§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many consultants have been engaged by the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department to monitor the implementation and operation of environmentally sensitive area plans; and what is the cost of such monitoring operations; [23013]
(2) if he will make a statement on the remit of consultants engaged by his Department to evaluate the existing management plans in environmentally sensitive areas; [23014]
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§ Mr. ForsythThe information is set out in the table, which lists all section 36 applications received the Scottish Office since the Electricity 1989 was introduced.
(3) steps have been taken by his Department to identify the extent to which locally based farmers or crofters may be employed by his Department for the purposes of monitoring and evaluating environmentally sensitive area plans. [23015]
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 1 April 1996]: A 10-year contract for monitoring the environmentally sensitive area scheme was won in competition by a consortium comprising the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland and AOC Scotland Ltd. Their remit is to assess the impact of the scheme on the biological, landscape and archaeological interest within each area. The average annual cost is £300,000.
To complement this work, local agricultural staff undertake an annual review of individual farm and croft conservation plans to ensure that the requirements of the scheme are being met and the conservation objectives achieved. I am satisfied that this co-ordinated approach represents the best value for money.