To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the costs in real terms of administration for farmers in each of the last four years. [82180]

Costs vary, depending upon the number of schemes participated in. The 1996 efficiency scrutiny on simplifying paperwork estimated that a livestock farmer involved with cattle and sheep and participating in a voluntary conservation scheme, possibly therefore with a heavier paperwork requirement than an average farmer, would spend £2,700 of his time dealing with paperwork. Implementation of scrutiny recommendations, where possible, should now be saving the equivalent of £6.5 million of farmers' time each year. Our aim is to keep the paperwork burden to a minimum, consistent with safeguarding public health, funds and the environment.