§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what area payments are available to producers of(a) maize, (b) wheat, 781W (c) barley, (d) oats, (e) sugar beet and (f) other crops; what is the value of each payment (i) in aggregate and (ii) by volume or area; and what are the conditions upon which payments depend. [26001]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 11 January 2002]: Payments are available to producers under the Arable Area Payments Scheme for crops of Cereals (which include barley, oats and maize), Proteins, Linseed, Rapeseed, Flax, Hemp and Set-aside. Sugar Beet can only be claimed under this scheme for non-food use. It does not attract a payment but may be counted towards a producer's set-aside requirement.
The payment rates for crops claimed in England in 2001 per hectare are £225.6466 for Cereals and set-aside, £264.3094 for Oilseeds, £259.6757 for Proteins and £270.8829 for Linseed, Fibre Flax and Hemp. There is a further supplement to the basic rate available for Durum Wheat of £84.4647.
In 2000, the total value of payments made with respect to English applications was as follows:
£ Basic payment Agri-monetary Compensation Maize 4,340,419 145,988 Cereals (excluding maize) 583,020,470 19,757,296 Oilseeds 88,204,626 2,984,108 Proteins 53,881,564 1,824,176 Linseed 22,363,270 782,726 Durum Wheat Supplement 1,240,699 12,450 Set-aside 100,965,458 3,456,446 Total 854,016,506 28,963,190 The Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS) offers payments per hectare to growers of the crops already mentioned. There are a number of conditions that land and crops being claimed must meet, the main ones being as follows. Eligibility of land for AAPS is as a general rule effectively restricted to land that was in arable rotation on 31 December 1991. In order to qualify for full payment, all producers claiming more than 15.62 ha must set-aside a certain percentage of their claimed eligible land. All crops claimed under this scheme must be shown and maintained in line with local standards and must be maintained until specified dates. Details of the scheme requirements are published annually in literature available to claimants.