§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she intends to take to ensure that farms in uplands are rewarded for improved environmental management of their land. [168948]
§ Alun MichaelA significant proportion of farmers in the uplands are already participating in our Environmentally Sensitive Area or Countryside Stewardship Schemes.
Next year we plan to roll out our new agri-environment scheme called Environmental Stewardship. The Entry Level of that scheme will be available to all upland farmers and we hope that many more of them will decide to join it.