§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what is the area of each individual environmentally sensitive area in England already designated or to be designated in 1994;
(2) what is the area of each individual environmentally sensitive area in England already designated or to be designated, estimated to be eligible for management agreements;
(3) what is the area of each individual environmentally sensitive area in England already under management agreements at the most recent date for which accurate figures are available;
(4) how many farmers are estimated to be eligible for participation in each individual environmentally sensitive area in England already designated or to be designated in 1994;
(5) how many farmers had entered into agreements in each individual environmentally sensitive area in England at the most recent date for which accurate figures are available;
603W(6) what was or is the total budget for management agreements for all environmentally sensitive areas in England for the years 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96.
Table 1—Uptake ESA Total area (ha) Eligible area (ha) (estimate) Area under management agreement (ha) (March 1994 provisional)2 Number of current management agreements (March 1994 provisional)2 Stage I (designated 1987, relaunched 1992) Broads1 36,100 24,000 14,623 718 Pennine Dales 46,600 39,100 24,276 692 Somerset Levels and Moors 27,700 25,900 12,492 841 South Downs1 69,000 51,700 10,430 200 West Penwith 7,200 6,900 6,051 185 Stage II (designated 1988, relaunched 1993) Breckland1 94,000 51,600 4,625 125 North Peak 54,900 50,500 44,709 100 Clun1 (formerly called Shropshire Borders) 21,400 18,900 14,565 220 Suffolk River Valleys1 43,600 32,600 8,513 405 Test Valley1 4,800 3,300 849 29 Stage III (designated 1993) Avon Valley1 5,200 3,800 490 26 Exmoor 80,700 67,700 32,868 291 Lake District 245,400 219,300 67,431 559 North Kent Marshes1 13,700 11,600 2,941 39 South Wessex Downs1 44,900 38,300 15,915 108 South West Peak 33,900 27,000 10,822 223 Stage IV (to be designated March 1994) Blackdown Hills 39,900 32,200 n/a n/a Cotswold Hills1 84,700 66,100 n/a n/a Dartmoor 100,500 89,000 n/a n/a Essex Coast1 27,500 23,000 n/a n/a Shropshire Hills 38,500 34,900 n/a n/a Upper Thames Tributaries1 27,700 18,000 n/a n/a 1 The figures for eligible area in these ESAs contain arable land which is eligible to enter the scheme if reverted to grass. It is not expected that a high proportion of such land will enter the scheme. 2 Information is not held about the number of farmers eligible for participation in each ESA scheme. Landlords, tenants, commoners etcetera may be eligible to apply, individually or jointly, in respect of the same holding.
Table 2—Expenditure in ESAs Year £ (Thousands)(Payments to Farmers) 1992–93 110,872 1993–94 218,040 1994–95 331,036 1995–96 343,135 1 Outturn. 2 Forecast outturn. 3 Budget provision.