Fisheries: South West
(asked on 22nd October 2018) - View Source
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of spending by the EU fisheries programme in the South West.
Demand for European Maritime and Fisheries Funding (EMFF) has been very high in the South West of England. 663 projects have been approved in the South West, with committed EMFF support totalling £16.6 million. This is compared to 325 projects for the rest of England, where the total committed EMFF support stands at £13.9 million. Therefore 67% of projects are located in the South West - and these receive 54% of the committed EMFF support for the grant scheme. It is clear that there is high local demand from industry and that the South West will gain significant benefits from this funding in terms of ensuring a long-term sustainable future for fisheries.
In the event of no deal being reached, all EMFF projects approved before the closure date of the current programme (December 2020) will be fully funded under a Treasury guarantee. This guarantee applies across the UK. We will continue to support applications for EMFF across the UK, including the South West, until the fund is fully committed.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) makes public all beneficiaries of the grant aid from EMFF through the Transparency Initiative. This data can be obtained from the MMO’s website here: