§ Mr. Geraint Howellsasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the level of payments permitted under the EEC Less Favoured Areas Directive; how this compares with the current rates of hill subsidies and payments; and what conclusions he has reached on his policy in this matter.
§ Mr. StrangI have been asked to reply.
Livestock subsidies are limited to 50 u.a. per livestock unit and per hectare, equivalent to £26.07 per cow and £3.91 per sheep and £10.31 per acre. Investment assistance is limited to a 7 per cent. interest rate subsidy, equivalent to a capital grant of about 40 per cent. for land improvement and buildings, with further payments available at national expense.
Hill cow subsidy in the United Kingdom is paid at the rate of £24.50 per cow with a maximum of one cow per four acres, equivalent to £6.13 per acre. It is expected that hill sheep subsidy will be paid, at a basic rate of £2.85 per ewe and a maximum rate of £3.60 per ewe, or £9 per acre, on flocks qualifying. Investment assistance in the United Kingdom takes the form of capital grants, at a variety of rates, compatible with the limits of the Directive.
I hope to announce, in the autumn, plans for putting the Directive into effect.