§ Lord Mowbray and Stourtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any progress has been made in obtaining the agreement of the European Community to the payment to Scottish crofters and farmers of sheep annual premium on untupped shearlings.
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§ The Minister of State, Scottish Office (Lord Sanderson of Bowden)I am pleased that the Government's persistence has been rewarded by the agreement at a recent meeting of the Council of Agriculture Ministers of the European Community that crofters and farmers who keep untupped shearlings of specified breeds in certain areas of north and north-west Scotland should in future be eligible to claim sheep annual premium on these animals. This decision will come as welcome news to the producers concerned, who farm in a very harsh environment.