§ Mr. Maclennanasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish the list of (a) breeds of ewe and (b) areas to be covered which Her Majesty's Government provided to the European Commission in connection with the extension of sheep annual premium to untupped shearlings; and when these submissions were first made.
§ Mr. JoplingAfter the Council of Ministers agreed last May, as part of the 1985 price-fixing, to extend the annual premium arrangements
to certain mountain breeds of ewes, raised in well-defined regions, which are not covered by the present definition of eligible ewes",my officials gave the Commission the following details of the breeds and areas which we considered should be covered:
- Breeds: Herdwick, Swaledale, Cheviot, Blackface, Shetland, Soay and crosses between any of these.
- Areas: Cumbria—land defined as "severely disadvantaged" under the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1984 made in accordance with directive 75/268.
- Scotland—land defined as "hill sheep land" under the same regulations.
When, in December, the Council of Ministers decided to restrict the concession to the Herdwick breed and to the Lake District, I made it quite clear that I considered this to be a breach of the agreement reached in May, and accordingly voted against the proposal. I shall continue to press for a suitable extension of the definition.