§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money has been paid to farmers under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. [48546]
§ Mr. MorleyThe total payments made to farmers in each of the years since 1991, when the scheme was introduced by the then Countryside Commission, are as follows:
£ million Annual expenditure 1992–93 5.3 1993–94 8.5 1994–95 10.5 1995–96 11.6 1996–97 10.9 1997–98 15.7 1998–99 19.9 1999–2000 23.4 2000–01 28.9 2001–021 47.3 Total expenditure2 182.0 1Estimated 21992 to 2002
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what monitoring systems have been put in place to ensure that farmers participating in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme are managing their land to the standards expected by the programme. [48541]
§ Mr. MorleyTo ensure that farmers in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme are managing their land in accordance with their agreements, technical staff from DEFRA's Rural Development Service operate a programme of care and maintenance visits. The programme is structured so that agreement holders are visited in the first year of the agreement and further visits are undertaken where required.
1071WAll our agreement holders are in addition subject to compliance monitoring inspections by staff from the Rural Payments Agency. These inspections are carried out to meet EU and our own audit requirements.