§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the business recovery scheme to which the unspent funds from the pig industry restructuring scheme was re-allocated. [155497]
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§ Alun MichaelThe widely welcomed Business Recovery Fund (BRF) was set up in May 2001 to help small non-farming rural businesses recover from the effects of the foot and mouth outbreak. Pig farmers were eligible to apply for the BRF, but only if they wished to be helped to diversify from farming. The Fund provided a total of some £74 million for allocation to qualifying businesses. £54 million was new money provided by the Government, and the remainder was provided by Regional Development Agencies, who administered the Fund.