Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002 of 12 December 2002 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment Text with EEA relevance
Date: 2005-07-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: State aid, United Kingdom, control of State aid, job creation, worker with disabilities

C 184/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

27.7.2005

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission
Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002 of 12 December 2002 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of
the EC Treaty to State aid for employment

(2005/C 184/02)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XE 2/03

— 15 % in the case of small enterprises

Member State: United Kingdom

— 7,5 % in the case of medium-sized enterprises

Region: England, Objective 3 map, Agreed Areas including
Gibraltar: (All of England excluding the Objective 1 areas of
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Merseyside and South York-
shire)

Title of aid scheme: Objective 3 Operational Programme for
England and Gibraltar 2000-06

Legal basis:

— Learning and Skills Act 2000

— Employment Act 1973, Sections 2(1) and 2(2), as substan-
tiated by Section 25 of the Employment and Training Act
1998

Inside assisted (Article 87(3)(c)) areas

— 10 % above the permitted aid ceiling in Article 87(3)(c)

areas, provided that the aid does not exceed 30 %

Article 5 — Recruitment of disabled and disadvantaged workers

(as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002, para-
graph (f)(i) — (xi) and paragraph (g)(i) — (ii))

— 50 % of wage costs over one year

for disadvantaged

workers

— Sections 5 and 6, Regional Development Agencies Act

1998

— 60 % of wage costs over one year for disabled workers

— Section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1993

— Further and Higher Education Act 1992

Article 6 — Additional costs of employment of disabled workers

— Regulations (EC) No 1260/1999 and (EC) No 1784/2000

— costs of employing staff for time spent solely on the assis-

tance of the disabled worker or workers

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: Total
expenditure over a five-year period: GBP 272 689 000

— costs of adapting or acquiring equipment for their use

Annual expenditure

2003: GBP 35 793 000

2004: GBP 76 147 000

2005: GBP 79 288 000

2006: GBP 81 461 000

Maximum aid intensity:

Article 4 — Creation of employment

Permitted gross aid intensities

Outside assisted (Article 87(3)(c)) areas

Additionally, in sheltered employment

— costs of administration and transport which result from the

employment of disabled workers

No single enterprise or establishment will receive aid exceeding
EUR 15 000 000 over a three-year period.

Date of implementation: 1 May 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 30 June 2007

Objective of the aid: The Objective 3 programme is a broad-
based training, employment and development programme
which aims to improve the employability of unemployed
to
people including disadvantaged and disabled workers,
promote lifelong learning for those in and out of employment,
to improve the skills base of the labour market and to reduce
the level of disadvantage faced by women in the labour market.

27.7.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 184/3

Employment aid under this exemption covers those measures
in the programme that provide for the creation of employment
or the recruitment of disadvantaged or disabled workers.

Economic sectors concerned: All sectors except coal, ship-
building and aid for the creation of employment in the trans-
port sector. Aid to export-related activity is excluded.

For example:

Name and address of the granting authority:

— creation of employment through the provision of wage

subsidy schemes;

— programmes that support the recruitment of disadvantaged
or disabled workers, such as specialist training providers;

— job trials (with the condition that the worker or workers
must be entitled to continuous employment for a minimum
of 12 months); and

— supported job placements.

Department for Work and Pensions
ESF Division
Moorfoot
Sheffield S1 4PQ
0114 267 7306

Other information:

Contact:

Steve Briggs
0114 267 7306