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Beef Exports
Mr. Hanson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what actions she has taken to limit the effects of the Franco-German beef embargo on the British agricultural industry.
Mr. Jack : The German Government have proposed unilateral restrictions on British beef imports. These would be illegal under EC rules, and my right hon. Friend the Minister has kept in touch with the European Commission on this matter. Mr. Steichen has written to the German Government to warn them that the Commission will take legal action if Germany puts its proposed restrictions into effect. The French Government have not made any proposals for unilateral action against British beef imports.
Livestock Allowances
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the cost in 1993 for each county in England, and in total, of payments under (a) the
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sheep annual premium, (b) the suckler cow premium, (c) the beef special premium and (d) the hill livestock compensatory allowance ; and what is her estimate of the cost in 1994.Column 714
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The information requested by the hon. Member cannot be given except at disproportionate cost. However, the expected value of 1993 scheme payments in each MAFF administrative region in England for the four schemes is detailed in the table.
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£ million
Region |Sheep Annual |Suckler Cow |Beef Special |Hill Livestock
|Premium Scheme|Premium Scheme|Premium Scheme|Compensatory
|Allowance
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South West |26.1 |6.9 |14.0 |4.7
Wessex |10.7 |4.6 |7.7 |1.0
Anglia |4.0 |2.9 |3.7 |0.0
South Mercia |18.3 |4.2 |7.5 |0.8
North Mercia |15.6 |4.3 |7.0 |2.6
Northern |47.8 |10.3 |10.9 |14.7
East Midlands |14.7 |4.6 |8.8 |1.3
North East |31.0 |7.8 |9.7 |8.3
South East |13.7 |4.9 |8.2 |0.0
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Total England |181.9 |50.5 |77.5 |33.4
Estimates for the value of payments under each scheme in England for the 1994 scheme years are set out in the table. The figures are not broken down by MAFF region since for some schemes applications are still being received.
|£ million
----------------------------------------------------------
Sheep Annual Premium Scheme |173
Suckler Cow Premium Scheme |64
Beef Special Premium Scheme |90
Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance |26
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Dietary Statistics
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is her latest assessment of the consumption in the United Kingdom diet of fat, saturated fat, salt and non-milk extrinsic sugars ; and what change there has been in the figures from those prepared by her Ministry and used to enable production of the 1991 Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy report, "Dietary Reference Values".
Mr. Soames : The information requested, obtained from the national food survey, is in the table. The figures in parentheses take into account the contribution from alcoholic drinks and confectionery brought into the home, which were not recorded in the survey before 1992.
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1990 1991 1992 1993 January-March
1994
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fat, as percentage of energy |41.60 |41.40 |41.70 |(40.1)|41.30 |(39.7)|40.40 |(39.2)
Saturated fatty acids, as percentage of energy |16.60 |16.40 |16.30 |(15.8)|16.10 |(15.6)|15.60 |(15.3)
Sodium, grams per day |2.50 |2.49 |2.51 |- |2.50 |- |2.54 |-
Non-milk extrinsic sugars, as percentage of energy |11.40 |11.80 |10.70 |(13.4)|10.70 |(13.3)|10.30 |(12.6)
Comfrey
Ms Corston : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations she has received from right hon. and hon. Members about the ban on comfrey products since the ban was announced ; and how many of those representations were in support of the ban.
Mr. Soames : There is no ban on comfrey products generally, but those likely to contain the highest concentration of toxic alkaloids have been withdrawn from the market. Of 90 Members of this House who have raised the matter formally with my right hon. Friend, 22 have asked for these products to be reintroduced and 68 have expressed no opinion.
Rabbits
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the welfare of rabbits being transported across Europe.
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Mr. Soames : The welfare of rabbits during transport is covered by provisions of directive 91/628/EEC on the protection of animals during transport. In Great Britain the directive is implemented by the Welfare of Animals during Transport Order 1992 (S.I. 1992 No. 3304).
Arable Area Payments Scheme
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the total areas claimed by arable farmers in England for crops and set-aside under the arable area payments scheme in 1994 ; how those figures relate to the baseline areas declared to the European Commission ; what estimate she has made of the overshoot ; and if she will make a statement on the scale of penalty that is likely to arise from such an overshoot.
Mr. Jack : This information will not be available until all the 1994 area aid applications have been processed. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.
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Agricultural Wages Board
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make an announcement on the future of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales ; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : We had hoped to be able, before now, to make a statement on the Government's plans for the future of the Agricultural Wages Board arrangements. Since last year's substantial consultation exercise, there have been two significant and new factors which the Government must consider. Employers in a number of sectors of the industry are now questioning the value of keeping the present arrangements for statutory wage determination across the agriculture sector, and have raised concerns about the size of this year's minimum wage awards. They have also acknowledged that the two International Labour Organisation conventions covering the terms and conditions of agricultural workers should now be denounced by the United Kingdom. Those conventions place constraints on the industry and prevent the introduction of the flexible working arrangements required by the modern labour market. Secondly, employees' representatives are seeking leave in the courts to bring judicial review proceedings against the board on the ground that its Wages Order determinations are indirectly discriminating against part-time agricultural workers. The board met on 24 June to consider this legal challenge and we understand that employers' and employees' representative are consulting over the summer. There are some substantial and complex issues on employment and equal opportunities law which need examination.
In view of these developments, I believe that we must pause and take stock before making our decision, so that we can take account of the result of these developments, the board's decision, and of course the views expressed during and since the consultation exercise. However, to ensure that we are free to make the arrangements that the industry will need, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment will be making an announcement shortly on the ILO conventions Nos. 99 and 101.
TRANSPORT
Departmental Information Systems Committee
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 20 June, Official Report, column 48, if the policy arising from the DISC network policy project is currently being used by his Department ; and if he will list the agencies which are using it.
Mr. Key : All data communications services currently in use in the Department and its agencies are consistent with the policy. The Central Transport Group, Marine Safety Agency and Transport Research Laboratory have commenced the procurement of common data communications services in accordance with the furtherance of the policy. The Highways Agency and Vehicle Inspectorate executive agency are currently conducting wide-ranging reviews of their requirements, including data communications, and are using the policy in assessing and selecting
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options. The remaining agencies will use the policy similarly in considering their on-going and future requirements.Private Detective Firms
Mr. Don Foster : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what fees have been paid to Brays Detective Agency in respect of its work at the Batheaston bypass to date ;
(2) what sum has been set aside in the budget for the Batheaston bypass for employing Brays Detective Agency or firms conducting similar work.
Mr. Key : These questions are an operational matter for the Highways Agency. The chief executive, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, is writing to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Don Foster, dated 12 July 1994 :
A4/A46 Batheaston Swainswick Bypass
I am writing in response to your two recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport about the cost of employing Brays Detective Agency to monitor events at the Batheaston/Swainswick Bypass. This is an operational matter for which the Highways Agency is responsible.
As I have explained in response to your Parliamentary Question, PQ 2694, Brays are employed by our solicitors to support them in connection with possible legal action to gain control of the land on which the Batheaston Bypass is being built. A sum of £100,000 has been provisionally set aside in the budget for the Bypass to cover our solicitors' costs in employing Brays. To date, our solicitors have paid no fees to Brays in respect of their work at the Bypass ; however, a payment of around £21,000 (including VAT) is about to be made.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what controls or guidelines exist within his Department regarding information on protestors gathered by private detectives.
Mr. Key : The information collected by private detectives on behalf of the Department's Highways Agency includes photographic and video records and written evidence of observations made. All are required to be carefully collated and catalogued to ensure that they would be acceptable before a court and would assist in the preparation of legal proceedings against trespassers.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what central records are kept by his Department of protestors against road schemes ; and how information gathered by private detectives is collated centrally by his Department.
Mr. Key : Neither the Department nor the Highways Agency keeps central records of protestors against road schemes. Nor do they collate centrally information gathered by private detectives.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to which part of his Department private detectives gathering information on protestors are responsible.
Mr. Key : The private detectives gathering information on protestors are responsible to the Highways Agency.
Road Schemes
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 30 June, Official Report, column 703, if he will list the three other locations at which
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arrangements have been made for the gathering of information about protestors ; which agency was used ; and what was the cost.Mr. Key : This question relates to operational matters of the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie haynes to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 12 July 1994 :
I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the three other locations at which arrangements have been made for the gathering of information on protestors. This is a matter for which the Highways Agency is responsible.
The trunk road schemes involved are the A12 Hackney Wick-M11 Link (Contract 4), the A11 Besthorpe-Wymondham scheme in Norfolk and the A4/A46 Batheaston Bypass in Avon.
In all cases Brays Detective Agency have been used. Expenditure to date has been around £50,000 for the A12 contract, £450 for the A11 contract and £21,000 at Batheaston.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the order in which the road schemes costing over £1 million will be constructed in each of the regions of the Highways Agency.
Mr. Key : As announced in March of this year, the following 22 new contracts for schemes over £1 million are due to start in the current financial year. These are listed by Government office region : Northern
A19 Norton--Parkway Interchange Imp
A1 Shotton Slip Road
A19 Arcot Hall--Moor Farm
North Western
M6 J20-21A Bridge Renewal
M66 Denton-Middleton Con 2
M65 Blackburn Southern Bypass Con 2
A568 Windnes Eastern Bypass South
A66 Lamplugh Junction Improvement
Yorkshire and Humberside
A621/M1 Link Road
A59 Skipton to Low Lodge
East Midlands
M1 J21-21A Widening Phase 1
A564 Derby Southern Bypass and Derby Spur
A564 Doveridge Bypass
West Midlands
A50 Blythe Bridge--Queensway Phase 2
M5 Junction 3-4 Lighting
Eastern
M40 J1A-3 Widening
A1(M) Alconbury--Peterborough Con 1
A13 Wennington--Mar Dyke Imp
A428 Bedford Southern Bypass
South Eastern
M25 J8-10 Widening
A34 Chieveley/M4 J13 Imp
A34 Newbury Bypass
A249 Brielle Way
M4 Junction 10 Lighting
M40 Banbury Maintenance Compound
A2 Lighting
M27 Junction 4 Lighting
South Western
M5 J18-19 Widening
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A30 Honiton--Exeter ImpLondon
A12 Hackney--M11 Link Con 2
A12 Hackney--M11 Link Con 3
A406 Silver Street--Fore Street Imp
The order in which these will start, and decisions on starts in future years is subject to the successful completion of statutory and contractual procedures, and availability of resources.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many studies on the economic impact of road building his Department has (a) carried out itself or (b) commissioned in the last 10 years.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which road schemes have been authorised in the last 10 years which had a negative net present value ; and which road schemes in the last 10 years have been rejected at the public inquiry stage or beyond, because they had a negative net present value.
Mr. Key [holding answer 23 June 1994] : As the information requested relates to operational matters of the Highways Agency, I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 12 July 1994 :
I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about which roads have been authorised in the last 10 years which had a negative net present value, or had been rejected at public inquiry stage or beyond because they had a negative net present value. To the best of my knowledge, no road schemes have been authorised in the last 10 years which have a negative net present value. Neither have there been any road schemes rejected at public inquiry stage or beyond because they had a negative net present value.
Marine Safety
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he originally proposed to publish details on sub-standard ships detained in United Kingdom ports as recommended by the Donaldson inquiry ; when he now proposes to do so ; and what are the reasons for the delay.
Mr. Norris : In making his announcement on 17 May it was my right hon. Friend's intention that details of ships detained in United Kingdom ports should be published as soon as possible. The Marine Safety Agency is preparing the information in a format suitable for publication. The first set of results will be published shortly.
Heavy Goods Vehicles
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by police force area the number of accidents involving heavy goods vehicles for each of the last five years.
Mr. Key : The information requested is shown in the table.
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Injury involving HGVs, by Police Force Area: Great Britain 1989-1993
Accidents
Police Force Code |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metropolitan Police |1,733 |1,684 |1,302 |1,169 |1,195
Cumbria |165 |176 |154 |156 |159
Lancashire |220 |281 |213 |237 |281
Merseyside |255 |292 |283 |286 |281
Greater Manchester |702 |667 |606 |573 |619
Cheshire |475 |403 |364 |339 |418
Northumbria |249 |255 |232 |184 |212
Durham |112 |124 |120 |113 |118
North Yorkshire |403 |347 |351 |312 |292
West Yorkshire |464 |454 |499 |441 |453
South Yorkshire |308 |292 |286 |269 |255
Humberside |219 |232 |214 |261 |230
Cleveland |91 |69 |87 |66 |63
West Midlands |495 |479 |407 |421 |414
Staffordshire |327 |355 |368 |363 |358
West Mercia |382 |366 |329 |290 |257
Warwickshire |247 |225 |176 |172 |191
Derbyshire |316 |303 |277 |280 |256
Nottinghamshire |320 |283 |289 |267 |259
Lincolnshire |278 |287 |219 |245 |246
Leicestershire |311 |315 |294 |269 |281
Northamptonshire |331 |291 |263 |228 |218
Cambridgeshire |376 |327 |281 |272 |264
Norfolk |322 |255 |260 |276 |227
Suffolk |234 |190 |159 |166 |160
Bedfordshire |252 |196 |157 |146 |165
Hertfordshire |317 |268 |233 |210 |287
Essex |621 |471 |427 |418 |456
Thames Valley |624 |517 |528 |508 |529
Hampshire |474 |440 |387 |362 |370
Surrey |320 |306 |233 |224 |224
Kent |477 |456 |375 |436 |429
Sussex |357 |321 |294 |283 |293
City of London |22 |31 |9 |8 |7
Devon and Cornwall |365 |344 |289 |259 |293
Avon and Somerset |319 |290 |265 |266 |254
Gloucestershire |154 |141 |130 |119 |130
Wiltshire |212 |211 |187 |193 |260
Dorset |178 |161 |147 |148 |144
North Wales |210 |196 |212 |182 |159
Gwent |107 |104 |113 |90 |91
South Wales |212 |228 |216 |225 |197
Dyfed-Powys |168 |207 |206 |197 |168
Northern |78 |83 |43 |62 |60
Grampian |121 |135 |145 |126 |114
Tayside |134 |133 |113 |105 |115
Fife |68 |50 |52 |52 |47
Lothian and Borders |216 |175 |154 |141 |140
Central |79 |47 |58 |56 |50
Strathclyde |611 |542 |519 |480 |397
Dumfries and Galloway |98 |89 |100 |73 |94
|---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Total |16,107 |15,063 |13,616 |13,016 |13,173
Vehicle Excise Offences
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 15 June, Official Report, column 521, if he will provide a detailed breakdown for each NFS--no further steps--code one to eight of 492,000 vehicle excise offence reports.
Mr. Key : The information is as follows :
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