§ Mr. SwireTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has undertaken of the impact of the Department and Business Link on agricultural consultants in the private sector. [125399]
§ Alun MichaelNone.
§ Mr. SwireTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the British Institute of Agricultural Consultants about the work of the Department and Business Link. [125400]
§ Alun MichaelI attended the Institute's annual lunch last year. I accepted a subsequent offer to me from the Chief Executive of the British Institute of Agricultural Consultants to assist with our work in developing a business support framework for rural areas and Defra officials are discussing this further with the Institute on my behalf.
§ Mr. SwireTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department has spent in each of the past five years supporting the work of(a) Business Link and (b) the Farm Business Advice Service; and how many farmers have been advised in the past five years by the Department and Business Link. [125403]
§ Alun MichaelThe following table sets out expenditure and delivery figures for the Farm Business Advice Service since it began in October 2000.
Number of requests Number of initial visits Number of action plans Expenditure (£ million) 2000–01 4,120 885 6,352 4.1 2001–02 2,393 2,214 2,101 6.85 2002–03 4,067 3,237 3,058 6.76 2003–041 1,085 604 339 0.1 Total 11,665 6,940 11,850 17.81 1First two months of delivery
§ Mr. SwireTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the procedures for the screening of applicants to become Business Link advisers with the Farm Business Advice Service. [125432]
§ Alun MichaelThe Farm Business Advice Service is managed by the Small Business Service (an agency of the DTI) and delivered through a network of Business Link advisers. The Service has adopted the Standards of Professional Competence for Business Link Advisory and Information Services. The Small Business Service intends to enhance the Standards of Professional Competence during 2003–04. Defra's Learning, Skills and Knowledge Programme involves a review of the accreditation requirements for publicly funded advisers, following a recommendation by the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food.
148W
SwireTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many(a) individuals and (b) firms are registered as Business Link advisers with the Farm Business Advice Service. [125433]
§ Alun MichaelAcross England a total of 522 advisers are contracted to deliver the Farm Business Advice Service. Of these, 43 are contracted directly to a Business Link, 79 are self-employed and 387 are sub-contracted and some of these are employed by agricultural consultancies. The recruitment of advisers is managed directly by Business Link organisations.