To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total amount of land now covered by the set-aside arrangements; and what expenditure is involved in financing this per annum.

The latest information available indicates that the total amount of land to be set aside in England in the year commencing 1 October 1990 will be some 105,000 hectares. A total of £7·4 million was paid in the financial year 1989–90 to participants in the first year of the set-aside scheme and a further £17·5 million has been allocated in the 1990–91 financial year in respect of participants in the second year of the scheme.