Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding was allocated to the seafood industry after the UK's departure from the EU; and how much of that funding has been allocated to companies based in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England.

The Government is committed to supporting the fisheries and seafood sector and has delivered on its manifesto commitment to maintain fisheries funding across the UK by allocating £32.7 million for the 2021/22 financial year. The allocations for each administration are based on the relative size of the fleets, aquaculture, and processing industries. This funding will enable each nation of the UK to run their own funding schemes, tailored to the needs and make up of their sectors.

The Government has also announced that £100 million will be made available across the UK for the best transformative seafood projects that will rejuvenate the industry and our coastal communities. Options for the funding are currently being explored and more detail on this funding will be made available in due course.

In addition, up to £23 million of emergency funding was utilised across the UK to address the challenges faced as a result of Covid-19 and EU exit during the early months of 2021. Over 2250 eligible businesses benefitted from this financial assistance across the UK and more details on the distribution of funding delivered will be available once all payments have made been and any appeals have been resolved. We expect this information to be available in early July.