§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current level of applications for the set-aside scheme for Scottish farmers; and what is the acreage per Scottish region and per parliamentary constituency which will be removed from agricultural use as a result of(a) applications already processed and (b) applications pending decision.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe information is not available in the form requested. Provisional returns indicate that over 400 applications were submitted by the closing date of 21 October and that almost 15,000 hectares of eligible land have been proposed for withdrawal from production this year.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been, to the latest available date, the expenditure incurred by his Department in(a) advertising the set-aside scheme, (b) offering advice to National Farmers Union offices and individual farmers and (c) approved annual payments for the transfer of land to non-agricultural purposes.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth(a) No expenditure has been incurred by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland on paid advertisements. The cost of an explanatory leaflet on registration for set-aside sent to all arable farmers in Scotland was about £2,000;
(b) Advice to farmers and others on the details of the scheme has been provided by staff as part of their normal duties;
(c) The precise cost of annual payments to farmers who have applied to enter the scheme this year cannot be calculated until all the applications have been processed but we estimate that expenditure in 1989–90—when the first payments will be made—will be of the order of £3 million.