HC Deb 25 October 2000 vol 355 cc142-3W
Mr. Yeo

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will publish the reasons he selected his Department's regional service centres in(a) Worcester, (b) Cambridge, (c) Bristol, (d) Nottingham and (e) Crewe for closure; [134095]

(2) what assessment he has made of the result of his plans to reorganise his Department with special reference to the areas (a) east of Exeter and (b) south of Northallerton. [134096]

Mr. Nick Brown

I announced on 24 July 2000,Official Report, columns 472–74W, the sites that will make up the new CAP Payments Agency (CAPPA). This decision was particularly difficult. All the existing Intervention Board and MAFF Regional Service Centres were carefully considered as possible locations for the new Agency.

A detailed analysis of financial issues did not produce clear conclusions on which sites should be selected: in most cases, the choice of one site over another had a very limited impact on the overall funding for the programme. A number of non-financial criteria were therefore taken into account, specifically:

the potential impact of office closures on the local economy;the local employment situation and the way that this affects our ability to recruit and retain staff; andbusiness continuity factors.

I am satisfied that the final decision on CAPPA sites offers the best balance between the structure of CAPPA, cost and maintaining business continuity during the transition period. CAPPA processing centres will handle claims from all parts of the country, not just their own local area.

At the same time as announcing these changes, I also announced my plans to strengthen MAFF's regional strategic and policy activities through greater integration with the Government Office for the Regions and the establishment of a largely regionally based service organisation for the delivery of rural development policies and programmes. MAFF will retain a presence in Worcester, Cambridge, Bristol, Nottingham and Crewe to handle work on the England Rural Development Programme, as well as maintaining its presence in the GO Regions which have CAPPA sites. I am convinced that strengthening MAFF's regional presence in this way will benefit agriculture and the wider rural economy.