§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many landowners in England are receiving annual payments under the arable area payments scheme in the latest financial year of(a) up to £100,000, (b) between £100,000 and £500,000, (c) between £500,000 and £1,000,000 and (d) over £1,000,000; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. JackI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 11 January 1994,Official Report, column 55.
§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in how many cases payments to farmers and landowners under the arable area payments scheme have been withheld or recovered in England; what is the amount of money withheld or recovered in each case; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. JackEvery case in which payments may be withheld or recovered is examined very carefully and applicants have an opportunity to comment before a final decision is taken. This means that it is only possible to provide very provisional figures at this stage. Over 100 payments have so far been reduced or withheld entirely, but there are further cases still under consideration. These figures exclude penalties for late applications and adjustments made following corrections notified by the applicant under the special arrangements which applied in 1993 for dealing with genuine errors. It is not yet possible to give a precise figure for amounts of money withheld because individual cases vary considerably.