§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of support her Department has given initiatives aimed at encouraging new business diversification in each of the past five years. [71665]
§ Alun MichaelDEFRA provides grants for farmers in England seeking to pursue good diversification projects under the Rural Enterprise Scheme. The scheme was launched in October 2000 as part of the England Rural Development Programme. Grant expenditure on diversification projects amounted to £5.3 million in 2001. The level of activity in 2001 was affected by the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak and is expected to rise to about £7.5 million in 2002.
Support for diversification in earlier years was provided via the Objective 5b Scheme, now closed, which was targeted on six disadvantaged rural areas in England. The scheme encompassed support for a range of measures and disaggregated figures for diversification projects are not available. Total scheme expenditure for the past five years is shown in the following table.
Year Objective 5b expenditure (£ million) 1997 5.7 1998 12.5 1999 15.7 2000 21.7 2001 28.8 In addition, the Farm Business Advice Service was launched in October 2000 to provide farm businesses with a business health check and identify possible future business options, including whether or not to diversify. Expenditure under this initiative amounted to £0.7 million in 2000 and £6.25 million in 2001. From September 2001 the Department has also offered assistance in the form of free planning consultancy advice to farmers who intend to pursue an eligible diversification project through the Rural Enterprise Scheme.