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Negative Equity

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of home owners currently suffering negative equity. [23745]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Estimates of negative equity are prepared by the Department of the Environment on the basis of a house price index. The estimates are sensitive to the assumptions made and are only intended to provide a broad indication of the level of negative equity. An estimated 11,000 homeowners were suffering negative equity during the third quarter of 1995.

Air Quality Monitoring

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will increase his funding to local authorities to enable them to measure air quality; and if he will make a statement. [23749]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Under the Environment Act 1995 local authorities will have new duties in respect of air quality. Phased implementation of the new duties, involving a representative number of local authorities in Wales, England and Scotland, will commence in 1996-97. Special grant support is being provided to those authorities to cover any necessary increased expenditure.

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 207

This first phase will enable the Government to assess the resource implications of implementing the new local authority duties and will inform decisions on any Government support that might be required.

Beef Farmers

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to introduce special financial measures to assist beef farmers following Government statements on bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. [23408]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Mechanisms for market support already exist within the common agricultural policy for intervention purchases of beef from steers. In addition, we have announced that we will adopt the EU scheme to provide aid to farmers for the slaughter of young male calves from dairy herds. My right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is today discussing in Council how best to restore confidence in the beef market.

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of farmers who depend principally upon beef farming. [23409]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: According to the particular farm types in the June 1995 agricultural census, there are an estimated 3,625 farm holdings in Wales where the principal activity is beef farming.

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 208

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the current size of the beef herd. [23407]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: At June 1995 there were an estimated 218,900 cows in the Welsh beef breeding herd.

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the farmers unions concerning BSE and CJD; and if he will make a statement. [23410]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: My right hon. Friend met representatives of the farming unions on 21 March to discuss the announcements made the previous day regarding BSE and CJD by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. I met the Farmers Union of Wales on 27 March. The Welsh Office will continue to keep in touch with the farming unions on these matters.

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) cases of BSE and (b) affected farms in Wales and its constituent counties there have been broken down by (i) pedigree beef herds, (ii) mixed beef and dairy farms and (iii) dairy-only herds. [24386]

Mr. Hague: The number of BSE cases and affected farms in Wales broken down by dairy, mixed beef herds as at 29 March 1996 and pedigree beef herds as at 9 March 1996 is as follows:

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 207

County	Cases in dairy herds	Farms	Cases in mixed herds	Farms	Cases in beef herds	Farms	Cases in pedigree beef herds	Farms
Clwyd	1,865	493	91	37	478	162	1	1
Dyfed	6,428	1,587	530	214	691	418	18	13
Gwent	906	196	63	14	119	77	3	2
Gwynedd	324	146	63	31	271	208	4	5
Powys	969	258	34	11	1,256	697	--	--
Mid Glamorgan	171	34	8	4	67	37	--	--
South Glamorgan	369	62	11	4	43	12	--	--
West Glamorgan	68	28	6	5	40	19	--	--

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 207

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the countryside stewardship scheme. [23565]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: The countryside stewardship scheme is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in England. Within Wales, the experimental Tir Cymen scheme, administered by the Countryside Council for Wales, seeks to combine effective farming with whole farm conservation.

Historic Buildings (Restoration Materials)

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to ensure that there is an adequate supply of Welsh slate and other industrial building materials needed for the authentic restoration of Wales's historic buildings; and if he will make a statement. [23526]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: I am not aware of any significant shortage in the supply of appropriate materials.

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Farm Animal Welfare

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his policy concerning the welfare of farm animals. [23532]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: The welfare of livestock on agricultural land is protected in Great Britain by the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary distress or pain to any livestock. Subordinate legislation and associated welfare codes lay down more detailed requirements which are enforced by the State Veterinary Service.

A465

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will state the number of (a) deaths, (b) injuries and (c) accidents on the A465 heads of the valleys since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [23821]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: The information requested is in the following table. The data which cover personal injury accidents recorded by the police, relate to the entire length of the A465.

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 209

	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Deaths	9	6	10	6	5	7
Injuries	183	180	167	178	153	250
Accidents	110	108	100	101	98	131

New Residents

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who moved residence from England to Wales in 1995; and if he will make a statement. [23827]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: The latest available figure for 1995 is from the national health service central register for the 12 months ending September which shows some 52,500 people previously registered in England as having registered with an NHS doctor in Wales. This count excludes armed forces personnel and any others not registered with an NHS doctor.

Crash Barriers

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many miles of (a) dual carriageway and (b) motorway in Wales are without crash barriers; and if he will make a statement. [23830]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: There are 14.78 miles of trunk road dual carriageway in Wales without central reserve safety fencing, details for non-trunk roads are not held by the Department. There is central reserve fencing on the entire length of the M4 in Wales.

Development Projects (EU Funding)

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the development projects in Wales that have attracted grants from the European regional development fund since 1994; on what dates the grants were given; and if he will make a statement. [23973]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Under the objective 5b rural Wales single programming document 1994-1999 and the objective 2 industrial south Wales single programming document 1994-1996, more than 430 projects have been approved to receive grant assistance from the European regional development fund resources available to these programmes. The lists of projects approved for grant were published in Welsh Office press notice dated 24 August 1995, 5 February 1996 and 18 March 1996 and copies are available in the Library of the House. The dates on which the approval letters were issued and when payments on claims have been made will vary in each individual case.

County Council Social Services

Mr. John Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what machinery is available to consider current complaints involving county council social services when those councils are abolished on 31 March. [24293]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Under section 53 of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, responsibility for dealing with the complaint transfers to the new authority or authorities for the area to which the complaint relates.

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The section ensures that the new authorities inherit the implications of any decisions taken by the old authorities--anything done by an old authority shall be deemed to have been done by the new authority for its continuing effect.

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