Habitat Creation Schemes

HC Deb 19 October 1993 vol 230 c203W

Mr. Morley

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if land put into habitat creation schemes can count towards set-aside quotas.

Mr. Jack

Current EC rules for the arable area payments scheme do not allow land withdrawn from production under any other scheme to count towards a producer's set-aside obligation. However, we are pressing for the rules to be changed to allow arable land which is in future withdrawn from production under agri-environment or forestry schemes to count towards set-aside. This would include land entered into the proposed 20-year habitat scheme and the proposed new nitrate-sensitive areas scheme, as well as the farm woodland premium scheme.