Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the complexity of the rules and requirements for applications under LEADER 5 on the take-up of that scheme.
Answered by George Eustice
All 80 LEADER Local Action Groups have started to invite applications for funding. The total LEADER budget for 2014-20 is £138 million.
Since the LEADER Programme was launched in October 2015, 1,629 outline applications, worth £51.3 million, have been received. 974 projects have been endorsed to go to full application, with a potential value of almost £30 million. 306 full applications have been received seeking £7.7 million and 83 applications have been approved with a value of almost £2.3 million.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for grants under LEADER 5 North Devon Plus have been (a) received and (b) granted in Torridge and North Devon.
Answered by George Eustice
The Torridge and North Devon LEADER Local Action Group (LAG) has a budget of c£2.3 million to fund its contribution to delivering the Rural Development Programme for England for 2014-20.
Torridge and North Devon LAG has received 39 outline applications for grants. 25 of these, seeking a total of £577,353, have been invited to submit a full application, with nine full applications, seeking a total of £248,006, having been received so far.
Three projects have so far been approved for a total value of £50,545.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that the rules and requirements for LEADER 5 do not deter individuals and businesses from pursuing applications under that scheme.
Answered by George Eustice
LEADER funding is delivered through 80 LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs). LAGs can fund a wide range of projects under a broad set of priorities that is consistent across England. From this, LAGs have developed their own local plans to meet local needs.
Defra and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will, with representatives of LAGs, continue to review lessons learned from implementation of the current programme. This includes looking at the potential to simplify and streamline the application process for applicants, LAGs and the RPA.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when it is planned Dartmoor Farmers who farm on common land will receive payments under the Basic Payment Scheme; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
For those Basic Payment Scheme claims with commons, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has faced a particularly difficult challenge as it is necessary to wait until all claimants for a common have had their commons rights validated before the area for each commoner can be established. RPA is working to make the payments for claimants who have not been paid as promptly as possible, including the Dartmoor farmers who farm on Common land.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding the Marine Conservation Zone from Bideford to Foreland Point to include the Greencliff site.
Answered by George Eustice
This extension was proposed in a response to the consultation on the designation of this Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ). Boundary issues were examined where new relevant information or data were presented which had not previously been considered. Natural England analysed evidence submitted with the extension proposal and advised that it would increase the area of intertidal rock and seabed sediment habitats protected, but these were already protected elsewhere within the MCZ, and in the wider network. Any proposed changes to the boundary cannot be made without further consultation with other stakeholders who may be affected by the change.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of trends in the overall size of the under-10 metres fishing fleet in (a) England, (b) the South West of England and (c) Devon.
Answered by George Eustice
The Department publishes details on the structure of the UK fishing fleet, including vessels of 10 metres and under, annually in the UK Sea Fisheries Statistics. Data on the change in number of vessels and engine size from 2010 to 2014 is shown in the table below.
England | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
No. of Vessels | 2569 | 2573 | 2562 | 2602 | 2573 |
Engine power (kW) | 141524 | 141164 | 141855 | 144863 | 144045 |
South West* | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
No. of Vessels | 982 | 994 | 982 | 1004 | 1002 |
Engine power (kW) | 49914 | 49925 | 49262 | 51073 | 51256 |
Devon** | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
No. of Vessels | 438 | 447 | 446 | 473 | 465 |
Engine power (kW) | 27836 | 27835 | 27854 | 29651 | 29289 |
*using the administration ports of Brixham, Newlyn and Plymouth
**using the administration ports of Brixham and Plymouth