§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual administration costs of the Rural Enterprise Scheme are. [30647]
§ Margaret BeckettThe Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES) is one of the new grant schemes in the England Rural Development Programme which was launched in October 2000. It is delivered on a regional basis by DEFRA's Rural Development Service (RDS). Expenditure on the development and administration of the scheme in 2001–02 was forecast to be around £2 million. The final outturn figure is likely to be lower because a significant number of RDS staff were diverted temporarily on to foot and mouth disease work.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many bids have been received by the Rural Enterprise Scheme since it began; what(a) the aggregate value of bids, (b) the number of successful bids and (c) their aggregate value was; and if she will make a statement. [30648]
§ Margaret BeckettBetween October 2000, when the Rural Enterprise Scheme was launched, and the end of December 2001, 867 applications were received. The aggregate value of applications (ie grant sought) is some £54 million. Of the total number of applications received, 207 applications have been successful, with an aggregate value of £5.6 million in grant. A further 346 applications are currently being processed.