asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is still the case, as stated by the Earl Ferrers in the House on 19th October 1981 (col. 617) that under the Financial Guidelines for Management Agreements to be issued under Section 50 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: "the payments offered, whether by way of annual payments of a capital sum, must depend on individual circumstances and be subject to negotiation".

Payments made in accordance with the guidance must reflect a wide variety of circumstances and, until some experience has been gained, will necessarily be based on individual assessment of the sum or sums payable. Later it may prove possible to devise standard payments for certain types of agreement covering well-defined categories of land and restrictions on farming operation but in no case will the claimant be obliged to accept a standard payment, where this option becomes available.

asked her Majesty's Government:Whether it is still the case that the Financial Guidelines for Management Agreements to be published under Section 50 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 will be statutory in view of the assurances given by the Minister for Local Government and Environmental Services in Standing Committee D of the House of Commons on 18th June 1981 (col. 951): "… on the matter of financial guidelines … They would of course be statutory".

The requirement for such guidance and its application is statutory, deriving from Section 50 of the Act.When published copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm that the judgment by Lord Justice Roskill in

Yes; the Financial Guidelines will provide the framework for decisions on financial matters, and restrict the scope for disagreement: but, as always where valuation questions are concerned, there will be room for differences of opinion: it is for this reason that Section 50(3) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides for arbitration.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they agree that the Wildlife and Countryside Act clearly states that the duty to offer management agreements on the Nature Conservancy Council or other relevant authority arises only after the relevant Minister has refused the payment of agricultural grant on the grounds that the relevant agricultural development has been objected to because it would damage conservation interests, and in these circumstances that it would be illegal for the Financial Guidelines for Management Agreements to be issued under Section 50 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to suggest that payments under such agreements should be calculated on the assumption that agricultural grants would have been paid.

No. The purpose of these provisions of the Act is to compensate for income forgone by an applicant for farm capital grant, who would otherwise be eligible for grant, but for a refusal solely on conservation grounds in consequence of an objection by the Nature Conservancy Council or relevant authority.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When it is proposed to publish a report on progress of the Trial Areas set up under the Transport Act 1980.

The three Trial Areas so far designated were set up on widely different dates. We would hope to have an interim evaluation from the Traffic and Road Research Laboratory next year.It is too soon to say as yet what will be the best course of action to take, following this evaluation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:(

At a meeting at the Department of Trade on 22nd November, trade and other interests discussed a departmental paper outlining a possible voluntary code of practice, and agreed to the Brewers' Society setting up a working party to prepare a draft code of practice to control the sale of wine by the glass. They expect to complete their work by the end of March 1983. Subject to the acceptability of the draft code, the Government will consider whether legislative action, including amendment of Schedule 3 to the Weights and Measures Act 1963, is needed to support it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the present level of inflation in the official pensioners' price index compared with the general retail price index; what is the purpose of the pensioners' index; and whether any future adjustment of pensions should be made in the light of the pensioners' price index.

Over the lifetime of this Government the general index of retail prices has risen faster than the pensioner price indices, and retirement pensions have risen faster still. But between the third quarter of 1981 and the same quarter of 1982 the pensioner indices rose by between 8.2 per cent. and 8.7 per cent., whereas the general index of retail prices rose by 8 per cent., if housing costs are included, and by 7 per cent. if they are excluded. The pensioner indices cover fewer pensioners than the RPI but are intended to monitor the price experience of a large, stable and important group of low income households whose expenditure patterns differ markedly from that of households covered by the general RPI. There would seem to be no advantage in moving to the use of indices other than the RPI for uprating retirement pensions and other benefits if, as experience shows, the differences in price movements tend to cancel out over time.