The next Rural Development Programme for England 20072013

1
The next Rural Development Programme for England
2007-2013

• Consultation
• Neil Hornby
• Head of Structural Funds Team
• Defra

2
Background and context

• Current England Rural Development Programme ends
  2006
• New Rural Development Regulation
• New policy context

3
EU Rural Development Budget

• EU Council agreement
• 69.75bn
• at least 33.1bn for new Member States
• voluntary modulation
• Still to be decided
• EP final endorsement
• Allocations for old member states
• Allocation of funding for convergence regions
• Details of operation of voluntary modulation

4
The Consultation Four proposed overall
principles

• Support Defra strategic priorities from Strategy
  for Sustainable Farming and Food and Rural
  Strategy 2004.
• Use funding to make a difference meet
  demonstrable need, provide additionality,
  sustainability.
• Maintain commitment to Environmental Stewardship.
• Clear national policy direction coupled with
  regional flexibility

5
The proposed priorities for the next Programme

• Theme One Enhancing the Environment and
  Countryside
• Theme Two Making Agriculture and Forestry more
  competitive and sustainable
• Theme Three Enhancing opportunity in rural
  areas.

6
Developing an integrated Programme regional
implementation

• - Natural England, the Forestry Commission and
  the RDAs.
• - Integrated Regional Implementation Plan for
  each region
• - Leader delivery approach
• - Complementarity with Structural Funds

7
Links between SFs and Rural Development

• ERDF, RDR and European Fisheries Fund can all
  fund similar activities.
• Demarcation required
• Where a measure falling within this section
  targets operations eligible also under another
  Community support instrument, including the
  Structural Funds and the Community support
  instrument for fisheries, the Member State shall
  set in each programme the demarcation criteria
  for the operations supported by the EAFRD and
  those supported by the other Community support
  instrument. (RDR art 60)
• Guiding principles in national strategies
• Administrative coordination

8
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

• No separate rural development Structural Fund in
  new Convergence Programme
• But ringfenced funding with Rural Development
  Programme for England
• Amount unknown likely to be significantly lower
  than at present.
• Regional flexibility but within national
  framework

9
Timetable

• Public consultation launched - 27 February
• Regional Roadshows March/April
• Consultation end - 22 May
• National Strategy Plan submitted July 2006
• National Programme Document summer 06
• Regional Implementation Plan feeds in to
  Programme Document, continues into delivery
• New Programming period begins January 2007