HC Deb 21 November 2000 vol 357 cc115-6W
Mr. Breed

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how much money was allocated to the Countryside Agency last year; and how much of this money was spent on(a) transport, (b) community development, (c) planning, (d) social exclusion, (e) economic regeneration and enterprise, (f) access and (g) special areas; [139064]

(2) and the Regions how much of the money allocated to the Countryside Agency for use on rural transport schemes has been spent; [139031]

(3) what proportion of the total budget for the Countryside Agency went to each of its regional offices in the last financial year; [139033]

(4) what the staff costs were of the Countryside Agency in the last financial year. [139032]

Mr. Mullin

The Countryside Agency was allocated £48.735 million last financial year(1999–2000). Programme expenditure was as follows:

£million
(a) Transport 3.579
(b) Community development 5.051
(c) Planning 0.341
(d) Social exclusion 0.263
(e) Economic regeneration and enterprise 0.471
(f) Access 4.692
(g) Special areas 3.758

A further £1.336 million has been spent on rural transport schemes this year, with £2.26 million spent in 1998–99 by the former Rural Development Commission.

The staff costs for the Agency in the last financial year totalled £9.871 million. Of the total budget allocated to regions in the last financial year, expenditure per region in percentage terms was as follows:

Percentage
North East 12
North West 13
Yorkshire and the Humber 12
East Midlands 8
West Midlands 10
East of England 11
South East and London 18
South West 16