§ 48. Dr. MarekTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the environmentally sensitive areas policy.
§ Mr. GummerThere are 19 environmentally sensitive areas designated in the United Kingdom covering almost 800,000 hectares of agricultural land. The concept has been widely welcomed by farmers and conservation interests and the number of management agreements is well up to expectations. Comprehensive monitoring and assessment of the schemes is in hand and will guide my decisions on future arrangements when I review the policy next year.