§ Ms BuckTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether steps are being taken in the context of the review of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and Structural Funds to move towards a fairer funding distribution between urban and rural and agricultural interests. [73994]
§ Mr. MorleyCommon Agricultural Policy payments are made to producers and exporters on the basis of set eligibility criteria, regardless of whether they are from urban or rural areas. There are many traders in urban areas who receive CAP export subsidies. But by definition, the majority of recipients of direct production subsidy payments are from rural areas. Structural Funds are distributed on the basis of need: in the case of Objective 1 the criterion is an area whose population earns less than 75 per cent. of the EU average income. This applies equally between urban and rural areas.