Vital Villages

HL Deb 06 May 2004 vol 660 cc135-6WA

Baroness Byford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the Vital Villages programme will be maintained, even though funding has been withdrawn from it. [HL2495]

Lord Whitty

Although the Countryside Agency has announced the closure of the grant schemes to new applicants, the agency will meet all existing grant commitments under the Vital Villages programme. The grant in aid budget for the Countryside Agency for 2004–05 compares with a growth from £49.0 million in 1999–2000, £52.6 million in 2000–01, £90.8 million in 2001–02, £98.7 million in 2002–03 and a planned £100.0 million in 2003–04. Work is under way on how we can share the lessons learnt from the programme with regional and local delivery bodies to target support for rural communities that need help through mainstream programmes.