Britain: An official handbook > 1993

BRITAIN 1993: AN OFFICIAL HANDBOOK.
environmental enhancement of their farms
and pollution control. Hill and upland
farmers can also benefit from headage
payments on cattle and sheep, known as
compensatory allowances. Launching aid is
available to production and marketing groups
in the horticultural sector.
In Less Favoured Areas (LFAs), where
land quality is poor, farmers benefit from
enhanced rates of grant and special payments
on livestock. Their purpose is to support the
continuation of livestock farming in the hill
and upland areas, thereby conserving the
countryside and maintaining a viable
population in the LFAs.
Smallholdings and Crofts
Local authorities provide over 5,500 statutory
smallholdings in England and just under 900
in Wales. They make loans of up to 75 per
cent of required working capital to their
tenants. Land settlement in Scotland has
been carried out by the Government, which,
while now seeking to dispose of holdings to
its sitting tenants, still owns and maintains
120,228 hectares (296,963 acres) of land
settlement estates, comprising 1,455 crofts
and holdings.
In the crofting areas of Scotland (the
former counties, in the Highlands and
Islands, of Argyll, Inverness, Ross and
Cromarty, Sutherland, Caithness, Orkney and
Shetland) much of the land is held by tenants
as ‘crofters’. They enjoy the statutory
protection provided by crofting legislation
and can benefit from government schemes
which exist to support and help crofting
communities. Most crofters are part-time or
spare-time agriculturalists using croft income
to supplement income from activities such as
weaving, fishing, tourism and other
occupations. The Crofters Commission has a
statutory duty to promote the interests of
crofters and to keep all crofting matters
under review.
Tenancy Legislation
Approximately 35 per cent of agricultural
land in England and Wales is tenanted. The
agricultural holdings legislation protects the
interests and rights of landlords and tenants,
with provision for arbitration in the event of
a dispute. Most agricultural tenants have the
right to contest a notice to quit, which is
then ineffective unless the landlord obtains
consent to its operation from an independent
body (in England and Wales, the Agricultural
Land Tribunal and in Scotland, the Scottish
Land Court). On termination of tenancy, the
tenant is entitled to compensation in
accordance with a special code. Practically all
farms in Northern Ireland are owner-
occupied, but, under a practice known as
‘conacre’, occupiers not wishing to farm all
their land let it annually to others. About
one-fifth of agricultural land is let under this
practice and is used mainly for grazing.
Agriculture and Protection of the
Countryside
Agriculture ministers have a general duty,
under the Agriculture Act 1986, to seek to
achieve a reasonable balance between the
needs of an efficient and stable agriculture
industry and other interests in the
countryside, including the conservation of its
natural beauty and amenity and the
promotion of its enjoyment by the public. In
addition, they are required to further
conservation of the countryside in the
administration of farm capital grant schemes
both in National Parks and in Sites of Special
Scientific Interest designated by the nature
conservancy bodies.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Under the Environmentally Sensitive Areas
(ESA) Scheme, a British idea which other
European Community members are
following, 19 areas in Britain—ten in
England, five in Scotland, two in Wales and
two in Northern Ireland—have been
designated. Twelve further areas in England,
five in Scotland, four in Wales and two in
Northern Ireland, have been proposed for
designation over the next couple of years.
The Scheme is designed to help protect some
of the most beautiful parts of the country
from the damage and loss that can come from
agricultural change. ESAs are notable for
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