§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) which factors in the environmentally sensitive area programme account for the savings to common agricultural policy expenditure, in order of their costs;
(2) if he will collate and tabulate the total savings in common agricultural policy expenditure arising from the environmentally sensitive area scheme since its inception per year and in total for each scheme and for England as a whole.
§ Mr. GummerThe environmentally sensitive area schemes (ESAs) generally encourage more extensive farming systems, but the main provisions generating savings in common agricultural policy payments are those encouraging reversion from arable production to grassland and reductions in livestock grazing. Savings arising in the first five ESAs introduced in 1987 are recorded in the published monitoring reports deposited in the Library. The reports for the remaining ESAs introduced in 1988 will be published shortly.