§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Mr. Barron) of 19 November,Official Report, column 1195, what is the value of grants given recently over any convenient period of time to people to look after their hedgerows.
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 30 November 1987]: All environmentally sensitive area management agreements require scheme participants to maintain hedges and walls. It is not, however, possible to isolate payments for this particular item from that for all the other management prescriptions in the agreement which together qualify for the ESA payment.
In addition, grants of 60 per cent. and 30 per cent. for hedge planting and laying are available to farmers under the agriculture improvement scheme and other capital grant schemes. £889,000 was spent on these grants in England and Wales in 1986.