§ Charlotte AtkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what sources of(a) Government and (b) EU funding are available to (i) farmers, (ii) rural villages, (iii) rural businesses, (iv) local authorities, (v) parish councils and (vi) rural voluntary organisations to help regenerate rural economies. [27257]
§ Alun MichaelMany Government and European Union programmes contribute to the rural agenda.
Through the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and the Countryside Agency we support the market towns programme which is intended to regenerate some 120 small rural towns as well as a range of support measures to rural businesses via the rural development programme and redundant building grant scheme.
Through the Countryside Agency we support the Vital Villages programme which includes community service grants to support projects to maintain or introduce services which are local priorities; parish transport grants for small scale projects to meet local needs; parish plans grants to help 1,000 parishes draw up their own town or village plans to set out local needs and aspirations.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for the following programmes which involve funding from the Government and from the European Community:
The England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) under which the two main priority areas for funding are schemes to conserve and enhance the rural environment and schemes to enable farming, forestry and other rural businesses and communities to adapt to changing circumstances and to create a productive and sustainable rural economy.Objective 1 funding in certain areas (Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Merseyside and South Yorkshire) to promote similar measures to the ERDP. Because these areas are defined by the Commission as being of greater need, the rates of grant are slightly higher.Leader+ Local Action Groups (which include farmers, rural villages, rural businesses, local authorities, parish councils and voluntary organisations) are helping to improve the quality of life and economic prosperity in their area through innovative approaches to sustainable rural development.A more extensive list of potential sources of funding and advice for rural businesses can be found in Annex 1 of the Rural White Paper, "Our Countryside: the future, a fair deal for rural England" published in November 2000. A report on our progress on implementation of the Rural White Paper was included in "England's Rural Future", published on 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 920W.