Hansard

Regional Development Agencies

Volume 704: debated on Thursday 16 October 2008

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Lord Taylor of Holbeach

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Jonathan Shaw, on 7 July (Official Report, Commons, 1202–04W), why the approval rate achieved by the East Midlands Development Agency is lower than for the other agencies. [HL5465]

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)

Defra has devolved responsibility for delivery of elements of the Rural Development Programme for England to the regional development agencies. Each agency has its own procedures for handling applications and therefore, direct comparison between regions is not possible. The East Midlands Development Agency receives individual and collaborative business led applications.

Of the applications listed as received by the East Midlands Development Agency and not approved, some of those were in the process of being appraised and some had been rejected. The projects rejected thus far have not been of a suitable standard or merit to justify public funding through the rural development programme for England.