§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the Leader project; how much funding from European Community resources is available for the United Kingdom, and in which financial years; to what extent matching funding from Her Majesty's Government are required; and which areas of England qualified to receive Leader funding. [8066]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordThe purpose of the Leader II initiative is to permit those engaged in the rural economy to implement measures which will help develop their own potential within an overall policy for stimulating rural development.
The United Kingdom has been allocated £62.64 million up to the end of 1999. Leader II will pay up to 50 per cent. of the eligible costs of a project. The remaining match funding must be found by the applicant, and may come from the Government and other public and private sector sources. The initiative is targeted at objective 5b areas and those eligible in England are parts of the northern uplands, midlands uplands, Lincolnshire, East Anglia, the south-west and the west midlands marches.