Jul292017

Press release: £200 million boost for rural England

DEFRA

Funding for rural businesses that will generate thousands of jobs and provide new support to expand and improve their premises has been announced as part of a £200million grant offer.

Announcing the latest round of Rural Development Programme funding, Lord Gardiner confirmed that for the first time under the current scheme specific funding will be available to support new rural broadband projects, and provide significant amounts of funding to on-farm businesses to invest in new infrastructure such as new buildings and machinery.

The current Rural Development Programme for England is expected to generate 6,750 new jobs. Already more than 1,400 projects have been agreed which are expected to create over 2,300 jobs.

The grants will also fund landowners to improve farm productivity and invest in rural tourism opportunities.

Rural Affairs Minister Lord Gardiner said:

One in three businesses in this country are based in the countryside, and this government is committed to providing the support they need to create a strong and prosperous rural economy.

This funding will make sure businesses in remote locations can get online, help farmers install cutting-edge technology, create new tourist hotspots and bring high quality jobs to rural communities across the country.

This round of funding will include:

  • £30m to improve rural broadband – the grants available will encourage growth by helping provide broadband services at speeds of 30Mbps or faster where this is not available or planned. It will supplement existing Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport investment in rural broadband.

  • £45m to help rural businesses grow and invest in new equipment – rural businesses, including those engaged in tourism and food production, can apply for funding to invest in their company, helping them to expand, diversify, and invest in new technology.

  • £120m for projects that improve farm productivity – this money will help farmers, foresters and landowners manage their land more effectively. Funding will be available for a wide range of purposes, including woodland management equipment, creating on-farm reservoirs and using water more efficiently.

Lord Gardiner made the announcement during a visit to the Suffolk Cookhouse project in Ipswich, which received £422,000 in 2012 to open a new food hall. The hall is now one of the biggest tourism hubs in the region, bringing together local artists and food producers, and creating 45 jobs.

The first grant funding that will become available will be for reservoirs and forestry equipment and these are expected to be open for applications from Monday, while funding for broadband, rural business support, on-farm food processing, arable and horticultural productivity and resource efficiency will be made available later in the year. A further £6.6m will be available for animal health and welfare projects.

This funding is part of planned investment of at least £3.5 billion into our rural economies by 2020 under RDPE, supporting the third of businesses in the UK which are based in the countryside. All projects agreed before we leave the EU will be guaranteed for their lifetime – providing stability and certainty while future support for farmers and rural communities is developed.

Further information

  • Today’s announcement supports the manifesto commitment to bring sustainable growth to rural economies, entrepreneurs, farmers and landowners.

  • The RDPE Growth Programme provides funding for projects in England which create jobs and growth in the rural economy. Under the RDPE Growth Programme, there are currently calls for projects open for: business development, food processing and rural rural tourism infrastructure.

  • Countryside Productivity aims to improve productivity of farm and forestry businesses by making targeted investments to encourage best practice and innovation.

Jul292017

Press release: £200 million boost for rural England

HM Government

Funding for rural businesses that will generate thousands of jobs and provide new support to expand and improve their premises has been announced as part of a £200million grant offer.

Announcing the latest round of Rural Development Programme funding, Lord Gardiner confirmed that for the first time under the current scheme specific funding will be available to support new rural broadband projects, and provide significant amounts of funding to on-farm businesses to invest in new infrastructure such as new buildings and machinery.

The current Rural Development Programme for England is expected to generate 6,750 new jobs. Already more than 1,400 projects have been agreed which are expected to create over 2,300 jobs.

The grants will also fund landowners to improve farm productivity and invest in rural tourism opportunities.

Rural Affairs Minister Lord Gardiner said:

One in three businesses in this country are based in the countryside, and this government is committed to providing the support they need to create a strong and prosperous rural economy.

This funding will make sure businesses in remote locations can get online, help farmers install cutting-edge technology, create new tourist hotspots and bring high quality jobs to rural communities across the country.

This round of funding will include:

  • £30m to improve rural broadband – the grants available will encourage growth by helping provide broadband services at speeds of 30Mbps or faster where this is not available or planned. It will supplement existing Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport investment in rural broadband.

  • £45m to help rural businesses grow and invest in new equipment – rural businesses, including those engaged in tourism and food production, can apply for funding to invest in their company, helping them to expand, diversify, and invest in new technology.

  • £120m for projects that improve farm productivity – this money will help farmers, foresters and landowners manage their land more effectively. Funding will be available for a wide range of purposes, including woodland management equipment, creating on-farm reservoirs and using water more efficiently.

Lord Gardiner made the announcement during a visit to the Suffolk Cookhouse project in Ipswich, which received £422,000 in 2012 to open a new food hall. The hall is now one of the biggest tourism hubs in the region, bringing together local artists and food producers, and creating 45 jobs.

The first grant funding that will become available will be for reservoirs and forestry equipment and these are expected to be open for applications from Monday, while funding for broadband, rural business support, on-farm food processing, arable and horticultural productivity and resource efficiency will be made available later in the year. A further £6.6m will be available for animal health and welfare projects.

This funding is part of planned investment of at least £3.5 billion into our rural economies by 2020 under RDPE, supporting the third of businesses in the UK which are based in the countryside. All projects agreed before we leave the EU will be guaranteed for their lifetime – providing stability and certainty while future support for farmers and rural communities is developed.

Further information

  • Today’s announcement supports the manifesto commitment to bring sustainable growth to rural economies, entrepreneurs, farmers and landowners.

  • The RDPE Growth Programme provides funding for projects in England which create jobs and growth in the rural economy. Under the RDPE Growth Programme, there are currently calls for projects open for: business development, food processing and rural rural tourism infrastructure.

  • Countryside Productivity aims to improve productivity of farm and forestry businesses by making targeted investments to encourage best practice and innovation.

Jul292017

How good is public capital investment?

John Redwood MP

There is in the UK debate a general assumption that all capital investment is good. It is true that the UK could boost its productivity – and therefore its incomes – by investing in more machine power, internet processing power and the like. The more people have better tools to do their jobs, the more they can produce and deliver to customers. This is the main reason people automatically assume investment is a good idea.

Not all capital spending achieves this aim. Public investment in particular may not achieve this to the extent planned in the way intended. Indeed some desirable public investment is not in anyway about raising productivity. It is about keeping up with the big growth in population we are experiencing.

Capital spending is treated differently from day to day or revenue spending because it is meant to create an asset of value which will be available for use for many years to come. If the state builds a new school, there will be many years of use. The costs of the building can be spread out over many years of teaching by borrowing the money and repaying it gradually. Making such an investment, however, usually increases future costs, as it is usually built to accommodate growth in population and pupil numbers. It is not necessarily going to raise productivity or cut overall costs. Similarly, building a replacement school may be desirable or necessary to provide a better modern environment for staff and pupils. Again it may not reduce annual costs.

In the public trading sector where people pay for use of the service provided there is meant to be a proper analysis of the productivity and revenue consequences of the investment. Unfortunately the public sector often gets its sums wrong. Look at the case of the railways. Commuters often pay the cost of their travel but other railway users are in the main heavily subsidised to go by train. Major investment programmes often fail to raise productivity much, and sometimes fail to capture the extra use and fare revenue they estimated. HS1 has never reached the optimistic forecasts for use, and HS2 looks as if it too will fall well short of the bullish estimates of how many people will use it once built.

Jul292017

Australia condemns latest North Korean Ballistic Missile Test

Australia

Australia condemns North Korea’s latest Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) test in the strongest possible terms.

This test is North Korea’s second ICBM test this month.

The ballistic missile tests and North Korea’s ongoing reckless and menacing behaviour, are in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, is a threat to regional and global security and stability and is in violation of the rules based order we seek to promote and advance.

Australia urges strong UN Security Council action in response to these tests. We call on all countries to implement existing UN Security Council resolutions against North Korea as a matter of urgency.

Australia also urges China to use its considerable leverage to dissuade North Korea from continuing to conduct these tests in order to develop its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

In addition to our actions in the United Nations, Australia continues to implement a strong autonomous sanctions regime that targets individuals and entities supporting North Korea’s illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Australia’s sanctions also add to international pressure on North Korea and limit commercial activities that could finance weapons programs.

Australia supports defensive measures under way in the region which are a necessary response to the threat posed by North Korea’s behaviour and policies. The escalation of regional tension is entirely the responsibility of the North Korean regime.

We will continue to work with our partners, including the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China, to impose costs on the regime in order to stop its threatening and destabilising behavior. 

Jul292017

Restrictions on the import of ozone-depleting substances to Russia

Russia

A temporary quantitative restriction on the import of ozone-depleting substances to the Russian Federation in 2017 has been introduced. The purpose of the adopted decisions is to ensure a stable market of ozone-depleting substances, which are not produced in Russia, and to prevent the growth of prices for such substances. These regulatory measures contribute to the preservation of the ozone layer of the atmosphere.

Reference

The document was developed by the Natural Resources Ministry to implement Russian Government Resolution No 228 of 24 March 2014, On Measures for the State Regulation of the Consumption and Circulation of Substances Depleting the Ozone Layer, and to ensure compliance with Russia’s obligations under the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

There are formulas for the annual calculation of the permissible production of ozone-depleting substances in Russia and the annual calculation of the share of specific ozone-depleting substances in the permissible consumption of ozone-depleting substances (approved by order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia).

Russian Government Directive No 2693-r of 15 December 2016 specifies the amount of ozone-depleting substances allowed for import to the Russian Federation in 2017.

The signed resolution introduced temporary quantitative restrictions on the import of ozone-depleting substance to Russia in 2017.

The document was also supplemented by the provision that when distributing the volume of ozone-depleting substances to be imported to Russia in 2017 between applicants (hereinafter referred to as ODS volumes), 60 percent of the ODS volume will be distributed among applicants who imported ozone-depleting substances in 2016, 35 percent of the ODS volume – between applicants who did not import ozone-depleting substances in 2016, and 5 percent of the ODS volume – between applicants who submitted applications for importing in 2016 but did not import such substances.

The purpose of the adopted decisions is to ensure a stable market of ozone-depleting substances, which are not produced in Russia, and to prevent the growth of prices for such substances. These regulatory measures contribute to the preservation of the ozone layer of the atmosphere.