§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much was spent in each European Union country in £ sterling, and what was the take-up in hectares, in 1993 on(a) the set-aside part of the arable area payments scheme or its equivalent and (b) set-aside measures introduced prior to the common agricultural policy reform of May 1992; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. Jack[pursuant to the reply, 4 July 1994, c. 29-30]: I wish to clarify the figures given for expenditure on the five-year set-aside scheme. First, the payment figures, which were the latest available at the time of reply, relate to payments made between October and December 1993 and do not necessarily reflect payments made on all land set-aside under the scheme during 1993, as payments are made at different periods in different member states. Secondly, the payment figures given for five-year set-aside represent the element of member states' total payments which is funded by the EU. This is approximately 60 per cent. of total payments. Figures for total payments are not available. In the case of the arable area payments scheme, the majority of payments in all member states were made by the end of December and are 100 per cent. EU funded, so the figures given more closely reflect total expenditure. The updated figures show EU-funded expenditure under both schemes up to April 1994.
Arable Area Payments Scheme Member State Area Set Aside ('000 ha) Payments 1('000 ccu) Sterling Equivalent (rounded) (£'000) Belgium 19 6,399 4,880 Denmark 205 57,483 43,833 Fed Rep of Germany 1,063 321,394 245,077 Greece 17 2,683 2,046 Spain 909 135,908 103,636 France 1,589 517,023 394,253 Republic of Ireland 24 — — Italy 207 39,973 30,481 Luxembourg 2 395 301 Netherlands 8 2,754 2,100 Portugal 78 6,435 4,907 United Kingdom 556 169,948 129,593 Total 4,674 1,260,395 961,107 1Ecu/hectare payment rates are based on historical regional yields and are different in each member states. 190W
Five Year Set-Aside Scheme Member State Area Set Aside ('000 ha) Payments ('000 ecu) Sterling Equivalent(rounded) (£'000) Belgium 1 195 149 Denmark 7 -2 -1.5 Fed Rep of Germany 415 83,043 63,324 Greece 1 — — Spain 95 6,534 4,982 France 214 9,876 7,531 Republic of Ireland 2 210 160 Italy 639 171,169 130,524
Member State Area Set Aside ('000 ha) Payments ('000 ecu) Sterling Equivalent(rounded) (£'000) Luxembourg — 15 11 Netherlands 15 3,133 2,389 Portugal — — — United Kingdom 133 19,721 15,038 Total 1,522 293,895 224,107 Note:
Sterling equivalents are calculated at the same exchange rate as applied when the previous answer was given (£1-1.3114 ecu) for case of comparison, since then however the exchange rate has changed to £1=1.306 ecu.