§ Lord Brougham and Vauxasked Her Majesty's Government:
What progress has been made on the case for extending the United Kingdom's Less Favoured Areas.
§ Baroness TrumpingtonYesterday, my right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food handed over to Mr. Raymond MacSharry, the EC Commissioner for Agriculture, a case to the EC Commission for an extension of the United Kindom's Less Favoured Areas by 95,000 hectares of land in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This extension will require the agreement of the Commission before payment of any benefit can be considered. At this stage, I cannot say how long it will take to secure that agreement. The form of the submission follows from the initial discussions we have held with the EC Commission, which have made clear that it will be examining our submission rigorously against the criteria on economic and demographic performance laid down in Directive 75/268.
I am arranging for copies of the results of our application of these criteria, together with an illustrative map of the areas submitted to the Commission, to be placed in the Library of the House and in local ministry offices in the areas concerned. Farmers who made representations following the 1984 extension will be notified individually whether their land has been included in the submission.