§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the grant given by the South West Development Agency to Business Links to combat the effects of foot and mouth disease in the region is for(a) grants and (b) loans to businesses; and what the deadline for its distribution is. [158588]
§ Mr. MeacherThe £3.5 million package of support announced by the South West Development Agency on 9 April included assistance for Business Links organisations to provide enhanced advice and guidance to businesses. Other RDAs have taken similar measures. To supplement these I announced on 11 April a further £15 million funding package for RDAs to expand existing programmes so as to provide additional short term practical help to business in the worst affected areas and in particular Devon, Cumbria and parts of the north-east and Welsh borders. This additional aid will be split between the RDAs for these areas with the south-west and north-west RDAs each receiving £5 million and the North East and West Midlands RDAs each receiving £2.5 million. This support can be used to provide a wide range of direct and indirect assistance, including grants to help sustain business by supporting marketing, reskilling and other activities, promotional campaigns, and regeneration projects.