Agricultural Support Mr. Hancock To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been paid to farmers in grant aid and subsidy in each year since 1997, expressed in (a) actual and (b) real terms; and what future such payments are planned, expressed in the same terms. Barry Gardiner 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.