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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications were received to the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme; what proportion of applications were successful; and how much funding was (a) allocated and (b) remains for allocation.

The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS) has had two distinct phases. Initially, we launched FaSS in April 2021 for one year, during which 529 applications were received, 98% (522) of which were successful and £8.5 million was allocated and spent. The scheme was relaunched in April 2022 and since then 815 applications have been received, 99% (808) of which were successful and £18 million has been allocated. This is in excess of the c. £12 million we originally allocated as a result of our efforts to keep the scheme open as long as possible. Unfortunately, we were still unable to fund new FaSS applications throughout 2023-24 and the scheme has now closed to new applications. FaSS will reopen in 2024 with a budget of £5 million to be allocated.