To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list current and past rates of payment, at 1991 prices, per hectare for each of the environmentally sensitive areas which have been in existence for more than three years; and if he will make a statement.

For the current rates of payment, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him earlier today. The former rates of payments in the stage I areas under the schemes which terminated on 31 December 1991 were as follows:

	£
Broads
Tier 1	125
Tier 2	200
Pennine Dales
Tier 1	100
Somerset Levels and Moors
Tier 1	82
Tier 2	120
South Downs
Tier1	35
Tier 2—Arable conversion	160
West Penwith
Tier 1	60

The payments in the former and the revised stage I schemes are not strictly comparable since the revisions to the scheme introduced variations in the conditions and some totally new measures.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the payment per hectare in each environmentally sensitive area; and if he will make a statement.

The current payments per hectare in each environmentally sensitive area are as follows.

Areas designated in 1987 (stage I) and revised in 1992
	£
Broads
Tier 1	125
Tier 2	220
Tier 3	250
Tier 4—Arable reversion	200
Tier 4—Grassland margins	280
Conservation Plan (up to a ceiling of £3,000 over 2 years)	75

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the new environmentally sensitive areas that he intends to designate and how many existing environmentally sensitive areas he intends to expand; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to the reply, 11 November 1991, c. 420]: I am today issuing for public consultation proposals on the boundaries, aims and operation of six new environmentally sensitive areas. They cover:

• The Avon Valley (south of Salisbury)
• Exmoor
• Lake District
• North Kent Marshes
• South Wessex Downs (Wiltshire and Dorset)
• South West Peak

The areas proposed will add some 417,000 hectares to the 387,000 hectares currently within ESAs in England. They vary in character from coastal marshland to mountain and moorland, and include some of Britain's most beautiful countryside and important wildlife habitats. I am making copies of the consultation documents available in the Library of the House.ESAs help farmers to conserve and enhance special habitats, landscapes and features of historic interest. They have been widely acclaimed by both farmers and environmentalists. I am therefore delighted to be able to announce proposals for this major extension to the farmland covered by ESAs.The six new schemes covered by the proposals will open for applications in the summer, after the results of the consultation have been analysed and the detailed arrangements finalised. A further six ESAs will be introduced next year.