The following tables show subsidies and other payments paid direct to farmers in the United Kingdom between 1996 and 2005 in current prices (or “actual terms”) and in real terms at 2005 prices with the retail prices index.
The data include subsidies and other payments funded by the EU. They exclude compensation for losses due to foot and mouth disease in 2001 and other capital transfers.
£ million Coupled subsidies1 Decoupled subsidies and other payments2 Total subsidies and other payments 1997 2,588 189 2,777 1998 2,436 210 2,646 1999 2,373 318 2,692 2000 2,187 297 2,484 2001 1,923 536 2,459 2002 2,132 562 2,694 2003 2,174 622 2,796 2004 2,369 585 2,955 20053 212 2,831 3,043
Retail prices index (2,000=100) Coupled subsidies1 (£ million) Decoupled subsidies and other payment2 (£ million) Total subsidies and other payments (£ million) 1997 92 3,154 230 3,384 1998 96 2,871 247 3,118 1999 97 2,755 369 3,124 2000 100 2,465 334 2,800 2001 102 2,129 594 2,723 2002 103 2,323 612 2,935 2003 106 2,302 659 2,961 2004 110 2,436 602 3,038 20053 113 212 2,831 3,043 1 Payments directly linked to the production of agricultural products, eg sheep annual premium, beef special premium scheme, less levies, eg milk superlevy. 2 Payments not linked to the production of agricultural products, eg single payment scheme, agri-environment schemes, support for less favoured areas. 3 Data for 2005 are provisional. Note: Excludes compensation for losses due to foot and mouth disease in 2001 and other capital transfers.
Looking ahead, expenditure on coupled subsidies is largely demand led and, therefore, difficult to estimate. Expenditure on decoupled subsidies will arise largely from the single payment scheme, for which the UK’s financial ceiling for years 2006 onwards is shown in the following table:
Budget for single payment scheme: United Kingdom (£ million)1 2006 2,673 2007 2,684 2008 2,695 2009 2,701 2010+ 2,694 1 Calculated using the euro/ exchange rate which applies in the 2006 scheme year (1€ = 0.67770).
The European Commission has also recently announced that the UK will receive approximately £1.3 billion for expenditure on rural development programmes over the seven-year period 2007-13. These European Funds must be matched, or near-matched, pound for pound with domestic exchequer money.