Written question asked by Alison McGovern (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 March 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 10 March 2011. It was answered by James Paice (Conservative) on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Northwest Regional Development Agency

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has made an assessment of the effect on the economy of the North West Regional Development Agency's rural development programme.

Answer: I have been asked to reply.The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) currently delivers axes 1 and 3 of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) in the north-west region, in line with a Regional Implementation Plan. The RDPE has recently been subject to a Mid Term Evaluation which examined its progress for England as a whole against a wide range of indicators, including the impact of the programme on the rural economy to the extent that this was observable at the mid-term stage. The evaluation included a case study on the implementation of the RDPE in the north-west of England (including those elements delivered by the NWDA). The Mid Term Evaluation will be published shortly.

Secondary information