§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on how new grant schemes for harbours, port facilities and fish marketing and processing will be available for projects at Lowestoft; how much money is potentially available for Lowestoft; and what advice his officials are giving to industry representatives at Lowestoft. [8383]
§ Mr. BaldryLowestoft has been designated as a fishery dependent area eligible for aid under the EU PESCA initiative, for which applications will shortly be invited. Appropriate projects in Lowestoft will also be eligible for grant aid for marketing and processing and port facilities under the EU's financial instrument for fisheries guidance, which will also be open to applications in the UK in the next few weeks, Aid under the existing national harbour grant scheme is already available.
All these schemes are competitive and each project will be considered on its merits before funds can be allocated. Officials are already in touch with industry representatives in Lowestoft and will be giving further advice when new schemes are launched.