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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what budget they have allocated to the Food Innovation Network over the next three years; and what arrangements they intend to put in place for small rural companies to take advantage of the network.

Defra, the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council and the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership are jointly providing a total of £100,000 over two years to co-ordinate the Food Innovation Network. We have appointed the Knowledge Transfer Network to carry out this coordinator role.

The aim of the Network is to connect small and medium-sized companies with the help, expertise and funding they need to innovate and thereby improve their productivity and competitiveness. This includes working with businesses in both rural and urban areas to raise their awareness of the support that is available and providing a website which makes information available to support business innovation and direct them to where they can access further support.. The Network will also pilot approaches at a local level to maximise ways to support rural companies.