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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 1 December 1988

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

Turkey (Kurdish Refugees)

Mr. George Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much aid has been provided by Her Majesty's Government to Turkey to assist in dealing with Kurdish refugees from Iraq.

Mr. Chris Patten : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn) on 25 November, at column 14 .

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Milk

11. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has received representations from consumer organisations about the future of milk production in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Donald Thompson : From time to time I receive representations from consumers organisations on a wide range of subjects. For example, my right hon. Friend the Minister recently met the National Consumer Council to discuss its views on a range of agricultural issues.

Food Poisoning

12. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what new measures he is proposing to reduce food poisoning.

Mr. Ryder : The Government have a long established system for reducing food poisoning. This involves a close working relationship between several Government Departments, and in particular close links between the Department of Health and ourselves.

For example, the State Veterinary Service monitors infections in animals. Controls are designed to cure the spread of infection in animals, animal products and animal protein used in feeding-stuffs. And detailed statutory requirements exist for the hygienic production of meat.

Early in the new year, we plan to launch, with the Department of Health, a major national campaign aimed at reminding, and educating, the public about the importance of maintaining good food hygiene practices to prevent food poisoning.

Wool Board

13. Mr. Waller : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what response he has received to his statement that the British Wool Marketing Board will remain in its present form.


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Mr. Donald Thompson : My right hon. Friend and I have received a favourable response from the farming industry, and from the board itself, to the continued operation of the British Wool Marketing Board.

50. Mr. Knapman : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what response he has received from the National Farmers Union and the chairman of the Wool Board to his recent statement on the British Wool Marketing Board's future role.

Mr. MacGregor : The president of the National Farmers Union and the chairman of the British Wool Marketing Board have both welcomed the continued operation of the statutory marketing arrangements for wool.

Set-aside Scheme

14. Mr. Mans : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken to ensure that the rules contained within the set-aside scheme will protect the local environment.

Mr. Ryder : In framing the rules of the scheme, my right hon. Friends and I took full account of the need to ensure that set-aside took full account of the environment. The detailed rules for the management of fallow land are outlined in the scheme documents, which also give advice on how set-aside can be used to maintain and improve environmental features such as hedgerows, shelterbelts and bridleways.

23. Mr. Stevens : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the latest figures on registration for the set-aside scheme.

Mr. MacGregor : About 2,000 farmers in the United Kingdom have applied for set-aside, representing about 150,000 acres of land to be taken out of arable production in this crop year. About 24,000 further farmers have registered their arable land so that they are in a position to apply for set-aside in the future without needing independent evidence of their 1987-88 cropping pattern.

59. Mr. David Davis : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to make the set-aside scheme compulsory.

Mr. Ryder : No.

55. Mr. Latham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the progress of the set-aside scheme.

61. Mr. Cox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the take-up so far of his Department's set-aside policy ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. MacGregor : I refer my hon. Friend and the hon. Member to the answer that I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr. Stevens).

Potatoes

15. Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to impose regulations governing the maximum residue level of pesticides, fungicides and sprout inhibitors allowable in potatoes, in line with United Nations regulations.


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Mr. Ryder : The Government have introduced statutory residue limits for potatoes under the Pesticides (Maximum Levels in Food) Regulations for 36 pesticide active ingredients covering all the main classes of pesticide use. There are a limited number of recommendations in this field from the Codex Alimentarius Commission, but no United Nations regulations.

Forestry Commission

16. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next expects to meet the chairman of the Forestry Commission ; and what matters will be discussed.

Mr. MacGregor : I meet the chairman of the Forestry Commission regularly. No meeting is planned for the immediate future.

Transport and General Workers' Union

17. Mr. McCartney : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to meet representatives of the agricultural and allied workers trade group of the Transport and General Workers' Union.

Mr. Ryder : I have no plans to do so at present.

Countryside Commission

18. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next expects to meet the chairman of the Countryside Commission ; and what matters will be discussed.

Mr. Ryder : I met the chairman of the Countryside Commission on 7 November when we discussed many issues of concern to the countryside. I have no immediate plans for another meeting but remain ready to discuss with him any matters of mutual concern.

Farmers Guide to the Planning System"

19. Mr. Colvin : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when his Department's document "The Farmers Guide to the Planning System" will be published ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. MacGregor : I hope that this guide, which my Department is preparing in association with the Department of the Environment and the Welsh Office, will be published in January.

British Veterinary Association

20. Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any plans to meet the British Veterinary Association.

Mr. Donald Thompson : I have no plans to meet the BVA at present but my officials are in frequent contact with it.

Common Agricultural Policy

21. Mr. Yeo : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the estimated cost to Britain of the common agricultural policy in 1989-90.

Mr. MacGregor : The latest forecast of public expenditure in the United Kingdom under the common


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agricultural policy in 1989-90 is £1,467 million. This covers all expenditure under Community market support and structural aid schemes for agriculture and fisheries but excludes related expenditure such as disease prevention, advice, research and development, land drainage and administration.

The United Kingdom Government also support spending under the common agricultural policy elsewhere in the Community through our net contribution to the European Community budget, which in 1989-90 is estimated at £1,970 million. Over that period it is expected that more than 60 per cent. of the European Community budget will be spent on the common agricultural policy.

33. Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next plans to meet other European Community Agriculture Ministers to discuss the common agricultural policy ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. MacGregor : I expect to meet other Agriculture Ministers in the Council of Ministers in the Council starting on 12 December.

37. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what initiatives he plans to take to implement the proposals for the reform of the common agricultural policy as outlined in the Gracious Speech ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. MacGregor : I am consistently endeavouring to ensure that the reforms established by the European Council in February and the price negotiations in July are carried out and to maintain the impetus at all appropriate times.

53. Mr. Kirkhope : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will indicate the positive results achieved by reforms of the common agricultural policy.

Mr. MacGregor : European Community stocks of most commodities have fallen significantly. Butter stocks are down 80 per cent. over the last year and skimmed milk powder stocks virtually eliminated. Stabilisers are cutting support levels, where production has exceeded the agreed threshold for cereals, oilseeds, olive oil, protein crops, cotton and sheep. The common agricultural policy is being effectively managed, within the guidelines, under the new budgetary discipline rules.

Monetary Compensatory Amounts

22. Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made by the European Community towards the abolition of monetary compensatory amounts by 1992.

Mr. MacGregor : The United Kingdom has made it clear that we regard it as essential to abolish monetary gaps by 1992 if we are to achieve the benefits of a single market in agriculture. With this objective, the Council with our strong support and pressure in 1987 agreed to a mechanism to dismantle newly-created monetary gaps in stages following each EMS realignment ; and in July 1988 that the existing fixed monetary gaps should be eliminated in four stages by 1992. The Commission is to report on how to remove variable monetary gaps and solve the other transitional problems which will arise.


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Agricultural Budget (EC)

24. Mr. Boswell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reduction in the spending of the European Community has arisen from savings on the agricultural budget as a result of decisions by the European Council in or since December 1986.

Mr. MacGregor : Decisions taken in December 1986 and since to reduce Community spending on agriculture have been estimated by the Commission to have saved about 2.7 becu, or about £1,840 million by the end of 1988.

Beans

25. Mr. Hind : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the latest estimates for the amount of beans harvested in 1988.

Mr. Ryder : Our estimate of the 1988 United Kingdom field bean crop, passed to the Commission in late August for purposes of forecasting Community production, was 512,000 tonnes. Latest trade estimates suggest that production may be higher than this.

An official estimate of the United Kingdom crop will be given in "Agriculture in the UK 1988" to be published early in the new year.

Animal Foodstuffs (Chemicals)

26. Mr. Ward : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what monitoring takes place of requests by individual farmers for animal food suppliers to add chemical substances to animal foodstuffs.

Mr. Donald Thompson : All sales of animal feedingstuffs have to meet the requirements of the Feedingstuffs Regulations 1988. Where medicinal substances have been used, the feed must also comply with the Medicine (Medicated Animal Feedingstuffs) Regulations 1988. Samples of feedingstuffs are taken by trading standards officers for analysis. In the case of medicinal substances, there is also enforcement of the controls by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

Fisheries (Devon and Cornwall)

27. Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the Devon and Cornwall fisheries development group with regard to the Cornish fishing industry past 1992.

Mr. Donald Thompson : I visited the group in Plymouth on 9 November. We had a full presentation and stimulating discussions of its plans and aims for the future.

Nitrates

28. Mrs. Gillian Shephard : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect the proposed restrictions to deal with the problem of nitrates will have on farmers ; and if he will make a statement.

29. Mr. Harris : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect the Government's response to the problem of high nitrates levels in water will have on farming practices.


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30. Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how farmers will be compensated for loss of crop yield if they reduce the use of nitrate-based fertilisers.

68. Ms. Quin : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any proposals to further restrict the use of nitrogen fertilisers in British agriculture.

69. Mr. Hunter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further action he proposes to take to help farmers deal with the problems caused by nitrogen leaching from the soil.

Mr. Ryder : I refer my hon. Friends and the hon. Member to the reply given on 24 November to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives (Mr. Harris).

Research and Development

31. Mr. Nicholas Baker : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the future funding of agricultural research and development expenditure.

Mr. Ryder : My Department's examination of its research and development programme took place against the objectives outlined in the July 1987 White Paper on civil research and development (Cm 185) and the Government's view that research which offers the prospect of commercial application or exploitation within a reasonable time scale is appropriate for funding by the industry. As announced in the Autumn Statement, funding for near market R and D has been reduced by £5 million for 1990-91 and £14 million for 1991-92. Together with the reduction announced last year this is equivalent to a reduction in 1991-92 of £30 million at full economic cost. Final decisions on the future level of Government funding will not be made until after consultations with industry have been completed.

54. Mr. Darling : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the agricultural industry about the future of research and development in agriculture ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. MacGregor : Following earlier discussions I had with the industry, my noble friend the Parliamentary Secretary has held meetings with all sectors of the agricultural horticultural and food industries to discuss the fututre funding of near market research and development following the completion of the Barnes review. More detailed consultations with the industry have taken place with officials from my Department. Industry organisations were asked to give their considered response by the end of October and these are now being studied.

56. Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the likely future contributions of the agricultural industry towards research and development ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Ryder : No such assessment has yet been made. We are currently examining industry's considered responses and consultations are continuing.


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Waste

32. Mr. Franks : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to review the grant system to upland-lowland farmers for waste handling facilities.

Mr. MacGregor : As I announced on 28 November a major feature of the new capital grant scheme that I hope to introduce in February will be improved aid for waste storage, treatment and disposal. We have made provision of up to £50 million over the next three years to allow for improved lowland grant rates and for the extension of eligibility to include fixed disposal piping and safety fencing.

Cereals

34. Mr. Leigh : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the 1988 United Kingdom cereals harvest.

Mr. Ryder : My Department currently estimates the 1988 cereals harvest in the United Kingdom to be 21.0 million tonnes.

48. Mr. Gill : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the latest estimates for the 1988 cereal harvest.

Mr. Ryder : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough and Horncastle (Mr. Leigh).

Sheepmeat

35. Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on what progress has been made in the European sheepmeat regime negotiations.

42. Mr. Pike : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any plans to review the operation of the sheepmeat regime ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Donald Thompson : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford (Mr. Shepherd) by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Country Landowners Association

36. Mr. Ashby : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the president of the Country Landowners Association ; and what was discussed.

Mr. Ryder : I last met the president of the Country Landowners Association on 4 November when I spoke at the CLA conference on set-aside. We discussed set-aside.

Milk Marketing Board

38. Mr. Knox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he is next due to meet the chairman of the Milk Marketing Board to discuss the dairy sector.

Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next expects to meet with the chairman of the Milk Marketing Board ; and what will be discussed.


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Mr. Donald Thompson : My right hon. Friend the Minister and I have regular contacts with the chairman of the Milk Marketing Board to discuss various issues affecting the dairy industry.

Marine Mammals

39. Mr. Worthington : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any proposals to monitor the incidental capture of marine mammals by commercial fishing vessels ; and if he will make a statement.

57. Mr. McLeish : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his Department has recently held discussions with fishermen's organisations regarding the phenomenon of the incidental capture of marine mammals.

Mr. Donald Thompson : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. McAllion).

Sheep Premium

40. Mr. Rogers : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with European Community agriculture Ministers about the future of the sheep variable premium scheme ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Donald Thompson : The Council of Ministers (Agriculture) has twice considered the proposals for a review of the sheepmeat regime tabled by the European Commission. These proposals include one to phase out the variable premium. Negotiations are as yet at an early stage.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

41. Mr. Hicks : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will increase the level of compensation to 100 per cent. for confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy affected cattle ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Donald Thompson : I believe that the existing compensation rate of 50 per cent. of market value is fair, given that the animals are suffering from a terminal illness but are valued as if unaffected by the disease.

66. Mr. George Howarth To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy have been identified to date ; in which counties ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Donald Thompson : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 28 November and which appears in the Official Report at columns 97- 98.

Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will outline the procedures for the disposal of carcases of cows infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Donald Thompson : The disposal of carcases of cattle suspected of being affected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy is the responsibility of the Ministry's State Veterinary Service. It ensures that transportation, which is


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prohibited except under licence, and incineration or burial is carried out in accordance with strict animal health conditions.

Employment

43. Mr. Martlew : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has assessed the implications of his agricultural policies on employment in the countryside ; and if he will make a statement.


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