§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will state separately (a) for each year since the system was first introduced for which information is available, and (b) for each national park, the percentage of retrospective applications made to national park authorities under the farm grant notification system.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Belstead)Information about the farm grants notification procedure in national parks is collected by the national park authorities and analysed by the Countryside Commission. The Countryside Commission's analyses relate to notifications cleared in consecutive six-monthly periods starting from 1st April 1983 and show, for each national park, the percentage of these where at least part of the work concerned was known to have been started before the authority could issue a clearance letter. These1374WA percentages for the period for which the information is available are set out below:
1/4/83–30/9/83 1/10/83–31/3/84 1/4/84-W9/84 Brecon Beacons 6 11 6 Dartmoor 18 21 6 Exmoor 5 5 6 Lake District 19 18 5 Northumberland 7 15 1 North York Moors 17 23 15 Peak District 8 14 25 Pembrokeshire Coast 14 21 6 Snowdonia 1 1 2 Yorkshire Dales 8 10 7 10 13 11
§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will state separately (a) for each year since the system was introduced for which information is available and (b) for each national park, the number and percentage of retrospective applications made to national park authorities under the farm grant notification system which have subsequently been refused grant-aid by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, or the Welsh Office.
§ Lord BelsteadThe information requested was not recorded until 1983 since when grant has been refused in two cases in Wales and one in England. It must be borne in mind that not all retrospective notifications recorded by the park authorities result in claims for grant or are necessarily objected to on conservation grounds by the park authorities.
§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any information about the number of agricultural operations which have been undertaken in national parks since the introduction of the farm grant notification system which would have qualified for grant-aid but where no grant aid has been applied for.
§ Lord BelsteadMany factors affect eligibility for grant and it is not possible to determine whether an agricultural operation would qualify unless an application is received. There is therefore no means whereby the information requested could be obtained.