To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what subsidies were paid out for environmentally sensitive areas in England in (a) 1992–93, (b) 1993–94, (c) 1994–95 and (d) 1995–96; and how many individuals were recipients of these payments in these years. [37130]

The Ministry paid the following sums to ESA agreement holders in England:

	Amount paid (£000s)	Number of recipients
1992–93	10,461	3,265
1993–94	16,235	4,514
1994–95	19,367	6,141

The above figures relate to United Kingdom financial years (i.e. 1 April to 31 March).It is estimated that £30 million will be paid in 1995–96 to about 7,000 recipients.