catering businesses in the UK.

The Food Standards Agency must prepare UK food businesses for the forthcoming consolidation of EU food hygiene legislation expected in 2005. This legislation will make documented food safety management systems, based on HACCP principles, a legal requirement for all food businesses except primary producers

Economic sector(s) concerned: The small end of the catering sector of UK. This pilot targets small independent catering establishments. In most instances these would be classified as micro businesses

Name and address of the granting authority: Andrew Greaves Food Standards Agency Aviation House

125 Kingsway

London WC2B 6NH Tel. 020 72 76 81 27