§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money has been spent through the Single Regeneration Budget in each of the last five years(a) in England as a whole and (b) in rural England. [97238]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe total amount spent in England through the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) since the programme began in 1995–96 is given in the table. It is not possible to break down the national expenditure totals to show how much has been spent on schemes in rural areas. However, under Round 5 of the SRB (the first round in which Regional Development Agencies were involved) more than one billion pounds was awarded to SRB Partnerships over the next seven346W years, of which it is estimated some 7 per cent. will go to wholly rural schemes or the rural parts of mixed area schemes.
Total SRB expenditure: England Year £ million 1995–96 136.4 1996–97 277.5 1997–98 458.8 1998–99 560.0 1999–2000 1714.1 1 Estimated