Arable Area Payments Scheme: Retrospection

The Earl of Courtown
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm that the new rules concerning 2 metre boundary limits under Part I of the Arable Area Payments Scheme will not be retrospective. [HL803]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Hayman)
We would not expect to make adjustments to previous years' claims in cases where a field margin which was found on inspection in 2000 to be over 2 metres wide would previously have been considered eligible under the Arable Area Payments Scheme.