§ Lord Harrisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many orchards and how many hectares given over to orchards have been lost in the past 50 years in Great Britain; and how many of those are traditionally managed and grazed by animals for six months of the year. [HL2399]
62WA
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)Census data show that the total area of orchards in England declined from 110,590 hectares in 1950 to 25,998 hectares in 2000. Figures for Scotland and Wales fall under the jurisdiction of the devolved authorities. The census data do not record the number of orchards, nor which orchards were traditionally managed or grazed.
§ Lord Harrisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will seek changes from the European Commission before 1 January 2005 to ensure that Britain's remaining orchards will not be grubbed up as a result of the change in European Commission farm payments rules to promote care for the environment above continuing production support. [HL2401]
§ Lord WhittyWe are still considering the implications of detailed rules which were agreed in Brussels on 14 April, especially in respect of the treatment of grazed orchards. However, traditional English orchards already enjoy considerable protection under countryside stewardship agreements. Decisions on the future of commercial orchards are for the grower to make taking account of the market prospects for the product concerned, in keeping with the general principles of the recent CAP reform agreement.
§ Lord Harrisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why they alone among European Union member states have excluded orchards from being regarded as an environmental benefit as well as having cultural benefit and landscape value, thus excluding access to subsidy available to other European Union commercial orchards. [HL2402]
§ Lord WhittyOrchards throughout the European Union are generally ineligible for the single payment, which cannot be paid on land under permanent crops. In England, the environmental benefits provided by traditional orchards are recognised in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which now provides funding of £600,000 a year for agreements covering two-thirds of the area of traditional orchards.