§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will introduce a wildlife enhancement scheme; what its scope will be; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacleanThe wildlife enhancement scheme was launched by English Nature as a three-year pilot in November 1991. It provides annual and fixed cost payments to farmers who agree to adopt management practices which will maintain and enhance the nature conservation value of their land. The scheme is presently open to owners and occupiers in the Pevensey Levels sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) in Sussex, the Culm Grasslands SSSIs on the Devon and Cornwall border, and the Coversand Heath and Peatland SSSIs in Yorkshire and Humberside.