§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many landowners in Scotland 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 he will make a statement.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 8 February 1994]: Under the arable area payments scheme in the current financial year, 9,401 payments of up to £100,000 were made to Scottish producers and a further seven payments of between £100,000 and £500,000. There have been no payments in excess of £500,000.
§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in how many cases payments to farmers and landowners under the arable area payments scheme have been withheld or recovered in Scotland; what is the amount of money withheld or recovered in each case; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 8 February 1994]: Every case in which payments have to be withheld or recovered, for whatever reason, 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 20 346W cases 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 in the completion of the IACS forms. The total amounts withheld in individual cases vary considerably.