§ Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the cost of long-term management agreements under section 15 of the Countryside Act 1968, making the distinction between alternative methods of payment and whether or not the sites are in less favoured areas; how many new agreements have been made in each of the last five years; and if he will classify these by cost per hectare for England, Scotland and Wales, respectively.
§ Mrs. RumboldI am advised by the Nature Conservancy Council as follows
(a) It is not practicable, without disproportionate effort, to distinguish between agreements in less Favoured Areas and those in other areas. However, annual payments for net profits forgone are normally lower in less Favoured Areas than elsewhere because of lower potential productivity of the land.(b) It is similarly impracticable to provide figures of agreements in each of the past 5 years. However, at 31 December 1985, the number of section 15 management agreements completed since the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was: