HC Deb 19 December 2002 vol 396 cc931-2W
32. Paddy Tipping

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whom she has consulted about the proposed entry level scheme for payments to farmers; and how the scheme links with other agri-environmental schemes. [86799]

Mr. Meacher

In March this year my Department held an initial public consultation on agri-environment schemes in England, including the Policy Commission's recommendation for an entry level scheme. We received over 130 responses, and the analysis of the responses is available on the Defra website at: http://defraweb/erdp/schemes/landbased/review/consultnew.htm Since then we have worked closely with a wide range of stakeholder organisations on developing the pilot for the entry level scheme. These include: Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers, Association of National Park Authorities, Country Land and Business Association, Countryside Agency, Environment Agency, English Heritage, English Nature, Farmcare, Game Conservancy Trust, Hill Farms Initiative, Local Government Association, National Farmers Union, National Trust, Royal Society Protection of Birds, Tenant Farmers Association, The Wildlife Trusts/Link, and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group. The conclusions of this work have led to the document on the proposed future framework for agri-environment schemes in England that was issued for consultation earlier this week. This document is available on the Defra website at: http://defraweb/corporate/consult/current.htm