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Student Governors

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list those further education colleges that have no student governor. [793]

Mr. Paice: This information is not held by the Department. It is for individual college corporations to determine whether to appoint a student governor.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Sudan

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking (a) directly and (b) through international agencies, to help relieve the position in the Sudan; and if he will make a statement on Government contacts with different factions in that country. [131]

Mr. Hanley: The UK has given over £100 million of humanitarian assistance to Sudan and Sudanese refugees since 1991. This aid is disbursed through non-governmental organisations and the UN's Operation Lifeline Sudan. Officials in London, Khartoum and Nairobi are in regular touch with the parties to the civil war and other Sudanese groups.

Montserrat

Ms Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Montserrat in respect of the recent volcanic eruptions; and if he will make a statement on the Montserrat Government's advice to local inhabitants.[665]

Sir Nicholas Bonsor: Montserrat experienced its latest volcanic eruption on 17 and 18 September 1996 affecting most southern parts of the island, which has been evacuated since April 1996 for all but essential business. There were no injuries. Scientists have warned that there

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could be further explosions; however, they continue to believe that the north of Montserrat is safe from volcanic activity. We remain committed to helping the people of Montserrat, and to giving the highest priority to the safety of the islanders. The Governor, British administrators, and scientific experts continue to work closely with the Government of Montserrat on a comprehensive warning system, on the regular reviewing of areas deemed to be unsafe, and on associated contingency planning.

The Government of Montserrat have advised local inhabitants to remain alert for scientific reports which are issued twice daily and for announcements from the civilian authorities.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Jobseeker's Allowance

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans she has to require the Benefits Agency to revise the Benefits Agency code of practice regarding the structure of interviews and the range and type of questions to be put to unemployed people during interviews connected with the jobseeker's allowance. [472]

Mr. Forth: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked for him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mrs. Ann Clwyd, dated 29 October 1996:





AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Cattle Slaughter Scheme

Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will place in the Library a copy of the proposal by the EU Commission to reduce the payment rate for animals under the slaughter scheme which was agreed to by the beef management Committee. [193]

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Mr. Baldry: Copies of the Commission regulation, EC No. 1974/96 of 15 October 1996, which will reduce the rate of payment from 1 ecu to 0.9 ecu per kg liveweight on eligible animals slaughtered under the over-30 month scheme, have been placed in the Library.

Organophosphates

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the level of use of organophosphates in (a) sheep dips and (b) farming in general in each year since 1970. [1018]

Mrs Browning: The Ministry does not hold this information for sheep dips. Figures for the use of organophosphate agricultural pesticides in Great Britain are available from 1975 but, up to 1993, only as the average of several years. The figures are:







Fishing Catches

Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tonnes of fish have been landed in each of the last three years in Brixham; what is the estimated value of the catch; and if he will make a statement; [1070]

Mr. Baldry: The quantity and value of recorded landings by UK registered and licensed vessels into Brixham for the last three years are:

YearQuantity (thousand tonnes liveweight)Value (£ million)
19939.013.8
19949.214.8
199510.317.7

Decommissioning

Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many (a) beam trawlers and (b) other fishing vessels have been decommissioned in each of the last three years (i) nationally and (ii) in Brixham, south Devon; and how many fishing vessels he expects to be decommissioned in 1997. [1069]

Mr. Baldry: A total of 436 vessels were decommissioned under the 1993, 1994 and 1995 decommissioning schemes. Eighteen of these were beam trawlers. Fourteen vessels with Brixham as their administrative port have been decommissioned, none of which was a beam trawler. Definitive results for the 1996 scheme are not yet available as applicants have until 30 November to decommission their vessels. Decommissioning is an entirely voluntary scheme and I am unable to estimate the number of vessels which might be decommissioned under the 1997 scheme.

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Animal Exports

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many (a) sheep and (b) pigs were rejected as unfit to travel prior to export in each of July, August and September; and if he will make a statement. [798]

Mrs. Browning: Animals rejected as unfit for transport prior to export:

JulyAugustSeptember
Sheep379574607
Pigs622742

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many consignments of live lambs and sheep have been exported since 5 July to each of the following destinations as declared under the terms of the Welfare of Animals During Transport Order 1994, (a) Loker in Belgium, (b) Zuilichem in the Netherlands, (c) Elst in the Netherlands, (d) Morkhoven in Belgium and (e) Pervijze in Belgium; and how many animals in total have been exported to each of the above destinations since 5 July. [797]

Mrs. Browning: Information gathered by the Ministry's staff monitoring exports at Dover during July, August and September shows:

AnimalsConsignments
Loker56,286110
Zuilichem74,172111
Elst5,1588
Morkhoven21,87438
Pervijze5,7827

Fishing Methods

Mr. David Porter: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to have available for publication the results of the experiment his Department is conducting into trialing old fishing methods using the restored fishing smack Excelsior; and if he will make a statement. [177]

Mr. Baldry: The Excelsior trials have been postponed because she is undergoing a refit.

Plaice Quota

Mr. David Porter: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has received from his officials about the fishing industry at Lowestoft about how long the 1996 plaice quota will last; and what steps he is taking to swap quotas elsewhere for plaice quota for Lowestoft until the end of 1996. [178]

Mr. Baldry: Quota allocations for North sea plaice and other stocks are issued annually to individual groups within the fleet, including fish producers' organisations, which are responsible for managing these allocations on behalf of their members. The rate of quota uptake will vary between different groups,

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reflecting factors such as the availability of fish and commercial decisions by the groups and their members. As at 24 October 1996, the Lowestoft Fish Producers' Organisation had taken 87.5 per cent. of its North sea plaice allocation for 1996, compared with 80.1 per cent. for the UK as a whole. It is open to the Lowestoft PO to seek to swap quota with other groups in order to obtain additional plaice, should the PO judge this to be necessary.

Mr. Porter: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on why 360 tonnes of North sea plaice received from Norway in September were swapped with the Netherlands for other species; what consultations were undertaken with the fishing industry; and how the swap was administered under the 1996 quota management rules. [179]

Mr. Baldry: Earlier this year, the Commission secured an extra 1,250 tonnes of North sea plaice from Norway in exchange for 10,000 tonnes of EU blue whiting from areas Vb, VI and VII. The UK share of the extra plaice was some 360 tonnes. After careful consideration, and having regard to the 1996 quota management rules, it was decided to use the additional plaice to acquire a range of other stocks from the Netherlands. Specific consultation with the fishing industry was not necessary. The stocks obtained have been distributed proportionately to industry except for North area sole which is being allocated to the under-10m fleet in order to ensure that the fishery remains open into the autumn, having been closed for the first three months of 1996.

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