Select Committee on Environmental Audit Minutes of Evidence

Supplementary Memorandum by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

REPONSES TO FURTHER WRITTEN QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE

ROLE OF GREEN MINISTER IN THE DEPARTMENT

10. How does the Green Minister influence the development of policies which are the responsibility of his colleagues to ensure that the policies take due account of sustainable development?

  Ministers meet regularly to discuss the Department's policies. This allows opportunities to comment about the environmental implications of the whole range of MAFF's policies. The Minister has also made clear his determination to re-orientate MAFF to make it more environment and consumer friendly. As the Department's policies develop and evolve over time, the need to take account of sustainable development will become more deeply embedded although many MAFF policies already take considerable account of sustainability.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

11. Would it be possible for your department to take responsibility for promoting and helping to achieve defined targets for the agricultural sector in relation to Government-wide strategies, such as targets for methane reduction in the agricultural sector in relation to climate change?

  MAFF has been involved in the preparation of a new UK sustainable development strategy, (on which a consultation paper, "Opportunities for Change", was issued in February), and will be responsible for developing and promoting indicators and targets for the agricultural sector. However, any targets set for agriculture's contribution to various Government-wide strategies must take account of the practicality and cost effectiveness of achieving them and the Department works closely with DETR and other departments in the preparation of relevant strategies. Target setting for agriculture is also complicated by the need to take account of the complexity and diversity of production systems, climatic conditions, soil types, etc.

DEPARTMENTAL OBJECTIVES AND COMPREHENSIVE SPENDING REVIEW

12. When will MAFF make any changes to its aims and objectives which flow from the conclusions of the Comprehensive Spending Review?

  Consideration of MAFF's aims and objectives formed an integral part of its Comprehensive Spending Review, as set out in it published terms of reference. Any changes will therefore be announced along with the results of the Review more generally. This is likely to be within the next few months.

RESOURCE ACCOUNTING

13. How will MAFF account for its environmental policies and performance in its resource accounts? Will the conclusions of the CSR affect the work already done in preparation for resource accounting?

  Resource Accounting will provide Ministers and Parliament with a better picture of the true economic cost of spending by measuring resources consumed as well as cash spent. Spending (inputs) will be related to the delivery of objectives (outputs). Under Resource Accounting the resource cost of the Ministry's environmental policies will be identified. The cash cost of each programme is currently identified in the Departmental report.

  Individual expenditure on green operations can, under Resource Accounting, be reported, if separately identifiable, although such expenditure will in the main account to be treated as an overhead on the Ministry's direct policy programmes.

  The Ministry's preparations for resource Accounting and Budgeting commenced well before the start of the Comprehensive Spending Review. The Ministry's resource Accounts will need to reflect the results of the CSR once agreed.

ENVIRONMENTAL APPRAISAL

14. How were the three case studies selected for the KPMG examination of experience with the policy appraisal and the Environment initiative and how representative were these studies of the policy appraisal work of the Department?

  The case studies were selected in consultation between officials in MAFF and DETR, and were chosen to be representative of the range of appraisal work in MAFF.

15. When does MAFF expect to introduce regulations to apply the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive as it applies to the intensification of previously uncultivated land.

  In order to meet an obligation in Directive 85/337, as amended by Directive 97/11, in respect of projects to bring uncultivated land or semi-natural areas into intensive agricultural use, MAFF expects to introduce regulations by 14 March 1999.

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Prepared 15 May 1998