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North-east Drift Net Fishery

Sir Cranley Onslow: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent correspondence he has had with the chairman of the National Rivers Authority about the north-east drift net fishery. [17256]

Mr. Baldry: I refer to my reply to the right hon. Member of Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) on 22 February 1996, Official Report, columns 270-71. I have since received a further letter from the chairman of the National Rivers Authority suggesting discussions between officials in the authority, the Ministry and the Scottish authorities on measures to safeguard future stock of spring fish, and these will be arranged.

Live Animal Exports

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how much was charged to exporters for each consignment of livestock destined for export certified by his own veterinary and technical assistant staff between 13 and 19 February, inclusive; [17846]

(2) what sums his Department has received for providing a health certification service for livestock destined for export between 13 and 19 February, inclusive. [17724]

Mrs. Browning: Invoices have not yet been raised for these services. No money has been received.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will announce the results of his inquiry into inadequate certification by veterinary surgeons. [17788]

Mrs. Browning: Inquiries are continuing concerning the allegations made in the Channel 4 "Dispatches" programme and I can give no indication as to when they may be completed.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animals were deemed unfit to travel between 13 February and 19 February, inclusive, by the Minister's veterinary staff when undertaking certification procedures of live animals destined for export. [17778]

Mrs. Browning: Between 13 to 19 February, of the 2,691 sheep and 3,843 calves presented for export, 39 sheep and 165 calves were deemed unfit to travel by veterinary staff while undertaking certification procedures.

5 Mar 1996 : Column: 127

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many veterinary staff and technical assistant staff were deployed to undertake certification for animals destined for export between 13 and 16 February, inclusive. [17723]

Mrs. Browning: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Glandford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 20 February 1996, Official Report, columns 136-37, and on 26 February 1996, Official Report, columns 381-82.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if all local veterinary inspectors are employed by his Ministry when undertaking health certification work for animals due to be exported from the United Kingdom. [17711]

Mrs. Browning: LVIs are appointed by the Minister to act as agents on his behalf. They are not employees.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how long certification took for each consignment of live animals destined for export between 13 and 19 February, inclusive, for (a) physical examinations and (b) related administrative procedures. [17725]

Mrs. Browning: The nature of the work is such that it is not possible to separate the physical examinations from the administrative procedures, for example, checking identities of animals. Set out in the table are the times taken at the various lairages on different days when one or more consignments were dealt with at each lairage.

Date	Number of consignments	Start time	Finish time
13 February	2 consignments of sheep	0900	1300
	1 consignment of calves
	3 consignments of sheep	0900	1430
	1 consignment of calves
	5 consignments of calves	0900	(1)0130
14 February	1 consignment of sheep	0830	1700
	3 consignments of calves
	5 consignments of calves	0730	1330
15 February	1 consignment of sheep	0830	1015
	7 consignments of calves	0800	1430
	6 consignments of calves	0730	1630
16 February	1 consignment of sheep	0730	1230
	2 consignments of calves

(1) 14 February.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the rate per hour charged by (a) his veterinary staff and (b) his technical assistance staff to certify consignments of animals destined for export between 13 and 19 February, inclusive. [17721]

Mrs. Browning: For veterinary officers, the rate per hour is £41.61 per hour and for animal health officers, it is £23.47 per hour exclusive of VAT.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many consignments of animals for export were certified by the Minister's veterinary and technical staff between 13 and 16 February, inclusive. [17712]

5 Mar 1996 : Column: 128

Mrs. Browning: Between 13 and 16 February inclusive, Ministry veterinary staff certified eight consignments of sheep and 30 consignments of calves.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the use of a separate fitness to travel certificate ceased for the purposes of certifying animals for export. [17726]

Mrs. Browning: The use of a separate fitness to travel certificate ceased from 31 December 1992.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animals were in each consignment certified for export by his veterinary and technical staff between 13 and 19 February, inclusive.[17722]

Mrs. Browning: The number of animals in each consignment certified for export by Ministry veterinary staff between 13 and 19 February, inclusive, was as follows:

Date	Number of consignments	Animals per consignment
13 February	5 consignment of sheep	204, 426, 400, 389, 386
	7 consignment of calves	88, 88, 203, 53, 51, 229, 110
14 February	1 consignment of sheep	405
	8 consignment of calves	146, 62, 268, 160, 53, 179, 229, 68
15 February	1 consignment of sheep	231
	13 consignments of calves	126, 80, 168, 138, 241, 206, 40, 262, 196, 16, 29, 59, 90
16 February	1 consignment of sheep	250
	2 consignments of calves	65, 140

No animals were certified for export by Ministry veterinary and technical staff on 17, 18 or 19 February.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current role of Jonathan Stirling in respect of animal health certification on behalf of exporters. [17866]

Mrs. Browning: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glandford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 22 February 1996, Official Report, columns 269-70.

Civil Servants (Company Directors)

Mr. Byers: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which serving civil servants in his Department are presently directors of companies; and if he will indicate for each (a) the name of the company concerned and (b) if the annual remuneration was (i) £1 to £5,000, (ii) £5,000 to £10,000 and (c) above £10,000. [18153]

Mr. Boswell [holding answer 1 March 1996]: A number of officials in the Department have declared their outside interests in accordance with departmental requirements. As with all employment matters, individuals' details are a confidential matter between them and their employer.

5 Mar 1996 : Column: 129

The following staff currently hold directorships under the guide to non-executive directorships for civil servants:

Mr. R. A. Hathaway: Manor Bakeries Ltd.
Mr. R. G. Purnell: H. R. Wallingford
Mr. A. R. Burne: The Albert Fisher Group plc
Mr. B. J. Harding: Cadbury Ltd.

The individuals concerned do not receive payment.

Organic Aid Scheme

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much money has been received by farmers in the form of organic aid since September 1994; and if he will make a statement on proposals for encouraging greater participation. [18305]

Mr. Boswell [holding answer 1 March 1996]: Since the start of the organic aid scheme in England in August 1994 until the end of December 1995, £190,733 has been paid. Separate schemes operate in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We are considering a number of options for encouraging greater uptake of the scheme.

Cassava Chips

Mr. Cox: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with Commonwealth countries as to the possible importation of cassava chips; and if he will make a statement. [18481]

Mrs. Browning: My right hon. Friend has not held discussions on imports of this product with any Commonwealth countries. Various preferential quotas exist which facilitate imports of cassava--manioc--into the EU from third countries in which members of the Commonwealth are free to participate.

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