§ Lord Harlechasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will take any further action to encourage wildlife in arable areas.
Lord LucasWe intend to introduce a pilot incentive scheme to promote techniques of arable farming which might benefit wildlife across England.
The objectives of the scheme will be to test the practicability of specific management measures and the extent to which they bring benefits for biodiversity, including farmland birds.
We have listened carefully to advice from the National Agri-environment Forum, which we created last year. We are grateful for detailed proposals made by the Game Conservancy Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and English Nature, which have been welcomed by a working group of the forum. Next month the Ministry will consult forum members on arrangements for the pilot scheme, which will take these proposals fully into account.
The pilot scheme will be managed as a separate element of the Countryside Stewardship scheme, with farmers being offered five-year agreements to manage arable fields according to specific requirements. It will apply in one or more pilot areas of England. We intend to open the scheme to applications in spring 1998.