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Labour Statistics
28. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the number of persons employed full time either as farmers or farm workers in England ; and what was the figure in 1980.
Mr. Jack : The number of persons employed full-time either as farmers or farm workers in England in 1980 and in 1993 is shown in the table.
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Year |Whole-time principal|Salaried managers |Whole-time family |Whole-time hired |Total number of
|farmers, partners |workers |workers |whole-time workers
|and directors
|(doing farm work)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |136.6 |6.9 |19.5 |121.3 |284.2
<1>1993 |112.9 |7.1 |16.6 |72.1 |208.0
<1>Provisional results.
Notes:
Source: June Census of Agriculture and Horticulture each year.
Includes estimates for minor holdings.
Figures exclude;
(i) the wives/husbands of farmers, partners and directors, even though they themselves may be partners or directors.
(ii) seasonal or casual workers.
Coastal Defences
Dr. Howells : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of coastal defences exhibit some signs of wear or require structural attention.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : In 1992, the National Rivers Authority estimated that in England 2 per cent. of sea defence elements--for example, walls, embankments, groynes--were in need of significant works.
Warble fly
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the number of incidents of warble fly in each year since 1989.
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Mr. Soames : The number of premises with clinical cases recorded in Great Britain is as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1989 |2
1990 |1
1991 |0
1992 |0
1993 |107
All of the cases recorded in 1993 were directly linked to imported cattle. Seventy-one premises have been released from all controls following satisfactory treatment. The remaining 36 premises will be released from controls when compulsory autumn treatment has been completed.
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Agricultural Wages Board
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which International Labour Organisation conventions currently in force relate to the Agricultural Wages Board ; when they expire ; and what plans she has to renew them.
Mr. Jack : Those International Labour Organisation conventions which are currently in force and relate particularly to the Agricultural Wages Board are convention 99, concerning minimum wage fixing machinery in agriculture, and convention 101, concerning holidays with pay in agriculture. The conventions do not expire, although periodically signatories have the opportunity to reconsider their adherence. Any decision would be for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.
Broiler Chickens
Mr. Denham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans she has to improve the welfare of broiler chickens.
Mr. Soames : The Government's response to the Farm Animal Welfare Council's Report on the welfare of broiler chickens was published in April 1993. The Government accepted that the council recommendations should be taken forward on a Community basis or, where appropriate, used as the basis for revision of the Government's welfare code.
Folic Acid
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans she has to ensure that breads, cereals and flours are enriched with folic acid.
Mr. Soames : Many breakfast cereals and a number of breads are already fortified with folic acid. My Department has written to the relevant trade organisations to encourage them to increase the range of produces fortified with folic acid in line with recommendations of the expert advisory group in its report to the Chief Medical Officer, "Folic Acid and the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects". The response has been positive and some new fortified products have appeared on the market already. We shall keep in touch with the industry on developments.
Fish
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research she has undertaken into the impact of organophosphate exposure upon fish.
Mr. Soames : No research has been carried out by my Department into the impact of organophosphate exposure on fish, although the results of work on the toxicity of dichlorvos to shell fish were reported to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea in 1990.
Birds
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research has been conducted by her Department on the effect of the organophosphate Fonofos on the United Kingdom bird population.
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Mr. Soames : This Department is currently undertaking research into the effect of seed treatments, including Fonofos, on bird populations as part of its assessment of the environmental hazards of pesticide usage.
Organic Food
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the future of the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards following changes to the structure of Food from Britain.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : For the time being Food From Britain retains its responsibility for the United Kingdom register of organic food standards--UKROFS--but the secretariat is about to be relocated within my Department. I value UKROFS' independence and effectiveness and want to maintain these through the decisions that need to be taken about UKROFS' longer-term future.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures she intends to take to promote organic farming in the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Government are keen to encourage farmers to meet the growing demand from consumers for organic produce. The United Kingdom register of organic food standards was established by Food From Britain with funding from MAFF in 1987. On 10 August, I announced proposals for an aid scheme to farmers in England wishing to convert to organic production methods. It is proposed to launch the scheme this winter and expenditure is planned to rise to £1.5 million by 1995-96. Similar schemes were announced by my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and Wales and my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
The organic sector can benefit from the group marketing grant scheme, and its successor on which we are currently seeking the views of the industry.
In addition to the organic scheme, the broad range of other MAFF support schemes are open to organic farmers. We also spend some £1 million per annum on research and development specifically related to organic agriculture and advice on organic farming from ADAS.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the value of imported organic food produce in (a) real and (b) cash terms for each year since 1980.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : This information is not available because import statistics do not distinguish between organic and conventional food.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of the consumption of organic produce in each EC member state is met from domestic production.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : This information is not available.
Driftnets
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if she will make a statement regarding the level of compliance with EC
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regulation 245/92 by the United Kingdom and other EC vessels in the north-east Atlantic and the Mediterranean ; and if she will make a statement on the adequacy of the monitoring and enforcement measures in force ;(2) how she plans to vote on the proposal to extend the deadline for all fishing vessels to comply with EC regulation 245/92, which limits the length of driftnets allowed on one vessel, at the EC Fisheries Council meeting in November ;
(3) what plans she has to make representions to the European Commission and the Italian Government on the level of enforcement of EC regulation 245/92 in the Italian swordfish driftnet fishery ; (4) whether she will promote the fair and consistent implementation of EC regulation 245/92 which limits the length of EC driftnets and oppose the extension of the existing derogation which exempts some French vessels from the restriction until 31 December.
Mr. Jack : The EC regulation in question is 345/92 of 27 January 1992.
A small number of United Kingdom-registered vessels take part in the summer drift net fishery for long-finned albacore tuna which occurs in the north- east Atlantic beyond British fishery limits. Responsibility for monitoring and enforcing the present arrangements rests with the member states whose vessels participate in the fishery or in whole waters the fishery occurs. British sea fishery officers make spot inspections from time to time to check that nets taken on board do not exceed 2.5 km. A derogation exists permitting longer nets for vessels who were fishing in the north-east Atlantic tuna fishery for at least two years before the regulation came into force. However, this expires on 31 December 1993 and no proposal for a continuation of the derogation has been received. No United Kingdom vessels fish in the Mediterranean and I have no information concerning the swordfish fishery referred to.
Hill Livestock Compensation Allowance
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many hill farmers in England have not yet received their hill livestock compensation allowance in respect of 1993.
Mr. Jack : Of 14,012 claims so far received in England in respect of the 1993 hill livestock compensatory allowances scheme, 396 are still outstanding. This repreents 2.8 per cent. of claims received. Claims are still being received in respect of 1993, albeit in small numbers.
Food Promotion
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what countries United Kingdom food promotion delegates have visited so far this year.
Mr. Jack : Food From Britain, the United Kingdom's food export promotion organisation, maintains a permanent presence in the key markets of north America, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Belgium.During the current year, FFB has also promoted British food at exhibitions in Japan and Dubai. In the period, Ministers of this Department have visited Turkey, India, Hungary, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay with food promotion and other objectives in view.
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Apples
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures she intends to take concerning the promotion of British apples.
Mr. Jack : My ministerial colleaguess and I have been pleased to participate in a number of recent events to promote English apples. On 19 October, I attended the launch of the 1993 main apple season. On Apple Day itself, the Minister was presented with an apple pie and the Parliamentary Secretary in the Commons attended Food From Britain's launch of "Great Food From Britain". On 27 October, the Minister visited the Marden fruit show. In addition, I recently announced my horticultural marketing initiative, one of the key aims of which will be to stimulate United Kingdom consumption of United Kingdom produce--including apples.
Seals
Mr. Jonathan Evans : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures are being taken to protect and conserve the seal population from the consequences of salmon farming.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 27 May 1993] : I have been asked to reply.
Seals continue to have appropriate protection under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970.
WALES
Family Credit
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many families receive family credit in Wales ; and what is this figure expressed as a percentage of all those families eligible for family credit in Wales.
Mr. Redwood : At 30 April 1993, there were an estimated 30,000 claimants in receipt of family credit in Wales. No figures are available for the number of families eligible for family credit.
Income Support
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) men and (b) women are at present in receipt of income support in Wales ; and what are the figures expressed as percentage of (i) men between 16 and 64 years and (ii) women between 16 and 60 years respectively.
Mr. Redwood : The latest information available is given in the table :
Income support beneficiaries in Wales, November 1992<1>
|Age |Number (thouands)|Per cent. of age
|group<2>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Male |16.64 |126 |14.0
Beneficiaries |65 and over |17 |8.3
|------- |-------
Total |143 |13.0
Female |16-59 |135 |16.5
Beneficiaries |60 and over |77 |20.6
|------- |-------
Total |212 |17.8
Source: Department of Social Security.
<1> Beneficiaries include partners of recipients. Dependents aged under 19 and still
living with the recipient are not included as information on their gender is not
available.
<2> Population figures used are for mid-1991.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Welsh Development Agency concerning the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee of Public Accounts in relation to full recovery from employees of costs incurred through excess private mileage.
Mr. Redwood : I take very seriously the criticisms of the Public Accounts Committe. The Goverment's response to its report makes it clear that there should be contributions by individuals to cover the cost of private use. The agency has recognised this and has ensured that the chief executive and other senior executives make appropriate contributions.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Welsh Development Agency concerning the recommendations in Sir John Caines' report concerning (a) common directorships held by board members and (b) the apppointment of board members involved in construction and property development ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : I myself have had none. The WDA has received a copy of the Caines report and would have seen my statement to the House on 19 October.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects implementation of the recommendations of the quinquennial financial management and policy review of the Welsh Development Agency 1991-92, that there should be a management statement and new financial guidelines defining delegation of financial authority ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : A management statement is in place and the financial guidelines are being revised.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Welsh Development Agency concerning revisions to the employee handbook (a) in respect of procedures for dealing with conflicts of interest involving employees' families and close personal friends and (b) other respects ; what proposals for such revisions have been submitted to him ; and when he expects to complete the approval process of such revisions.
Mr. Redwood : None. I understand that the board of the agency is currently considering the revised employee handbook. I expect to see any proposals for changes to terms and conditions when the board has completed its deliberations.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Welsh Development Agency in relation to the recommendations in Sir John Caines' report to withdraw the facility for WDA staff to sell their cars into the executive car-leasing scheme.
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Mr. Redwood : I myself have had no discussions with the WDA. I refer the hon. Member to the agency's response to Sir John Caines' report, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
Hill Livestock Allowances
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 25 October about hill livestock compensatory allowances not yet paid, how many field inspections will be carried out in respect of the claims still unpaid in Wales.
Mr. Redwood : This will depend on the number of queries which cannot be resolved by correspondence.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many field inspections have been carried out in respect of hill livestock compensatory allowance applications in Wales in 1993 to date.
Mr. Redwood : Up to 30 September 1993, field inspections had been undertaken to validate 5,590 claims for HLCA from both sheep and cattle producers. The number of actual farm visits will have been substantially less than this because inspections of sheep and cattle claims are often carried out during the same visit.
Sight Tests
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many NHS sight tests took place in each financial year since 1984-85.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The number of NHS sight tests paid for by family health services authorities in each year in Wales was as follows :
|Number
------------------------
1984-85 |570,864
1985-86 |600,714
1986-87 |626,644
1987-88 |697,280
1988-89 |733,469
1989-90 |292,060
1990-91 |271,170
1991-92 |332,240
1992-93 |372,590
SCOTLAND
Forestry
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations the review group has received on the subject of the privatisation of the Forestry Commission.
Mr. Lang : Many individuals and organisations have written to Ministers and Government Departments and to the secretary and members of the forestry review group giving their views on issues connected with the work of the group.
They did not do so in the knowledge or expectation that their names or their submissions would be published and I therefore do not think it would be right to publish this information.
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Most of the representations received have been opposed to the idea of privatisation of the Forestry Commission estate, but the remit of the review group is to look at issues much wider than this. Ministers have asked the group to review :the effectiveness of the current incentives for forestry investment, in accordance with the manifesto commitment, and options for the ownership and management of Forestry Commission woodlands, and to make proposals for changes which would improve the effectiveness of the delivery of the Government's forestry policy objectives, having regard to the Government's other economic and environmental policies.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he now expects to receive the report from the interdepartmental working party on the future of the Forestry Commission.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 26 October 1993] : Forestry Ministers expect to receive the advice of the forestry review group early next year.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many submissions have been made to date to the interdepartmental working group on the future of the Forestry Commission ; and how many of these have favoured privatisation as an option.
Sir Hector Monro : Over 300 organisations and 1,350 individuals have made submissions or offered comment direct to the forestry review group. Comment has also been addressed to Ministers and officials in the other departments represented on the group. The issues most commonly raised are access to woodlands, security of timber supplies and the environment. In so far as these issues might be affected by privatisation, virtually all commentators are opposed.
Mr. Kynoch : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made towards publishing the United Kingdom's national forestry plan.
Sir Hector Monro : The Forestry Commission is co-ordinating the publication and work is well advanced.
The plan will draw together the various strands of the Government's present forestry policy and programmes. Since we would not wish the plan to pre- empt the findings of the forestry review group or to prejudice our decisions on its recommendations, it will not be practical to go beyond that.
We have concluded, therefore, that there would be little benefit in consulting publicly before publishing the plan. Instead, we will be inviting comments on the plan after it has been published.
Information Scheme
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he proposes a redeployment of Scottish Office staff across Scotland in connection with the Government's new scheme of information points.
Mr. Lang : My Department has no plans to redeploy Scottish Office staff across Scotland in connection with the Government's new scheme of information points. The 20 information points already opened are located in existing departmental offices and no additional staff were required.
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Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hill farmers in Scotland have not yet received their hill livestock compensatory allowance in respect of 1993.
Sir Hector Monro : Of 17,437 claims so far received in Scotland in respect of the 1993 HLCA scheme, 94 claims are still outstanding. This represents 0.5 per cent. of claims received. A small number of claims are still being received in respect of 1993.
Fish Conservation
Mr. Page : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he received the fish conservation report from the Scottish Federation of Fishermen's Organisaations.
Sir Hector Monro : On 30 September 1993.
Smoke Alarms
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what funding is available to assist those with hearing impairment to purchase special smoke alarms for their homes ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 25 October 1993] : I refer to the reply I gave to the hon. Member on Tuesday 19 October 1993, Official Report, columns 37-38.
Farming
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many farm holdings in (a) Scotland and (b) East Lothian, are in the less-favoured area and the non-less-favoured area respectively ; and how many holdings include land in both the less-favoured area and non-less- favoured area ;
(2) what is the total area of agricultural land in (a) Scotland and (b) East Lothian inside or outside the less-favoured area, respectively.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 27 October 1993] : The information requested as it relates to total agricultural areas is currently available only from the agricultural census. The table gives the figures as recorded at the 1992 census :
Y
|Less-favoured area|Non-less favoured
|area
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland
-holdings |23,326 |8,251
-agricultural area (hectares) |5,200,279 |684,266
East Lothian
-holdings |47 |374
-agricultural area (hectares) |18,819 |37,610
The less-favoured area/non-less-favoured area classification is that used for statistical rather than subsidy purposes. On the statistical basis, farms are classified as either within or outside the less-favoured area boundary ; no information is, therefore, available from the census on the number of holdings with land in both the less-favoured area and the non- less-favoured area.
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Ancient Monuments
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the first national survey of the scheduled ancient monuments in Scotland was completed ; when and in what form it will be published ; if he will list the damage identified by the survey to scheduled ancient monuments in Scotland from natural forces, vegetation and animals ; and what moneys he has allocated during this financial year to tackle the damage identified in the first national survey of scheduled ancient monuments.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 25 October 1993] : The subject of the question relates to matters undertaken by Historic Scotland. I have asked its chief executive, Mr. Graeme Munro, to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from G. N. Munro to Mr. Nigel Griffiths, dated 28 October 1993 :
Sir Hector Monro MP, the Minister for Agriculture and Environment at The Scottish Office has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking when the first national survey of scheduled ancient monuments in Scotland was completed and when and in what form it would be published.
The survey of scheduled ancient monuments is not a "one-off" project with a definite end when a final report can be prepared. Because it involves the continuous monitoring by Historic Scotland's monument wardens on a three to four year cycle of all the scheduled monuments (including the 300 new sites scheduled each year) the results are constantly being updated. The first round of visits by wardens has not yet been completed in three areas-- Shetland, Orkney and West Strathclyde (Argyll and Bute).
You also asked the Secretary of State if he would list the damage identified by the survey of scheduled ancient monuments from natural forces, vegetation and animals and what monies he had allocated this financial year to tackle the damage identified.
Analyses of the results of the first round of warden visits are presently being prepared for Highland South and Tayside and Borders Regions for the use of my staff in their conservation work. The publication of summary articles in the professional archaeological press, containing the statistical information you mention, is being considered.
Funds are not specifically allocated for tackling damage to monuments identified by our wardens as being at risk. However monies are available for this sort of work and in financial year 1993-94 these are £14,000 for management agreements under section 17 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and £189,000 for grant aid for the repair of monuments under section 24 of the 1979 Act.
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