HC Deb 06 July 1995 vol 263 c510
13. Mrs. Gorman

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the minimum size of farm which can apply for an arable area payment under the common agricultural policy. [31174]

Mr. Baldry

There is a minimum area on which the farmer can apply for arable area payments—0.3 hectares.

Mrs. Gorman

Will my hon. Friend confirm that that is under an acre of land, and that in some countries, such as Germany, because their normal farming methods differ from ours, a large number of people have plots that are really just weekend hobby plots, for which they draw subsidies paid for by our housewives in higher food prices—some £28 a week extra? Will he confirm that allotment holders in Britain would do better to apply for one of these subsidies rather than go on digging over their ground, and that it would be cheaper for them to buy their vegetables in Sainsbury's?

Mr. Baldry

The Government succeeded in removing most of the discrimination against large, efficient farmers, which Ray MacSharry proposed, when the CAP was last reformed. I agree that the best way to prevent discrimination is to have a market-led CAP that is not dependent on distorting subsidies. That would enable the efficient farmers to flourish at the expense of the inefficient. Where particular rural areas need special treatment for social reasons, those reasons should be addressed by appropriate social policies, not farm policy.

Mr. Foulkes

Is the Minister aware that some farmers, particularly small fanners, whose applications for assistance are late can lose a substantial amount of ground? Will he consider some mechanism of appeal or some greater degree of flexibility so that their applications can be considered? There is a case in my constituency where the application was just one working day late, and the farmer lost some £4,000 or £5,000. Is that not unfair? Could we have some degree of flexibility when considering this?

Mr. Baldry

There are very clear rules, and I think that farmers recognise that they have to abide by them. I suspect that what fanners are concerned about when it comes to the CAP is the suggestion by the Labour party that it will undermine the CAP regime. Opposition Members might pay attention to the former Scottish National Farmers Union president, John Cameron—Europe's biggest sheep farmer, with several hill units in Perthshire—who observed: Without subsidies— which the Labour party is threatening to undermine— there would be no farming and no farm workers in the hills … The present system maintains rural populations". That is what the Labour party would seek to undermine through its proposals.