Written question asked by Lindsay Hoyle (Labour) on Thursday, 18 January 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 1 February 2001. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Thursday, 1 February 2001 on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Question: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, What steps he is taking to help farm businesses seeking to diversify. - Including figures and ref to Our Countryside: the future Com 4909. (Failed OPQ).

Answer: Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to help farm businesses seeking to diversify. [146795] Mr. Morley: The England Rural Development Programme supports farm diversification through the £152 million Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES), Processing and Marketing Grants, the Vocational Training Scheme and tree-planting schemes. MAFF is producing a free guide on farm diversification and aims to make available free planning advice to RES applicants for farm diversification. The Rural White Paper contains a number of extra initiatives on planning to help diversification and we have consulted on providing time-limited rate relief for farmers wishing to diversify into non-farming activities.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 146795; 362 c292W
Session: 2000-01
Question not reached: Yes
Subjects: Farms Grants Regional planning and development Subsidies Tree planting Diversification Rural development programme
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk