HC Deb 05 March 1991 vol 187 c85W
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will make it his Department's policy to maintain the voluntary nature of environmentally sensitive area schemes and maintain the role of the project officers as interpreters and advisers on the guidelines.

Mr. David Hunt

I have no plans to change these arrangements.

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any plans to link payments made under the environmentally sensitive areas scheme to the annual rate of inflation.

Mr. David Hunt

No. The level of payments in the Cambrian mountains and Lleyn peninsula ESAs have been reviewed and my judgment was that the existing rates of payment were appropriate and there was no justification for increasing them.

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to offer a minimum level of payment per farm when deciding on environmentally sensitive areas scheme allocations.

Mr. David Hunt

This is one of the matters which I will consider as part of our review of the scheme which is now under way.