§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many whole farms have been set aside from agricultural production under the European Community scheme in each county in England and Wales.
§ Mr. RyderFollowing are the numbers of participants who have set aside in the crop year 1988–89 the whole area used in the base year 1987–88 for relevant arable crops. This area is not necessarily the whole of the farm concerned.
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Number of participants England Avon 6 Bedfordshire 9 Berkshire 5 Buckinghamshire 20 Cambridgeshire 16 Cheshire 5 Cleveland 1 Cornwall 13 Cumbria 1
Number of participants Derbyshire 7 Devon 20 Dorset 5 Durham 4 Essex 32 Gloucestershire 18 Hampshire 12 Hereford and Worcester 4 Hertfordshire 14 Humberside 11 Isle of Wight — Kent 22 Lancashire — Leicestershire 8 Lincolnshire 4 Greater London 2 Greater Manchester — Merseyside — West Midlands 1 Norfolk 23 Northamptonshire 14 Northumberland 6 Nottinghamshire 7 Oxfordshire 11 Shropshire — Somerset 10 Staffordshire 6 Suffolk 36 Surrey 13 East Sussex 18 West Sussex 29 Tyne and Wear — Warwickshire 13 Wiltshire 9 North Yorkshire 21 South Yorkshire 2 West Yorkshire 3 Total 461 Wales Gwent 3 Dyfed 7 Total 10
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate how many full-time and part-time jobs have been lost as a consequence of the set aside scheme for agricultural land in England and Wales; and if he will estimate how many of those job losses are attributable to whole farm set aside.
§ Mr. RyderLosses of agricultural jobs are to be expected as farming adjusts to a more rigorous price policy, but alternative non-agricultural activities on farms will generate new jobs. Set-aside is designed both to work with stabilisers to achieve the adjustment of agricultural production and to provide new opportunities for farmers to use their land for non-agricultural purposes. I will be in a position to form a judgment on the employment effects of set-aside when I have the results of the evaluation of the scheme commissioned by my Department.