§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect on farm diversification of pre-1983 agricultural tenancy conditions which refer to earnings from agriculture. [150885]
§ Alun MichaelMinisters have become increasingly concerned that agricultural tenancy legislation, together with the terms contained in agricultural tenancy agreements, combine to prevent some tenant farmers from participating in diversification and agri-environment activities. Income from diversified activities might also affect succession rights under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986. In view of these concerns, we reconvened the Tenancy Reform Industry Group in November 2002. The Group was asked to make recommendations to improve the health of the tenancy sector, and in particular, to encourage greater participation in farm diversification among tenant farmers.
The Tenancy Reform Industry Group presented its report to Government in June 2003. The report, which has the support of all Group members, made a number of wide ranging recommendations for increasing flexibility within agricultural tenancies. These include updating the statutory succession provisions in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 to allow income derived from farm diversification projects undertaken with the consent of the landlord to be taken into account in assessing eligibility for succession to an agricultural tenancy. The Group also recommended a code of practice on diversification within agricultural tenancies, backed up by an independent adjudication scheme to which disputes can be referred when they cannot be settled between parties.
The Government responded to the Report of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group shortly before Christmas. The Government accepted all of the Group's recommendations for amendments to the existing tenancy legislation and the proposed code of practice. It is anticipated that changes to the legislation will be effected by means of an Order under the Regulatory Reform Act. It is hoped that a formal consultation document on the Regulatory Reform Order will be issued later in the year.
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§ Paddy TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the total amount of Common Agricultural Policy subsidy paid to English farms in 2003, broken down by county; and what the(a) highest, (b) lowest and (c) average individual payment in each county were. [151352]
§ Alun MichaelThe following table shows the total amount and average individual payments made for each county1 in England. However, we are unable to supply
County Total amount (£) Number of claims Average payment (£) Tees Valley and Durham 33,823,029.86 1,763 19,184.92 Northumberland and Tyne & Wear 66,327,723.89 1,872 35,431.48 Cumbria 72,822,877.45 4,852 15,008.84 Cheshire 16,210,308.85 2,110 7,682.61 Greater Manchester 4,320,959.33 560 7,715.99 Lancashire 23,156,928.16 2,639 8,774.89 Merseyside 2,762,820.68 188 14,695.85 East Riding and North Lincolnshire 56,488,361.31 2,166 26,079.58 North Yorkshire 111,619,984.91 6,108 18,274.39 South Yorkshire 14,762,236.39 809 18,247.51 West Yorkshire 14,179,485.69 1,469 9,652.47 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 55,531,457.94 3,596 15,442.56 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 78,391,446.46 3,232 24,254.78 Lincolnshire 98,095,650.80 3,432 28,285.65 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 74,282,940.97 5,158 14,401.50 Shropshire and Staffordshire 78,969,277.49 6,222 12,691.94 West Midlands 2,380,209.55 210 11,334.33 East Anglia 186,325,648.48 8,097 23,011.69 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 35,191,734.37 1,243 28,311.93 Essex 51,179,181.00 1,746 29,312.25 Inner London 1,482,857.45 100 14,828.57 Outer London 1,964,304.69 145 13,546.93 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 77,024,191.94 2,987 25,786.47 Surrey, East and West Sussex 48,432,661.98 2,615 18,521.09 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 38,625,646.00 1,747 22,109.70 Kent 38,054,781.42 1,808 21,047.99 Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and North Somerset 88,933,774.97 5,315 16,732.60 Dorset and Somerset 65,335,288.74 5,570 11,729.85 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 45,469,578.91 3,892 11,682.83 Devon 91,593,508.63 7,613 12,031.20
§ Paddy TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Common Agricultural Policy payments were made to farmers in each English county in 2003; and what the total area was that the subsidy related to, broken down by county. [151353]
§ Alun MichaelThe number of Common Agriculture Policy payments made to farmers in each English county and the areas the subsidy related to are set out in the following tables. The county split for the number of claims paid is in line with NUTS 2 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) regional analysis.
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County Claims paid Tees Valley and Durham 1,763 Northumberland and Tyne and Wear 1,872 Cumbria 4,852 Cheshire 2,110 Greater Manchester 560 Lancashire 2,639 Merseyside 188 East Riding and North Lincolnshire 2,166 information on individual payments under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 unless such details are allowed by any of the exemptions to the Act. If such exemptions can be identified then further consideration can be given to the request.
Financial figures represent the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund 2003 accounting year which runs from 16 October 2002 to 15 October 2003.
1 The county split is in line with NUTS 2 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) regional analysis.435W
County Claims paid North Yorkshire 6,108 South Yorkshire 809 West Yorkshire 1,469 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3,596 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 3,232 Lincolnshire 3,432 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 5,158 Shropshire and Staffordshire 6,222 West Midlands 210 East Anglia 8,097 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1,243 Essex 1,746 Inner London 100 Outer London 145 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2,987 Surrey, East and West Sussex 2,615 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1,747 Kent 1,808 Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and North Somerset 5,315 Dorset and Somerset 5,570 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 3,892 Devon 7,613
County Area (ha) Bedfordshire 73,816 Berkshire 43,578 Buckinghamshire 100,562 Cleveland 23,101 Cambridgeshire 216,721 Cheshire 108,343 Cornwall 218,073 Cumbria 415,450 Derbyshire 164,544 Devon 417,851 Dorset 148,170 Durham 140,407 Essex 215,356 Gloucestershire 165,425 Hampshire 163,909 Isle of Wight 18,562 Hereford and Worcester 225,024 Hertford 80,630 Kent 162,236 Lancashire 172,266 Leicestershire 170,573 Lincolnshire 398,284 Merseyside 13,153 Greater London (ER) 3,223 Middlesex 3,177 Norfolk 280,035 Northamptonshire 164,961 Tyne and Wear 13,370 Northumberland 339,728 Nottingham 118,970 Oxfordshire 177,769 Avon 62,751 Shropshire 226,462 Somerset 211,011 Staffordshire 157,099 Suffolk 225,151 Isles of Scilly 49 Surrey 35,421 East Sussex 71,501 West Sussex 79,980 Warwickshire 120,579 Greater Manchester 24,769 Wiltshire 214,649 West Midlands 11,518 South Yorkshire 70,288 North Yorkshire 483,462 Beverly 76,166 North Yorkshire 46,076 Humberside 230,332 Total 7,352,423