§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the amount of public funding in 1997 for land put into set-aside. [18142]
§ Mr. MorleyPayments for land set aside under the Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS) are funded from the European Community Budget. Based on provisional figures for claims under the 1997 Scheme, payments for land set aside in England are expected to be about £80 million. Land entered into certain environmental schemes can also be set aside for the purposes of the Scheme but does not attract any payment under the AAPS; farmers do, however, receive payments for meeting the conditions of the environmental scheme concerned.