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Mr. Curry : The Agriculture Council on 11-12 December, as part of the follow-up to the reform of the sheepmeat regime, agreed a definition of a heavy lamb carcase for the purpose of determinin the level of ewe premium payments to be paid to sheep milk producers. That will not affect the payments under the 1990 scheme to sheep milk producers in this country. The special arrangements governing payments to sheeps' milk
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producers, which were agreed by the September Council, will come into effect in the United Kingdom from the beginning of 1991. The Council also agreed revised terms of access for Argentinian and Australian sheepmeat exports to the EC.Food and Farming Year
24. Mr. Roger King : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the key achievements of Food and Farming Year ; and what assessment he has made of its effectiveness.
Mr. Gummer : Food and Farming Year was organised by the industry to increase public awareness of farming and food production as an industry and as a way of life. The high interest shown at food and farming events throughout the country, and particularly at the major exhibitions at Hyde park and Gateshead, is a clear indication of the year's success.
Salmonella
25. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what support his Department has given to scheme quality certification for British eggs and for the exclusion of imported eggs that do not meet the United Kingdom's anti-salmonella measures.
Mr. Curry : This certification scheme is an initiative by Food from Britain, which we welcome. We are also encouraging egg packers and retailers to market "British eggs" positively so that consumers are able to identify, and select, such eggs. As for the banning of imported eggs, we have no evidence that would justify such action at present.
49. Mr. Morgan : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about controlling salmonella food poisoning.
Mr Maclean : Control of salmonella in food is a complex problem. The Government have taken action in areas of particular concern, especially through the adoption of a comprehensive package of measures in relation to salmonella in eggs. The Government have also issued important advice to consumers on the hygienic handling and preparation of food in the home.
64. Mr. Ashton : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many chickens have been officially slaughtered in the current year because his inspectors have found salmonella infection in their eggs.
Mr. Maclean : The compulsory slaughter arrangements are based on the testing of birds rather than eggs. Up to 22 December 1989 1,024, 149 birds have been slaughtered compulsorily because of the presence of salmonella enteritidis or S. Typhimurium in the flock.
Food Safety Bill
26. Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which organisations have made representations to him since the publication of the Food Safety Bill.
38. Mr. Vaz : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has received any further representations concerning the Food Safety Bill ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Maclean : I have received representations from a wide range of interests, including those of consumers, enforcement bodies and the food industry. The Bill has received a broad welcome from all sides.Horticultural Growers
27. Mr. Moss : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what analysis his Department has undertaken on the principal input costs for horticultural growers.
Mr. Curry : Comprehensive economic information on full-time horticultural businesses, including data on input costs, is collected in the farm business survey. The latest published information is in the 1989 edition of "Farm Incomes in the United Kingdom", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
EEC Butter
29. Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the method of distributing supplies of European Economic Community butter.
Mr. Curry : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Cryer).
Microwave Ovens
31. Mr. Marlow : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken to improve consumer information about the operation of microwave ovens.
Mr. Maclean : My right hon. Friend the Minister published the report on the study commissioned by the Ministry on the uniformity and reproducibility of reheating in domestic microwave ovens on 4 December 1989, the day on which he received it. He was immediately in touch with the oven manufacturers' representatives. As a result, as the Minister informed the House in response to a private notice question from the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 6 December at columms 323-27, the manufacturers issued updated and improved instructions on that day in relation to the models for which that was appropriate. The manufacturers were also able to make fuller information available through retail outlets and, as the Minister indicated in his reply to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 18 December at column 30, we have encouraged retailers to stock this information.
Farm Incomes
32. Mr. Quentin Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on current and future levels of farm incomes.
Mr. Gummer : Estimates of farm incomes for 1989 will be published in "Agriculture in the United Kingdom 1989" within the next few weeks. Incomes for future years will be influenced by many factors and it is not possible to give reliable estimates at this stage.
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Rutland Water
33. Mr. Latham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the findings of his departmental veterinary service into the deaths of animals connected with Rutland Water in the weeks up to 8 September.
Mr. Maclean : Ten dead lambs and two dogs were examined by Ministry veterinary investigation centres in the period from 21 August to 7 September. Tissue samples were also examined at the university of Dundee. There is evidence that some of the sheep were suffering from relatively common diseases, such as pulpy kidney and pasteurella. However, results show that some of the sheep deaths and that of both dogs may be linked to the ingestion of blue green algal toxins.
Fishing Industry
34. Mr. Salmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of prospects for the fishing industry in 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
46. Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the prospects for the fishing industry in 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
51. Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the prospects for the fishing industry in 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : The value of landings increased by 44 per cent. between 1983 and 1988 against a generally stable volume of catches, but opportunities in 1990 will be less. However, while in the interests of conservation 20 quotas are lower than in 1989, including substantial cuts for North sea cod and haddock, 17 others remain stable and 12 quotas have increased.
Where quotas have been reduced, that has been in order to conserve stocks and safeguard the long-term future of the fishing industry. The extent to which earnings are affected will depend upon the market response to the lower landings.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will take steps to devolve central control of the inshore fishing industry of England and Wales to a regional fisheries management organisation which would co-ordinate the work of his Ministry's fisheries inspectorate and provide the contract and administrative body for the sea fisheries committee ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : I have no plans to create such a regional fisheries management body, but I am looking at alternative quota management measures.
Irish Sea
35. Mr. McGrady : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about fishing limits in the Irish sea ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : I have received inquiries from the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations but am aware of
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the concern of others. Any arrangement made to implement the provision for a 12-mile territorial sea for the Isle of Man would clearly, in relation to fisheries, have to safeguard the interests of all our fishermen and our Community obligations. I refer the hon. Member to the Adjournment debate on 13 December, Official Report, columns 1142-48.Trawsgoed Laboratories
36. Mr. John P. Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the future of the Trawsgoed laboratories.
Mr. Gummer : I refer the hon. Member to the penultimate paragraph of the written answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Mr. Speed) on 14 December 1989, Official Report, column 800 .
Transportation of Live Animals
37. Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to improve the conditions under which live animals are transported.
Mr. Maclean : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 20 December, Official Report, column 349 .
Dairy Sector
39. Mr. Knox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next intends to meet the chairman of the Milk Marketing Board to discuss the dairy sector.
Mr. Curry : My right hon. Friend and I have regular meetings with the chairman of the Milk Marketing Board.
Green Currencies
40. Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will next meet the Agriculture Commissioner of the European Economic Community to discuss green currencies.
Mr. Curry : I meet the Agriculture Commissioner regularly. I shall discuss green currencies with him in the context of the cap price fixing, on which the Agriculture Council may have a preliminary discussion at its meeting on 22-23 January.
HSE Agricultural Inspectorate
41. Mr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met representatives from the Health and Safety Executive's agriculture inspectorate ; and what subjects were discussed.
Mr. Gummer : Ministerial responsibilities for the agricultural inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive fall to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.
Food Labelling
42. Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress in establishing a common European standard for the labelling of fats and other nutritional contents of food offered for sale.
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Mr. Maclean : A European Community "Common Position" was reached on the Draft Nutrition Labelling (Rules) Directive, which includes provision for the labelling of fats, at the Internal Market Council on 21 December last. The proposals will now go to the Euopean Parliament for its second opinion before returning to Council for final adoption. The Council agreed a two-stage approach similar to the Ministry's nutrition labelling guidelines, consisting of a minimum declaration of the "Big 4" nutrients (energy, protein carbohydrate and fat) plus any other nutrient for which a claim is made. A second group of nutrients (sugars, saturates, fibre and sodium) will be added to the "Big 4" six years after notification of the directive, with the declaration of the "Big 4" only continuing to be an option. The giving of nutrition information will be voluntary except when a nutrient claim is made.
The United Kingdom would have preferred to introduce the second group of nutrients immediately but had to accept the phasing-in arrangements in order to obtain agreement on the total package which, on our initiative, includes provision to review the directive, in the light of experience, eight years after notification. A number of the directive's detailed provisions remain to be agreed at Community level but it is intended that those outstanding matters will be resolved within the time allowed for implementation, which is three years after the directive was adopted. Some changes to United Kingdom regulations will be needed, but there is no reason why manufacturers and retailers cannot adopt the main provisions of the directive as soon as it is finalised and I shall be urging them to give as much nutrition information as possible within the format laid down in the directive. In particular, I believe that a full nutrition declaration should be given whenever a nutrition claim is made, to ensure that consumers are not misled by selective claims.
No progress has been made on the directive to enable the introduction of the compulsory labelling of certain nutrients and that remains on the table for further discussion.
52. Mr. Hayes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to undertake a comprehensive review of food labelling.
Mr. Maclean : I announced on 15 November that I have asked the Food Advisory Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of food labelling.
Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances
43. Mr. Amos : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken to ensure that Britain retains the use of hill livestock compensatory allowances to assist farmers in the less favoured areas.
Mr. Curry : In the negotiations last year on the reforms of the EC structural funds, my right hon. Friend argued vigorously in support of the United Kingdom arrangements for paying hill livestock compensatory allowances. The Government remain fully committed to continuing to provide appropriate support to farmers in the less favoured areas of the United Kingdom including support through the HLCA scheme.
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Imported Eggs
44. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many eggs have been imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last three months.
Mr. Curry : The latest monthly data supplied by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are as follows :
1989 |Thousand eggs ------------------------------------------ September |58,044 October |38,285 November |74,354
Set-Aside
45. Mr. Hunter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement on his policy regarding set-aside.
Mr. Curry : I shall be announcing in due course the arrangements for the third year of the scheme starting on 1 October 1990.
Consumers Association
47. Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the Consumers Association ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Maclean : I met the Consumers Association on 21 November 1989 when we discussed healthy methods of cooking in catering as a contribution to reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease.
Food Advisory Committee
48. Mr. Mans : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes he has made to the membership of the Food Advisory Committee in order to improve consumer representation.
Mr. Maclean : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 13 December 1989 ( Official Report, columns 695-97 ).
Agriculture Council
50. Mr. Cox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last attended an Agriculture Council meeting ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Gummer : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Lee) on 13 December ( Official Report, column 698 ).
Farm-Bred Turkeys
53. Mr. Key : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has received any proposals from the European Commission concerning the future of traditional farm-bred turkeys.
Mr. Maclean : The European Commission officials are working on a draft measure for the production of all poultry meat in the single market but have not yet made a formal proposal to the Council. The industry and other interests concerned are being kept fully informed of developments and I shall take account of their views in future negotiations.
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Newcastle upon Tyne
54. Mr. Cousins : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how long his Department has used Newcastle upon Tyne as a location for their administration activities.
Mr. Curry : My Department and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries before it has used Newcastle upon Tyne as an office location since at least 1939.
Farm Animal Welfare
55. Miss Widdecombe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received on farm animal welfare.
Mr. Maclean : I receive representations from the public, the industry and welfare organisations on many aspects of farm animal welfare.
Fishing Vessels (Licensing)
56. Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to amend current licence arrangements for United Kingdom fishing vessels.
Mr. Curry : We have recently consulted the industry on proposed changes to the licensing system, which would permit the aggregation of vessel capacity. We are still awaiting some industry views but hope to be able to make an arrangement shortly.
We are likely to have to make some changes to licensing conditions once the Divisional Court has considered the recent judgment of the European Court of Justice in cases 3/87 Agegate and 216/87 Jaderow.
Cereal Production
57. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons the Agriculture Council determined to disregard the automatic stabiliser for cereal production in December.
Mr. Gummer : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 19 December by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister (Official Report column 122) .
Upland Farmers
63. Mr. Hague : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his latest assessment of economic conditions for upland farmers.
Mr. Curry : A statement on the outcome of the annual review of the economic conditions in the United Kingdom's hill and upland areas will be made as soon as possible.
Agricultural Development and Advisory Service
65. Mr. Hind : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what policies are being developed to ensure that the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service is becoming more commercial in its operations.
Mr. Gummer : ADAS introduced its commercial services in April 1987. Since then it has exceeded its revenue targets in both 1987-88 and 1988-89, and is
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expected to do so again in the current financial year. Steps have also been taken to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The performance of ADAS is kept under review and in the medium term it has been set a target of recovering 50 per cent. of the full economic cost of providing commercial advisory services by 1993-94.Pollution Control
66. Mr. Irvine : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what uptake there has been in 1989 for pollution control projects under the farm and conservation grant scheme.
Mr. Curry : Interest in the grants available under the farm and conservation grant scheme for pollution control projects has been high. To date nearly 3,000 farmers in England have notified us of their intention to carry out this type of work. Grant paid on work already carried out under the scheme as a whole, which also includes other conservation items, so far amounts to about £1.5 million.
Eggs
67. Mr. Alexander : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will undertake a review of the overall effectiveness of recent legislation affecting the egg producing industry.
Mr. Maclean : The requirements on testing of poultry flocks for salmonella, introduced in March 1989, have already been modified. This and related legislation will be kept under review.
73. Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the present state of the egg industry.
Mr. Curry : Egg supplies are still somewhat lower than in November 1988 and consumption is also down, but packer to producer prices are very firm and are currently at their highest levels for over five years.
I am encouraging our egg packers and retailers to market British eggs, which are now produced to the highest standards, in a way that will enable consumers to identify and select them.
Papain
68. Mr. Boyes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the administration of the tendering agent papain to cattle prior to slaughter.
Mr. Maclean : I refer the hon. Member to the full statement that I made on this matter during the Adjournment debate on 7 November 1989.
Meat Prices
69. Mr. Archer : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect upon retail prices of meat if European Economic Community directive 64/433 is implemented.
Mr. Curry : EC directive 64/433 is already in force and sets down hygiene, inspection and structural requirements for meat plants exporting to other EC member states. Draft proposals currently under discussion would extend
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similar requirements to all meat plants. Any impact on retail prices of meat would depend on the individual decisions of meat plant operators in the light of the competitive market situation that they faced.Farm Woodland Scheme
70. Mr. Jim Marshall : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the operation of the farm woodland scheme.
Mr. Gummer : The farm woodland scheme came into operation on 1 October 1988. By the end of November 1989 applications had been received to plant 8,938 hectares, 75 per cent. with broadleaved trees. The scheme is clearly successful in encouraging farmers to plant woodlands on land that would otherwise contribute to production of surplus food. It also holds out the prospect of environmental and landscape improvements in the longer term.
71. Mr. Boswell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current uptake of the farm woodland scheme.
72. Mr. Livsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the current uptake of applications for the farm woodland scheme.
Mr. Gummer : In the first 14 months of the farm woodland scheme 1, 323 farmers applied to plant a total of 8,938 hectares of trees throughout the United Kingdom. The trees will be planted in small areas, which average around 6 hectares per farm and 75 per cent. will be broadleaved species.
Wastes
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields, 14 December, Official Report, column 800, if he will place in the Library the comments of (a) Sweden, (b) Denmark, (c) the Netherlands, (d) Germany and (e) Norway to his proposals to permit licences for the dumping of the relevant wastes.
Mr. Gummer : I have arranged for the material requested to be placed in the Library, together with the documents to which the comments relate and my Department's replies to these comments. The departmental papers show that the wastes concerned will not harm the marine environment and that at present there exists no alternative means of disposal for them on land which would be environmentally acceptable.
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