HC Deb 23 April 1996 vol 276 c114W
Mr. Illsley

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of CAP payments in Northern Ireland go to farms of over(a) 60 and (b) 100 hectares. [26217]

Mr. Ancram

[holding answer 22 April 1996]It is not possible to proportion CAP payments in this way, but the proportion of Northern Ireland farms in these sizes which attract CAP payments is as follows:

Farm Size Number Percentage of total number of farms Total area in hectares
60–100 ha 2,871 10.28 216,014
100 ∔ ha 1,511 5.41 246,642

Mr. Illsley

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provisions have been made to combat CAP fraud in Northern Ireland. [26192]

Mr. Ancram

[holding answer 22 April 1996]Claims for payments under CAP measures are subjected to a wide range of anti-fraud action including the inspection of books and records, on-farm inspections including unannounced visits by verification staff, inspection of stocks in stores, marking of animals, secure information recording on computer and computer cross-checks, and extensive manual desk checks. All CAP payments are now subject to the control provisions of the integrated administration and control system which in particular enable checks to be made that animals and land used for arable or livestock production are not claim or declared by more than one producer.