§ Mr. Ralph HowellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 5 December,Official Report, column 141, what is the acreage of land set aside in the United Kingdom in each year since the set-aside programme started; and what is his estimate of the reduction of cereals and meat in tonnage and value in real and in 1990 prices.
§ Mr. CurryIn 1988 and 1989 respectively, approximate-ly 52,000 and 49,000 hectares of land were entered into set-aside in the United Kingdom. A total of 1,990 entrants have applied to enter approximately 31.000 hectares into the scheme. I will be in a position to assess the effects on production when I have the results of an evaluation commissioned by the Department from Reading university.