To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 175 of the Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper, what proportion of the £24 million for the UK Seafood Fund will be spent on R&D; and what proportion of that R&D spending will happen outside the Greater South East.
Answered on
10 February 2022
All of the £24 million referred to in the Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper will be spent on research and development around the UK. The remaining £76 million of the UK Seafood Fund will be used for Infrastructure (at least £65 million), Skills and Training (up to £10 million) and boosting access to international markets (£1 million).
Nearly half of the £24 million has been allocated to the Seafood Innovation Fund (SIF) to develop new technology and equipment. Around 80% of SIF funding has been allocated to projects outside the Greater South East.
The remainder of the £24 million has been allocated to the Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships scheme that provides funding for research projects. We will shortly be announcing the successful bidders from the first funding round with funding to be allocated across the UK.