Farming: Landscape Enhancement and Biodiversity Schemes (Hansard, 24 June 2003)

§ Lord Whitty

The Government have in place two main agri-environment schemes, Countryside Stewardship and environmentally sensitive areas, whose objectives include the conservation of biodiversity and the maintenance and enhancement of landscape quality and character. Expenditure under these two schemes in 1996–97 was £40 million. We have expanded them every year since then and the total budget for the two schemes in the current year (2003–04) is £129 million. However we want to go further. We are reviewing the current agri-environment schemes, with the aim of streamlining and simplifying them while also improving their effectiveness.

We also intend to increase the opportunities for all farmers to take part in agri-environment schemes by introducing a broadly based, entry level agri-environment scheme. This will reward a range of simple management practices designed to benefit a range of objectives, including biodiversity and landscape, on a much wider scale than has been possible hitherto. This scheme is currently being piloted in four areas of England. If the pilots for the scheme are successful, the Government will make national funding available to roll the scheme out across England.

This new entry level scheme will be designed to complement a revised higher tier scheme, incorporating both Countryside Stewardship and 17WA environmentally sensitive areas, which will continue to deliver the more demanding, complex and expensive aspects of environmental management. These two new schemes will form a single integrated structure.