§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those countryside stewardship scheme sites which have been withdrawn from the scheme for allowing additional public access, the grounds on which each decision was taken, the date when payments ceased and whether the Government will seek repayment of moneys already spent for which the contracted services or public access was not satisfactorily delivered.
§ Mr. Atkins[holding answer 23 November 1994]: Information about countryside stewardship agreements with access elements, which have been either terminated or amended through the removal of the access element, is given below. There are various reasons for the termination or amendment of agreements, including the sale of the property, the death or bankruptcy of the scheme participant, or non-compliance with the conditions of the agreement. Payments under the scheme are made annually in arrears and in eight cases payments had not been made before the agreements came to an end or were amended. In other cases, payments were withdrawn. In no case was repayment of grant required. The management of the scheme, including the negotiation of agreements with scheme participants, is a matter for the Countryside Commission.
Region Year of agreement Number of agreements terminated or where access element removed South West 1991 5 1992 2 Eastern 1991 2 1992 1 1993 1 North West 1992 1 Midland 1991 5 1992 2 Yorkshire and Humberside 1991 1 South East 1991 4 Northern 1991 1