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Great Crested Newts
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what action he is taking to protect the population of great crested newts, Triturus Cristatus, at Bamfield, Cambridgeshire ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what representations he has received from Dr. Clive Cummins relating to great crested newts ; and what response he has sent.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Following receipt of Dr. Cummins' letter of 5 February 1992, consultants dealing with environmental issues arising from the upgrading of the A1 to motorway between Alconbury and Peterborough, were instructed to carry out further site investigation. They have confirmed that Barnfield pond, which is in the garden of a private house adjacent to the A1, contains a number of great crested newts. English Nature will now be consulted before deciding appropriate action. A reply to Dr. Cummins' further letter of 14 May 1992 will be sent shortly.
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London Docklands Development Corporation
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been expended by his Department in the London Docklands development corporation area from the date of its inception until the end of the last financial year.
Mr. Norris : The Department's capital expenditure in docklands between these dates was as follows :
|£ million
--------------------------------------------
Docklands light railway |229.5
Improvements on the A13 |14.5
Relocation
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants in his Department he is considering for relocation from headquarters buildings ; and if he will list the areas currently under consideration for relocation.
Mr. MacGregor : Up to 50 posts in the Department's London docklands division will move to docklands shortly, about 220 central services posts will move to Hastings by April 1993 and 250 marine directorate posts will move to Southampton in May 1993.
A review of the case for relocating from London over 500 posts in the highways, safety and traffic command is in progress ; and consultants will be reporting on the Department's headquarters accommodation needs and options for meeting them. Decisions about future accommodation requirements and locations will be taken after the completion of these studies later this year.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions have taken place with the trades unions in respect of relocation of civil servants from his Department's headquarters buildings.
Mr. MacGregor : Officials have twice met the Department of Transport's trade union side--TUS--to discuss headquarters accommodation and relocation following the decision to demolish 2 Marsham street. The TUS was consulted about the draft terms of reference for a study by consultants of future accommodation needs in London and options.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Energy Efficiency
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce fiscal instruments to encourage energy-efficient investments.
Mr. Dorrell : The existing tax regime already gives relief for capital investment by businesses on equipment, including energy efficient products. By providing a broadly neutral tax system for businesses, with a common rate of capital allowances for investment in equipment, we allow businesses to decide where their money is best spent. Fuel savings provide the best incentive for businesses to make energy-efficient investments.
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Cash Limits
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there will be any changes to the Treasury's running costs limits in 1992-93.
Mr. Nelson : The Treasury's running costs limit for 1992-93 is being increased by £1,290,000 from £90,913,000 to £92,203,000. This increase reflects the net effect of staff and functions transferred to the Treasury from the Department of Trade and Industry, and from the Treasury to the Cabinet Office--OPPS. This change will be reflected in a token supplementary estimate which will be presented for parliamentary approval in due course.
DEFENCE
RAF Logistics
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of Royal Air Force Logistics.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I am today able to report, as the basis for formal consultation between the Department and the trade unions and other interested parties, the outcome of detailed studies into the structure and location of the RAF Logistics Command. A consultative document is being passed to the local and national trade unions concerned today.
The Government accepted last year the recommendations of the PROSPECT study into the future size and structure of the Ministry of Defence. Central to the study's recommendations was the principle that only a small core headquarters should be retained in London, with the remaining functions being redeployed. For the RAF, the report recommended that the staff of the Air Member for Supply and Organisation should move out of London, and together with associated elements of RAF Support Command, which would be abolished, form a Logistics Command the headquarters of which will be located at the current RAFSC headquarters at Brampton near Huntingdon. The purpose of the studies now completed has been to establish the best long- term locations for the remainder of the staffs affected. Apart from Brampton, these staff are predominantly in London, At Harrogate, RAF High Wycombe, RAF Stanbridge in Bedforshire, and RAF Swanton Morley in Norfolk. The Defence Codification Authority and air technical publications branches in Glasgow were not involved in these studies. The Logistics Command will comprise three major functional groupings ; the maintenance group, which is a defence support agency, and which was not considered in these studies ; the group responsible for communications and information systems ; and the support management group. The work of all these is underpinned by the technical and computing services provided at RAF Swanton Morley and RAF Stanbridge.
The studies have recommended that to the maximum extent possible the units carrying out these functions should be collocated in the Brampton area. This would make maximum use of the existing headquarters at Brampton, and of the nearby station at RAF Wyton which as a result of planned changes has significant potential for reuse. A crucial consideration was the cost of providing both office accommodation and married quarters for collocated staff. In particular, complete reprovision of the
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poor quality buildings on the existing Harrogate site would be extremely expensive compared to the smaller degree of new construction and conversion which would be required at Wyton. If the recommendations of these studies are confirmed following consultation, the initial moves would be of predominantlyy RAF staff from RAF High Wycombe. Subsequent moves out of Harrogate, London, and Swanton Morley would take place over the period 1994 to 1997. RAF Swanton Morley and the MOD site at Harrogate would be released for disposal. These recommendations have been arrived at only after the most exhaustive study of a wide range of options for the future Logistics Command, including nine sites in the north and East Anglian sites.The Department is very conscious of the difficulties which surround such a large reorganisation. The Ministry of Defence is the largest Government employer in Harrogate, and one of the largest in North and West Yorkshire, and some compulsory redundancy cannot be excluded. Everything possible will be done to avoid or minimise redundancies at all the locations concerned. Staff will where appropriate be transferred at public expense. In addition there are some opportunities for employment in other Government Departments in the areas concerned, and the Ministry of Defence will co-ordinate closely with these Departments to maximise the opportunities. In addition, anyone made redundant will be compensated under the terms of the appropriate pension scheme. They will also be entitled to participate in the Department's counselling and outplacement service. These recommendations are subject to the full consultative procedures agreed between the Department and the Trade Unions.
Atomic Weapons Establishment
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made towards contractor operation of the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Mr. Aitken : An invitation to tender for the full contractor operation of AWE is being issued today to the four companies who have expressed an interest in carrying out the work. These are British Aerospace, GEC, Rolls-Royce and the Hunting-BRAE consortium.
Cash Limits
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he can announce any changes to the class I limits and running costs limit for 1992 -1993.
Mr. Rifkind : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary summer supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made :--
Class I cash limits £,000s Vote |Current cash limit|Change |Revised cash limit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 |10,576,703 |+ 89,454 |10,666,157 2 |9,593,000 |- 202,397 |9,390,603 3 |1,933,308 |- 34,432 |1,898,876 4 |1,577,000 |+ 151,873 |1,728,873 5 |559,789 |- 4,784 |555,005
These changes decrease the block defence cash limit slightly by £286,000 from £24,239,800,000 to
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£24,239,514,000. They reflect the finalisation of the internal costing process and the net effect of transfers between the Ministry of Defence and other Government Departments. As was explained in paragraph 7 of the "Introduction to the Class I Estimates" booklet--HC 237-I--presented on 10 March 1992, because of the major changes resulting from the implementation of the new management strategy, the original estimates could not be constructed in the normal way. The running costs limit is unchanged.Soviet Warheads
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial arrangements have been made about the package of assistance to the former Soviet Union for the dismantling and transportation of nuclear warheads.
Mr. Aitken : Further to my answer of 9 March, Official Report, column 428, the package of assistance is being provided to the former Soviet Union as a gift. The 1992-93 costs, of which £10 million is being charged to the reserve, will be met from class I, vote 2, subhead H8, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary summer supplementary estimate.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Parliamentary Television Service
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he has access to a live television feed of the Chamber of the House in his office ; and what is his policy towards providing this facility in hon. Members' offices.
Mr. Newton : In my Whitehall office, I have access to a spur from the feed to the Prime Minister's office.
As regards the possibility of supplying the clean feed to Members' offices, the Select Committee on Broadcasting published a report on this subject at the end of the last Parliament (House of Commons Paper No. 323 of Session 1991-92). The Committee recommended "that the clean feed should be made available for inclusion in the package of television services whose provision in Members' offices is currently under consideration by the other relevant domestic Committees".
As the Broadcasting Committee acknowledged, its proposal requires the approval of the House as a whole. I hope to be in a position to arrange the necessary debate in the not too distant future.
Office Cost Allowance
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council on what date he received the report on the office cost allowance from the Top Salaries Review Body.
Mr. Newton : My predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. MacGregor), received the report on 14 February. As I have already stated, I hope to be able to inform the House soon about our plans for publication.
Members' Staff
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council(1) how many hon. Members employ (a) none, (b) one, (c) two, (d) three, (e) four and (f) five or more employees from their office costs allowance ;
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(2) how many hon. Members have not yet given any of their staff a contract of employment ; how many individual staff do not have contracts ; what action he is taking to ensure contracts are provided ; and how many hon. Members have been contacted in order to point out that contracts should be issued.Mr. Newton : As many Members who were elected for the first time at the recent general election have not yet notified the Fees Office of appointments of staff, any details supplied at this time would not be representative. Fees Office staff, when seeing new Members, are stressing the need for staff to be given contracts of employment and job descriptions.
Procedure Committee
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list the outstanding recommendations of the Procedure Committee which have yet to be put before the House and specify, in each case, if he intends to put them to the House for decision.
Mr. Newton : Full details of the work of the Procedure Committee during the last Parliament, including the extent to which its various reports and recommendations have been considered and implemented, are set out in the Fifth Report of the Committee for Session 1991-92, which was published on 20 May.
I have no immediate plans to put any specific reports before the House because the next consideration of procedure is likely to be a further debate on the Report of the Select Committee on Sittings of the House, whose recommendations include a number of those made in earlier Procedure Committee reports.
Disabled Employees
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Lord President of the Council what percentage of the total work force in the Privy Council Office are registered as disabled ; what steps he is taking to encourage the employment of disabled people within the Privy Council Office ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Newton : There are no registered disabled among the 31 staff currently employed in the Privy Council Office. Direct recruitment is rarely undertaken, but application forms and selection procedures conform with the relevant equal opportunities code of practice.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Agricultural Holdings
16. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the total number of agricultural holdings in Britain (i) in 1979 and (ii) in 1992 ; and if he will give the Government's estimate of the number of agricultural holdings in the year 2000.
Mr. Curry : In 1979 the total was 295,000 and in 1991, the latest for which figures are available, there were 274,000. No forecast is available for the year 2000.
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Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning)
17. Dr. Godman : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions have taken place regarding the implementation of a de-commissioning scheme for certain United Kingdom registered fishing vessels.
Mr. Curry : The Government's proposals for effort control and decommissioning were set out in the recent consultation document.
Common Agricultural Policy
18. Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress towards reform of the common agricultural policy.
20. Mr. Hicks : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the latest position concerning common agricultural policy reform ; and if he will make a statement.
29. Mr. Beith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement about progress on reform of the common agricultural policy.
Mr. Gummer : I refer my hon. Friends and the hon. Gentleman to the statement that I made to the House on 22 May.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the amount of the British contribution to the common agricultural policy for 1991 ; and what percentage this contribution makes of the whole common agricultural policy funding.
Mr. Curry : It is not possible to give a figure. The United Kingdom contributes to the EC budget as a whole, not to individual parts of the budget such as the common agricultural policy. Moreover, the United Kingdom's contribution to the budget is reduced by the abatement-- £2,366 million in 1991-92--to reduce our overall share and this cannot realistically be allocated to the different parts of the budget.
Hedgerows
19. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to preserve hedgerows and encourage planting of new ones.
Mr. Curry : This Department encourages farmers to preserve and maintain our hedgerow stock through the farm and conservation grant and environmentally sensitive area schemes, and through the advice given by the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service.
EC Beef Regime
21. Mr. Gill : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the extent of fraudulent trading within the common agricultural policy beef regime ; and what has been the estimated cost to public funds.
Mr. Curry : It is not possible to estimate the extent of fraud in the common agricultural policy, since, by
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definition, undetected fraud cannot be measured. No separate figures are available for fraud within the beef regime ; however, overall in 1990, 819 cases of irregularity (the definition of which goes wider than fraud) in EAGGF guarantee expenditure were reported by member states with a value of 138 mecu (£98 million). These cases represent about 0.5 per cent. of EAGGF guarantee expenditure in that year. However, fraud is clearly a serious problem and must be tackled vigorously.Farming Regulations
22. Mr. Hague : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to reduce the burden of regulations on the farming community.
Mr. Curry : This Department participates fully in the Government's deregulation initiative. I am determined to keep the burden of regulation EEC and national as light as possible.
Recreational Events
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with land owners and the Forestry Commission in respect of its property in England about charging for access for recreational events.
Mr. Curry : I have had no such discussions but the Forestry Commission negotiates with the interests concerned when reviewing its charges for specialist recreational activities, such as orienteering and motor rallying.
Animal Welfare
Mr. Burns : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to improve animal welfare within the European Economic Community.
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he is making in discussions with European Community counterparts about animal welfare.
Mr. Soames : The Government will continue to press for the high standards of animal welfare which apply in this country to be adopted throughout the European Community. We will give a high priority to animal welfare during the United Kingdom Presidency of the Community, and will seek to ensure that the Community acts on the principles of the declaration on protection of animals which was agreed at Maastricht following a United Kingdom initiative.
Seismic Surveys
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he is making with his investigations into the effect of seismic surveys on fishing stocks in the Solent and surrounding waters.
Mr. Curry : No work has yet been carried out in the United Kingdom on the effects of seismic surveys on fish stocks, but ELF Enterprise Caledonia which is undertaking the seismic survey west of the Isle of Wight, has agreed to fund research which will examine its effect on bass.
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Fallen Stock
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he proposes to take to assist farmers to deal with fallen stock ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : The Government are taking a number of measures to help alleviate the problems of disposal of fallen stock. They include : provision of free advice and literature on the various methods of disposing of fallen animals, including safe burial ;
the exemption of animal carcase incineration under 50kg per hour from regulations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which makes the purchasing of small scale incinerators a more attractive investment ;
issuing shortly for public consultation a planning policy guidance note on pollution and waste management including incineration ; funding research and development in the field of animal waste disposal, including a £0.5 million programme to determine which rendering processes destroy certain pathogens ;
helping the rendering industry to examine alternatives to landfilling meat and bonemeal derived from specified bovine offal ; and
identifying investment in the animal by-products sector as a priority area for EC grant aid.
The Department also intends to press the Community to move forward as rapidly as possible under the provisions of the EC Animal Waste Directive, to adopt animal health rules for knackers yards so as to ensure that they can continue their key role after 1995.
Poultry
28. Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the latest position on relaxing the regulations of the Zoonoses Order concerning poultry.
Mr. Soames : I have already introduced a number of changes to the salmonella control measures in the light of developing circumstances and scientific knowledge. I will continue to keep the measures under close review.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number and percentage of (a) broilers and (b) laying hens in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which had (i) signs of bone defects or were (ii) seriously lame on reaching the slaughterhouse, in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Mr. Soames : These figures are not collected centrally. However, in 1989 a survey commissioned by the Department indicated that 29 per cent. of hens from battery cages had damaged bones by the time they reached the stunner. Handling techniques were addressed in the light of these results and we plan to commission a further survey so see what changes have resulted. We also have a continuing programme of research into leg problems in broilers.
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Whaling
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy during the United Kingdom presidency of the Council of Ministers to seek a ban on whaling within EC waters and by EC nations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : Whaling, in any form, is already banned within United Kingdom fishery limits. No whaling for commercial or scientific purposes is believed to take place within other member states' fishery limits. The United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, as members of the International Whaling Commission, are bound by the IWC's moratorium. The Community prohibits trade in whale products through its implementation of the convention on trade in endangered species.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to support the French Government proposal for an Antarctic whale sanctuary ; if he will encourage other International Whaling Commission member states to support the proposal ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : The proposal by the Government of France for a sanctuary in the southern hemisphere is due to be discussed at the forthcoming meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Glasgow at the end of June. Details of the French proposals have only just been received and will receive careful study. The proposals address a number of questions to the commission's scientific committee, whose advice we shall also need to evaluate.
Sandeels
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received for the creation of exclusion prohibition areas against a directed sandeel fishery on (a) Dogger Bank, (b) off Shetland and (c) in the south-west mackerel box ; and what proposals he has for introducing this.
Mr. Curry : I am considering representations from the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations. Sandeel fishing is not permitted at present off Shetland. Small mesh fishing in the south west mackerel box is for species such as horse mackerel for human consumption as well as possible industrial end uses. The EC Commission has undertaken to present a report on industrial fishing before 1 September 1992. We will seek to progress any action on this report during our Presidency of the Community.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received for the establishment of a total allowable catch for sandeels ; and what proposals he has to introduce this.
Mr. Curry : The most recent representation is from the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations. Sandeels are naturally a very short-lived species and it is not possible to set realistic total allowable catches by the usual procedures. Currently limits are set by licence for the west coast of Scotland or a quota arrangement between the EC and Norway.
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Industrial Fishing
Mr. Harris : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he intends making to advance restrictions on industrial fishing while holding the EC presidency.
Mr. Curry : The EC Commission has undertaken to present a report on industrial fishing before 1 September 1992. We will seek to make progress on this issue during our Presidency.
Mr. Harris : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations have been made to him in respect of industrial fishing in the south-west mackerel box.
Mr. Curry : This year I have received six letters.
Pollution Control
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will increase the level of grant aid to farmers for installing pollution control measures.
Mr. Curry : Our 50 per cent. grant rate is already exceptionally high. The normal maximum rate which member states can pay for this type of grant under EC regulations is 35 per cent. and our higher rate was only agreed by the Commission because the grant was carefully targeted on specific types of investment.
GATT
Mr. Godsiff : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the discussions he has had with EC Agriculture Ministers concerning the Uruguay round of GATT talks and the levels of reduction in agricultural subsidies in the EC.
Mr. Curry : The GATT round negotiations are regularly discussed by the Agriculture Council. We have strongly supported the Commission in its attempts to find the basis for an early and balanced agreement which would meet the objectives of the round as regards reductions in agricultural support world wide. The recent agreement on CAP reform will strengthen the Commission's position in these exchanges.
Common Fisheries Policy
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representation he has received regarding the reform of the common fisheries policy to provide for a package of social measures to assist individuals and communities affected by a contraction of the fleet ; and if he will make a statement.
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