Written question asked by David Laws (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 20 June 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 27 June 2006. It was answered by Barry Gardiner (Labour) on Tuesday, 27 June 2006 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Rural Enterprise Scheme

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what grants for rural businesses will be administered by the regional development agencies from 2007; what details have been made available on these schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: RDAs will be responsible for delivering the socio-economic elements of the new Rural Development Programme for England from January 2007. Priorities for this European co-funded programme are still being established, taking into consideration the results of a public consultation which ended on 22 May 2006.RDAs already provide support to both urban and rural businesses, through a range of initiatives within their regions, funded through the RDA single programme. As priorities and activities are determined regionally, initiatives vary between regions. Details of this support is available from each RDA.

Secondary information