§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the costs of administering rural enterprise schemes through(a) his Department and (b) regional development agencies. [131816]
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§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 21 July 2000]: My Department will be running the new Rural Enterprise Scheme as part of the England Rural Development Programme.
The cost of its administration will depend in part upon the level of demand, but in 2001–02, its first full year of operation, we estimate the cost to be £1.375 million; this includes £0.628 million for technical support by the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency. This is additional to the programme cost for the scheme.
The cost of schemes run by the Regional Development Agencies is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.