FIRST SPECIAL REPORT
The Agriculture Committee has agreed to
the following Special Report:
The Committee has received the following memorandum
from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, constituting
the Government's Reply to the First Report from the Committee
of this Session, MAFF/Intervention Board Departmental Report
1997, made to the House on 11 December 1997.
* * *
1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
(MAFF) welcomes the consideration the Committee has given to the
1997 MAFF/Intervention Board Departmental Report and has noted
the following points raised by the Committee.
THE PREVIOUS AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE'S
PRACTICES
Agriculture Committee conclusion (1): For the
avoidance of doubt, we think it would be helpful if we set out
those areas in which we would wish to maintain practices observed
by MAFF and the previous Agriculture Committee in their mutual
dealings:
(a) When presenting Supplementary Estimates
MAFF agreed to supply the Committee with memoranda explaining
in detail the reasons for such Estimates;
(b) MAFF agreed to consult the Committee
on the introduction of resource accounting and the presentation
of relevant information in the Departmental Report; and
(c) MAFF agreed to inform the Committee
of significant changes in its Aims and Sub-aims as and when they
are made.
We would welcome MAFF's confirmation that these
undertakings, given to the previous Committee, remain in force.
2. MAFF confirms that these undertakings remain in
force.
MAFF's PRIORITIES
Agriculture Committee conclusion (2): We believe
it to be premature for MAFF to fashion a new identity for itself
before its future role and functions are clearly established.
Agriculture Committee conclusion (3): We recommend
that MAFF be re-incarnated as a Ministry of Agriculture, Rural
Affairs and Fisheries.
Agriculture Committee conclusion (4): We recommend
that, if the Government decides that these national functions
should remain the responsibility of the Rural Development Commission,
the Commission, working within a reformed MAFF, should be given
primary responsibility for ensuring that the needs of rural areas
are taken fully into account in all Government policy-making,
at national and regional levels. We also consider that the Countryside
Commission and English Nature should become part of the new Ministry.
3. These recommendations are taken together in our
response since they are so closely inter-related.
4. MAFF agrees with the Select Committee that it
would be premature to finalise a new Departmental identity until
current discussions in the context of the Government's Comprehensive
Spending Review (CSR) about Departmental boundaries, aims and
objectives have been concluded. MAFF welcomes the Committee's
remarks in paragraph 14 of the Report about the steps that have
already been taken to refocus the Department's activities and
to make it more open and accessible. The Minister has consistently
emphasised his commitment to this process and, as the Committee
acknowledges, there has been real progress over the last nine
months, including publication of the White Paper on the Food Standards
Agency.
5. MAFF notes the Committee's recommendation that
the Ministry should assume responsibility for rural affairs in
general and that it should change its name to reflect this. MAFF
also notes the Committee's recommendations in respect of the responsibilities
of the Rural Development Commission and MAFF's future relationship
with that organization and with the Countryside Commission and
English Nature. The institutional arrangements for the delivery
of countryside policy, including the boundaries between MAFF and
DETR and the associated Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies
(NDPBs) are the subject of examination in the joint MAFF/DETR
review of countryside policy which is being conducted in the context
of the CSR. Any decision on a new name for the Department will
clearly have to take account of the conclusions of this review.
Meantime MAFF will ensure that the Committee's recommendations
are taken into account in the review group's deliberations.
Agriculture Committee conclusion (5): We consider
it important that the Ministry's mission statement should be closely
reflected in its structure of Aims, Sub-Aims and objectives, and
that wherever feasible, output and performance measurements should
be constructed to provide evidence of the Ministry's success
in meeting its objectives over the coming years.
6. MAFF agrees with the Select Committee's conclusion
and confirms that new aims and objectives for the Department,
together with the associated output and performance measures,
are being taken forward in the context of the CSR. Under Resource
Accounting and Budgeting (RAB), MAFF will be required to produce
an Output and Performance statement which will include representative
output and performance indicators for each of its objectives.
BSE-RELATED EXPENDITURE
Agriculture Committee conclusion (6): We are
concerned by these substantial increases [in BSE-related
expenditure], and will again consider BSE expenditure
in our inquiry into MAFF's 1998 Departmental Report.
7. MAFF notes the concern expressed by the Committee
about the increases in forecast expenditure on BSE-related measures.
These increases reflect changes in the forecast throughput of
schemes (notably the Over Thirty Month Scheme) in the light of
experience and the introduction of new measures, e.g. the Selective
Cull, which were not included in the original estimates. MAFF
notes the Committee's intention to return to the subject in its
inquiry into the 1998 MAFF/IB Departmental Report.
Agriculture Committee conclusion (7): We are
concerned about the financial difficulties facing UK farmers,
especially in Less Favoured Areas, and await decisions on these
matters with interest. We would not wish to see reductions in
the real value of HLCAs.
8. The Government's policy on HLCAs was set out in
the statement made to the House by the Minister of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food on 22 December 1997. That statement set Government
policy firmly in the context of urgent action to achieve restructuring
of the beef sector to match supply with demand. In the short-term,
and following consultations with the European Commission, rates
of payment under the 1998 HLCA Scheme have been set at 1996 levels.
Hill farmers will however benefit from the £85 million in
agrimonetary compensation for the beef and sheep sectors announced
on 3 February. This additional financial support is exceptional
and one-off and will give producers time to prepare for the future.
In the longer term the Government will review the HLCA Scheme
with a view to replacing it with instruments better designed to
deliver environmental benefits in the Less Favoured Areas. A
crucial element of that review will be the Commission's proposals
for the reform of agricultural support generally and for the Less
Favoured Areas in particular, which are expected to be made available
in the Spring.
Agriculture Committee conclusion (8): We consider
the devotion of greater resources and effort by the Government
to tracing cattle subject to selective slaughter to be an important
priority.
9. As at 31 January, 130,000 cohort animals had been
identified which had been sold out of the natal herd. 34,000
of these had been traced, of which 24,000 (70%) were found to
be already dead. In addition, 43,000 animals have been determined
to be untraceable. Taking these untraceable animals into account,
tracings have been completed in respect of over half the cull
animals sold out of the natal herd which have so far been identified.
Progress with tracings is monitored regularly and MAFF has been
working to ensure that its database accurately accounts for each
animal identified.
10. If still alive the animals targeted by the cull
are between 4 and 9 years old, and, once sold out of the natal
herd, may have been moved on a number of times. In many instances,
they will have been sold on through markets, where older records
will be in ledger form, rather than computerised. The tracing
of animals under the selective cull is therefore a time-consuming
and difficult task, given the number of individual movements which
need to be traced, and the fact that the information required
from records, particularly in markets, is often not easily accessible.
In a significant proportion of cases animals are ultimately untraceable
due to poor records at farms and markets and because there was
no legal requirement for markets to keep movement records until
the Bovine Animals (Records, Identification and Movement) Order
1995 which came into effect at the end of January 1995.
11. Field staff have been giving this exercise top
priority and are putting a great deal of effort into tracing cull
animals. Around 100 additional administrative staff have been
recruited for this exercise.
12. In an effort to short cut some of these tracings
from the farm of birth, the ear-tags of animals sold out of the
natal herd are being cross-checked against the National Milk Records
and Cattle Passport System databases to find out where these cattle
are now or have been recently. Where there are matches, the use
of these databases can help reduce the number of individual movements
which need to be traced by providing a recent, or the current,
location of the animal concerned. However, this is dependent
on the accuracy with which ear tag numbers are recorded on computerised
systems; an error in a single digit is enough to prevent a match
being made.
13. The main problem affecting the rate of progress
lies in the need to value animals on the farm. This is a highly
specialised task undertaken by private valuers and MAFF cannot
increase the supply of experienced valuers to do this work. As
the cull progresses there will be fewer large groups of cohort
animals in the natal herd remaining to be valued and slaughtered.
Increasingly, animals slaughtered under the selective cull will
be traced animals, located often as singletons or in small groups
bought into a farm. The limited supply of valuers is therefore
likely to become more significant.
14. The Committee has expressed concern that the
Government's proposals for an offspring cull to take into account
maternal transmission of BSE may be viewed sceptically in the
light of apparently poor progress in tracing animals under the
selective cull. As explained above, tracings under the selective
cull have posed particular problems because of the age of the
animals concerned and, in many cases, the poor quality of record-keeping.
Under the proposal submitted to the European Commission on 2
October, the offspring cull would be confined to cattle born
on or after 1 August 1996. Tracing would therefore not present
the same problems as the period concerned is significantly shorter
with fewer potential movements. The Central Veterinary Laboratory
BSE database has records of the majority of offspring within the
relevant time scale and many offspring will not have moved at
all. In addition, cattle born after the introduction of the Cattle
Tracing System will be traceable through this system.
REGIONAL PANELS
Agriculture Committee conclusion (9): We recommend
that the new arrangements [following the abolition of the
nine English Regional Panels] be appraised for their
effectiveness in providing a workable and open consultative mechanism
for the full range of country and consumer interests.
15. MAFF has well developed and exhaustive arrangements
for formal consultation with a wide range of interests on a wide
range of subjects. These arrangements are unaffected by the decision
to disband the Regional Panels, whose primary function, once
their statutory role had ended some years ago, was to provide
a channel of communication to Ministers.
16. Ministers' concern on taking office was that
the channel of communication afforded by the Panels was strictly
limited. They were comprised almost exclusively of farmers.
In respect of issues that impinged seriously on individuals or
on the industry as a whole, it was clear that those affected wished
to approach Ministers directly and not to have their views filtered
through the Panels. Ministers want to create a more direct, open
and accessible Ministry. They also want to open up avenues to
all who live and work in the countryside; those who consume food
as well as those with an interest in the countryside and the environment.
17. MAFF will keep the new arrangements under review.
Experience so far has been that the new arrangements enable Ministers
to meet and hear directly from a far wider range of people than
were represented on the Panels and accordingly it is believed
that communications have much improved.
BADGERS AND BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS
Agriculture Committee conclusion (10): We very
much welcome Dr Cunningham's indication that the Krebs report
will be published as soon as it is received by Ministers, and
look to the Government to expedite action on this seemingly intractable
problem.
18. MAFF recognises that bovine TB in cattle is a
major problem for farmers and notes the Committee's desire for
swift action to be taken following publication of the Krebs report.
The report was published in December 1997. It makes clear that
there are no 'quick-fix' solutions to the problem of bovine TB
and recommends a number of approaches on different timescales.
19. The report recommends that the Government should
do more to find out to what extent culling badgers reduces bovine
TB through a properly designed and controlled experiment targeted
in areas at highest risk of herd breakdown, and that an independent
Expert Group should be set up to design and oversee the experiment.
The report considers that the previous policy of limited culling
of badgers across the whole country was flawed, and we have therefore
ended this.
20. In addition to the culling experiment, the report
recommends major research initiatives aimed at achieving a better
understanding of the causes of outbreaks of bovine TB and developing
improved strategies to reduce outbreaks. The Government is discussing
with existing contractors how their research in the year April
1998 - March 1999 can take account of the report and plans to
put a new research programme in place by April 1999.
21. The Government has accepted the report subject
to detailed consideration of the financial, legal and practical
issues. Interested parties are being consulted on how the report
should be implemented. The Government looks forward to working
with farmers and those interested in badger conservation on implementing
the report. If the problem of bovine TB is to be reduced, it
must be through partnership of all concerned.
MINISTERIAL MOVE TO NOBEL HOUSE
Agriculture Committee conclusion (11): We remain
to be convinced that the move to Nobel House is a considered and
cost-effective part of the rationalisation of the Ministry's property
estate. We presume that a full cost-benefit analysis was completed
prior to authorising the move and would welcome its publication.
22. There were four reasons for the Ministers' move
from Whitehall Place to Nobel House:
(a) Ministers' accommodation in Whitehall
was in need of major refurbishment and was not of an appropriate
standard for hosting the UK Presidency. Accommodation in Nobel
House, where some of the rooms are of real architectural distinction,
provides facilities which were lacking in Whitehall Place, including
adequate conference rooms and press briefing areas;
(b) MAFF's long term accommodation strategy
is to enhance efficiency by bringing the various fragmented groups
of headquarters staff together around one site. This will be
helped by the move to the Nobel/Ergon area given the unavailability
of suitable sites close to Whitehall Place. Buildings and sites
surplus to requirements will be disposed of;
(c) Ministers are now in close proximity
to the new Joint Food Safety and Standards Group, strengthening
the Government's emphasis on this aspect of the Department's current
responsibilities; and
(d) the move is fully consistent with Ministers'
desire to send out a strong signal that the Department's aims
and focus are changing. The move helps to signal a break with
the past. Thus the move should not be viewed simply as an exercise
to save costs; the reasons for it were much broader.
23. A cost-benefit analysis was not completed prior
to the move. Had one been carried out, it would probably have
highlighted the non-quantifiable benefits of the move which are
significant and are already being felt.
CLOSURE OF THE REGIONAL SERVICE
CENTRE OUTSTATION AT TRURO
24. The supplementary memorandum covering various
points raised during the oral evidence session on 4 November 1997,
submitted to the Clerk to the Committee on 27 November, contained
some financial information which was misaligned with the table
headings. This was reproduced on page 43 of the Committee's report.
The correct version of the table is given below.
| ANNUAL SAVINGS |
| | |
| | | |
|
| Staff (at 1 May 1997 rates)
| 1 EO | £20,694
| |
| | 1 AO
| £14,936 |
|
| | 0.5 AA
| £ 5,356 |
|
| | 1 Typist
| £16,040 |
|
| | 1 Typist
| £15,680 |
|
| Total | 4.5
| | £ 72,706
|
| | | |
|
| Rent |
| | |
| | | |
|
| Savings at Truro |
| £38,516 |
|
| | | |
|
| Cost of additional space at Exeter
| | £25,632
| |
| | | |
|
| Net Saving on rental |
| | £ 12,884
|
| | | |
|
| Management |
| | |
| | | |
|
Saving in time and cost of travel
between Exeter and Truro, and
vice versa
| |
|
£ 8,000
|
| | | |
|
| Other Savings |
| | |
| | | |
|
Including costs of telephone and
postage between Exeter and Truro
| | |
£ 7,000
|
| | | |
|
| Total Annual Savings |
| | £100,590
|
| | | |
|
| ONE OFF COSTS |
| | |
| | | |
|
| Redundancy costs of 13 volunteers
| | | £282,333
|
23 February 1998
| 
