§ Mr. Hicksasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total acreage, and the percentage represented by this figure of the total national acreage, of those areas at present eligible for the various forms of assistance to hill farming.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartThere are no records of the precise acreage of land eligible for the hill livestock subsidies and the special rates of capital grant but, on a rough estimate, the eligible areas comprise about a third of the agricultural acreage in the United Kingdom. They consist mainly of rough grazings of which there are about 16¾ million acres.
§ Mr. Hicksasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effects the implementation of the recommendations contained in draft Directive R/ 523/73 (AGRI 166) (FIN 117) will have on areas of Bodmin Moor now receiving various national aids in support of hill farming; what are the chief intended forms of support; what forms 121W of domestic assistance now given will be abolished; and whether any areas of Bodmin Moor at present aided will be excluded from any new provisions or any additional districts included.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartThe draft EEC directive on agriculture in mountain and in certain other difficult fanning areas is under consideration in the Council of Ministers. As it stands, the draft directive would not entail the abolition of any forms of assistance now given to hill farmers, and the main forms of support would be headage payments on hill livestock and investment aids, as they are just now. It would be for member States to propose, and for the Council to approve, the areas to benefit under the draft directive. The criteria proposed seem to be adequate to cover the hill farming areas in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Hicksasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all individual areas of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, together with their acreages, that are at present eligible for hill farming grants and other forms of assistance.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartI regret that the preparation of such a list would require undue expenditure of staff time and money; but in England the main areas are the Pennines, the Lake District, the North Yorkshire Moors, Exmoor, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. Over half of Wales is eligible. The main areas in Northern Ireland are in Mid- and North Antrim, South Down, South Armagh, County Fermanagh and the Sperrin Mountains. Hill land is found in all parts of Scotland. The precise acreage of hill land in the countries of the United Kingdom is not known, but the approximate areas of rough grazing are as follows:
million acres England … … … … 3¼ Wales … … … … 1½ Scotland … … … … 11½ N. Ireland … … … … 1½