§ Mr. Bulmerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when higher rates of grant will be introduced for farmers in the new less-favoured areas; and what the notification arrangements will be.
§ Mr. JoplingWe have laid statutory instruments before parliament modifying the capital grant schemes so as to enable farmers whose land lies within the recent extension to the less-favoured areas—LFAs—to obtain higher rates of grant on certain investments.
With effect from today, claims received under the agriculture and horticulture grant scheme—AHGS—the farm and horticulture development scheme—FHDS— and the agriculture and horticulture development scheme—AHDS—will be paid at the higher rates subject to the relevant scheme conditions provided they apply to eligible work in the new LFAs on which expenditure was incurred after 28 February 1984. The eligible works are the same as those which have previously attracted the same higher rates in the original LFAs, except for roads, bridges and similar items which retain the standard rates. A wide variety of investments in the new LFAs including buildings, drainage and grassland improvements will now qualify for the higher rates.
I have also made detailed arrangements for farmers to find out whether their land lies within the new LFAs. I am arranging for the names of the parishes inside the new LFAs to be publicised widely, particularly at local level, and I am inviting farmers whose land lies within these parishes to ask their local divisional office of the Ministry for a form on which to provide the information we need to check eligibility. This will include a plan of the farm, together with grid references and field numbers. On receipt of these details, officials will then check them against maps showing the new LFAs and will inform farmers which parts of their farms will qualify for the new benefits.
As an adjunct to this notification procedure I am making available for inspection at divisional offices maps showing both the original and new LFAs. I intend to put similar maps, together with the list of parishes, in the Library of the House.
These new statutory instruments have also provided an opportunity to make a number of minor changes to the capital grants schemes. These include the reintroduction of grant under the AHGS for waste disposal facilities for farms with more than 40 dairy cows, and an increase from £400 to £1,000 in the maximum penalty, in England, Scotland and Wales, for making a false statement. This latter change applies to the AHDS and FHDS.