§ Mr. Ashdownasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the maximum, minimum, average and weighted mean levels per acre of compensation paid by the Nature Conservancy Council under management agreements in sites of special scientific interest, signed in the last three years for which figures are available, for both upland and lowland sites.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe information is not readily available in the form requested. However, since the enactment of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, 130 management agreements have been entered into by the Nature Conservancy Council. Payments under these range from agreements concluded at negligible cost to £219 per acre at the upper end. The average payment is around £12 per acre.