§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the payments made under the Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme to farmers where the farmer is not the landowner. [57303]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Ministry has a contractual obligation to review payments under the ESA scheme every two years. Reviews are based on an assessment of the costs incurred by agreement holders in complying with the terms of the agreements, and any necessary incentive, in accordance with relevant EU legislation.
562WThe total costs of complying with an agreement should be independent of the tenure status of the agreement holder or holders. The Ministry considers at each review whether the payment rates are adequate to attract sufficient applicants to the scheme to meet the targets set.