§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how he intends to allocate the £6 million available to Britain from the new European forestry proposals adopted at the May Council of Ministers meeting;
(2) what savings will accrue to his Department by the adoption by the Council of Ministers of farm forestry proposals to make available European financed premia for the growing of trees on farmland.
§ Mr. MacGregor[holding reply 16 June 1989]: The amount of afforestation that takes place on agricultural land—under Forestry Commission grant schemes, their 47W Northern Ireland equivalent and the farm woodland scheme—will determine the scale of reimbursements that the United Kingdom will be able to claim each year from the European Community.
Parliamentary approval will be sought to appropriate the receipts in aid of the votes from which the planting grants and annual payments are funded. The receipts should therefore contribute towards the overall costs of support for forestry and agriculture.