§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many pilot entry level schemes have been made available to farmers across England; whether any such schemes have been wound up; if so, why; whether there are any plans to open any further schemes; and when the results of the pilot schemes will be assessed and the results published. [HL 347]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)The entry level scheme pilot was launched in February 2003, and is running in four pilot areas. These pilot areas were chosen to represent different farming systems to make sure that we tested the scheme on a range of farm types (upland, arable, mixed and dairying).
The pilot scheme was open to applications from farmers within the pilot areas between February and May 2003. 274 farmers have joined the scheme, and their agreements run for five years from 1 August 2003.
The scheme is being evaluated and the results will be published next year. Early feedback suggests that I he scheme has potential to deliver significant environmental benefits, but refinement of the design will improve this further. There are no plans to run any more pilots, but it is hoped to roll out the scheme nationally in 2005.