§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been(a) applied for and (b) spent through the LEADER + Programme by area in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date. [78401]
§ Alun MichaelLEADER + is an EU programme which is part funded by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. Funding is allocated by calendar year. English LEADER + local action groups have been allocated the following funding for their development plans, grouped by region:
Region 2002 2003 EU (£) DEFRA (£) EU (£) DEFRA (£) North West 596,479 258,579 1,007,033 480,777 North East 273,912 78,579 551,815 126,802 Yorkshire and the Humber 304,481 142,820 648,359 316,965 West Midlands 129,311 66,004 191,694 91,059 East Midlands 214,948 102,975 623,928 272,488 East 306,181 58,612 450,071 89,838 South West 618,097 305,384 1,139,343 568,422 South East 499,020 125,345 1,396,003 427,227 Total 2,942 1,138,298 6,008,346 2,373,578 We do not yet have any figures on expenditure by local action groups as they are currently putting together their first grant claims. These will cover the period 7 January 2002 (when the successful local action groups were announced) to 31 September 2002.