Written question asked by Andrew George (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 11 November 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 18 November 2004. It was answered by Alun Michael (Labour) on Thursday, 18 November 2004 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether tenancies secured under the provisions of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1986 will be treated as entitled to payments from the National Reserve under the proposed Single Farm Payment system.

Answer: Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether tenancies secured under the provisions of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1986 will be treated as entitled to payments from the National Reserve under the proposed Single Farm Payment system. [198821] Alun Michael: In applying the provisions of the national reserve, leases of six years or more (five in some circumstances) may be considered as equivalent to purchase and lead to an award under the "investors" category. The 1986 Act Tenancies are essentially one- year renewable tenancies. We are still considering whether they can be considered as long-term tenancies for this purpose.

Secondary information