§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many headage payments were paid for sheep in England in(a) 1995, (b) 1996, (c) 1997, (d) 1998 and (e) 1999; how many sheep were subsequently marketed in each of these years; and what factors underlay the totals in each category. [136440]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 6 November 2000]: Information on sheep headage payments in England for the years requested was given in the answer to my hon. Friend on 28 July 2000, Official Report, columns 1115-16W.
623WTo be eligible for payment the sheep concerned must be ewes kept for breeding which meet the rules of the two schemes. For the sheep annual premium scheme—SAPS—these include that appropriate quota is held by the producer, and for the hill livestock compensatory allowance—HLCA—that the sheep were kept in the less-favoured areas.
We have no information on whether the sheep are subsequently marketed in the same year. However around a quarter of the breeding flock is culled most years, as are the majority of those ewes which turn out to be barren.