Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of hill farmers in England and Wales.
We are able to provide the number of farms within Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) which cover mountainous and hill farming areas. The LFAs are subdivided into two areas. The more environmentally challenging areas within LFAs are classed as ‘Severely Disadvantaged Areas’. The remainder are classified as ‘Disadvantaged Areas’.
Figures for England and Wales in 2018 are shown below:
| Number of holdings | |
England | Wales | |
Less Favoured Areas | 17,868 | 29,824 |
of which Disadvantaged Areas | 8,345 | 13,461 |
of which Severely Disadvantaged Areas | 9,523 | 16,363 |