§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on how the Government intend to encourage farmers(a) to protect and maintain hedgerows and (b) to increase the number and area of field buffer strips; and if he will make a statement. [114173]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 13 March 2000]: The Ministry operates a range of schemes to encourage environmentally friendly farming. The Countryside Stewardship (CSS) Scheme and the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Scheme both provide for the planting, laying and coppicing of hedgerows. 10,000 km of hedgerows are currently managed under these schemes.
The CSS and some of the 22 ESAs also offer incentives to create field buffer strips. The Ministry is the lead partner in the Habitat Action Plans for cereal field margins and ancient species-rich hedgerows. The announcement by the Minister on 7 December that the funding of agrienvironment schemes will be doubled over the next seven years will allow for more hedgerows and field margins to be managed under these schemes.