§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the take-up of the Access Improvement Grant Scheme by local authorities has been; what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Scheme in meeting its stated objectives; and what will become of the Scheme as a result of Rural Strategy 2004. [186987]
§ Alun MichaelTake-up of the Access Management Grant Scheme has been very good. 24 access authorities, covering 96 per cent. of mapped access land in mapping areas 1 to 5, have bid for funding to support their preparatory planning work. Five local authorities have, so far, submitted bids for infrastructure work. Most authorities are still at the planning and consultation stage and we expect them to submit infrastructure bids during the autumn.
The Scheme has been running for five months and it is therefore too early to assess how well it will meet all the objectives set for its first year. The Countryside Agency has reported on progress in the first three months, during which period the Scheme has proved successful and popular with local authorities. The Agency will be carrying out a more detailed assessment of the Scheme's overall performance in October. This will inform decisions on the level of funding and priorities for next year.
I have extended funding for a further two years, to provide the necessary support to enable local authorities to complete access planning and on-site infrastructure work by March 2007.
This work is an important early step in delivering the Rural Strategy 2004 objective of making the countryside more accessible for all. As the scheme currently runs only until March 2007, it will not be incorporated into the streamlined funding arrangements announced in the Strategy, which we plan to complete by March 2007. If a requirement for funding is identified beyond March 2007, we will review how best to meet it within the context of the new arrangements.