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The Lord Harrison – To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many orchards and how many hectares given over to orchards have been lost in the past 50 years in Great Britain; and how many of these are traditionally managed and grazed by animals for six months of the year.
Census data shows that the total area of orchards in England declined from 110,590 ha in 1950 to 29,998 ha in 2000. Figures for Scotland and Wales fall under the jurisdiction of the devolved authorities. The census data does not record the number of orchards, nor which orchards were traditionally managed or grazed.
The Lord Harrison – To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 6,000 varieties of apples registered in national apple lists are still available in British supermarkets; and what percentage of apples sold in British supermarkets are British-sourced.
There is no definitive list of the number of apple varieties that exist as they, along with other fruit, are not subject to National Listing. However, over 2000 varieties of apple are held in the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale. Only a few of these varieties are of commercial significance and regularly appear on supermarket shelves, though other less common varieties are sold periodically by some outlets who wish to offer their customers a wider choice. We estimate that, by quantity, about 30% of the total supply of apples in the UK is home produced.
The Lord Harrison – To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will seek changes from the European Commission before 1 st January 2005 to ensure that Britain’s remaining orchards will not be grubbed up as a result of the change in European Commission farm payment rules to promote care for the environment above the continuing production support.
We are still considering the implications of detailed rules which were agreed in Brussels on 14 April, especially in respect of the treatment of grazed orchards. However, traditional English orchards already enjoy considerable protection under Countryside Stewardship agreements. Decisions on the future of commercial orchards are for the grower to make taking account of the market prospects for the product concerned, in keeping with the general principles of the recent CAP reform agreement.
The Lord Harrison – To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they alone amongst European Union member states have excluded orchards from being regarded as an environmental benefit as well as having cultural benefit and landscape value, thus excluding access to subsidy available to other European Union commercial orchards.
Orchards throughout the European Union are generally ineligible for the single payment, which cannot be paid on land under permanent crops. In England, the environmental benefits provided by traditional orchards are recognised in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which now provides funding of £600,000 a year for agreements covering two thirds of the area of traditional orchards.
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