§ Mr. Hardyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many acres of land were drained in 1980 and 1981; how many have been drained so far in the current year with the assistance of grant-aid; what was the total number of schemes involved in each year; and what was the total cost.
§ Mrs FennerThere are two types of grant available for land drainage namely: grants to water authorities, local authorities and internal drainage boards under the Land Drainage Act 1976 for the improvement of water courses and the construction of flood defences, including urban flood protection; and grants to farmers and growers under the farm capital grant schemes for the drainage of agricultural land. I regret that information as to the area238W of land drained is not available in either case. The total number of schemes approved, the total expenditure and total grant paid in each case in the years 1980–81, 1981–82 and the current year are as follows:
Land Drainage Act 1976 (excludng Thames tidal defences) 1980–81 1981–82 April-September 1982 England Schemes approved 335 324 231 Total expenditure £39.5 million £43.1 million £20.5 million Total grant paid £23.4 million £25.7 million £11.3 million Farm Capital Grant Schemes England and Wales Claims approved 14,996 15,134 8,491 Total cost £61.5 million £61.7 million £31.million Total grant £31.9 million £29.5 million £15.0 million
§ Mr. Hardyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the cost benefit appraisal methodology currently employed in the evaluation of costs and benefits of land drainage schemes.
§ Mrs. FennerYes.