The Seafood Response Fund did not have restrictions based on minimum vessel size but did utilise a minimum sales threshold of £10,000 recorded on sales notes supplied by registered buyers and sellers of fish between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2019. The scheme was targeted in this way to ensure that Defra only supported businesses that participated in the seafood sector on a fulltime basis. Wider government support was available for businesses impacted by COVID-19, and the £10,000 threshold ensured the fisheries scheme represented value for money and was targeted at commercial fishing businesses that were reliant on seafood as their main source of income.<\/p>
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The Government remains committed to supporting the seafood sector, including small fishing vessels, and at the last Spending Review we announced £32.7 million in funding to support the sector. In England some of this funding is being used to deliver the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme, which will provide grant funding for projects that help seafood businesses of all sizes adapt to new export conditions, recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and achieve other sector priorities. Businesses outside England should contact their own fishing administrations to see what other support may be available.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4401", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Victoria Prentis"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Banbury"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Victoria Prentis"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-04-29", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-04-29T15:17:14.433Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-04-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Seafood Response Fund"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help small fishing vessels, that have catches below the minimum threshold, to obtain support from the Seafood Response Fund.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4751", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Loder"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "West Dorset"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chris Loder"} ], "uin" : "186034"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284786", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284786/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has a number of schemes which provide financial support to the rural economy. The three main land schemes, which offer an annual payment, are Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), Countryside Stewardship (CS) and the Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ES).<\/p>
<\/p>
Famers submitting a valid claim under these schemes will normally receive a payment between 1 December and 30 June the following year.<\/p>
<\/p>
For 2019 we released by 30 June:<\/p>
o BPS 2019 \u2013 84,225 (99.9%) payments worth £1.79bn<\/p>
o CS 2019 \u2013 10,899 (94.2%) worth £88.46m<\/p>
o ES 2019 \u2013 12,020 (97.7%) worth £182.22m<\/p>
<\/p>
There are several reasons for why payments may be delayed beyond the 30 June such as ongoing discussions with claimants, the resolution of probate, or ongoing fraud investigations.<\/p>
<\/p>
Payments for 2020 claims began in December and are ongoing. The RPA delivered its best ever December payment performance, paying around 98% of BPS claims by the end of the year, despite the challenges caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4401", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Victoria Prentis"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Banbury"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Victoria Prentis"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-02-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-02-15T16:19:02.807Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-02-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Agriculture: Subsidies"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of payments made by the Rural Payments Agency are received on time.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4751", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Loder"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "West Dorset"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chris Loder"} ], "uin" : "150940"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1203815", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1203815/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "