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Flood Defences (Edgware and Burnt Oak)
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress on the flood defence plans for Edgware and Burnt Oak. [72296]
26 Feb 1999 : Column: 494
Mr. Morley:
The Ministry provided the Environment Agency with feedback in January on the technical, economic and environmental aspects of their outline flood alleviation strategy for the whole of the Silk Stream Catchment. The Agency are continuing to prepare a more detailed strategy with a view to obtaining the necessary approvals.
Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will write to appropriate district councils and other relevant authorities outlining his Department's contingency plan for dealing with the release of large numbers of farmed mink. [72280]
Mr. Morley:
Officials are in correspondence with appropriate local authorities and arranging meetings to discuss contingency plans in respect of released mink.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food who will represent his Department at the Biosafety Protocol meeting in Colombia; and if he will make a statement. [72226]
Mr. Rooker:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment on 23 February 1999, Official Report, column 207.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the names of those he has nominated to the Advisory Committee to Her Majesty's Government on Releases of Genetic Material into the Environment, together with (a) their qualifications (b) details of relevant (i) public and (ii) private interests and (c) dates of appointment; if he will make a statement on the resources allocated to the Committee; and if he will set out the references to any of the Committee's published reports. [72557]
Mr. Rooker:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment on 23 February 1999, Official Report, columns 205-06.
Yvette Cooper:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the pilot projects instigated by his Department since 1 May 1997, indicating the area in which each pilot took, or is taking, place. [72635]
Mr. Morley:
The list of pilot projects instigated by MAFF since 1 May 1997 is as follows:
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26 Feb 1999 : Column: 496
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the total number of cattle and sheep inhumanely slaughtered in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available. [72715]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 24 February 1999]: Inhumane slaughter would contravene the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 which implement the provisions of a 1993 EU Directive. The Meat Hygiene Service enforces these rules on a daily basis in licensed slaughterhouses and the State Veterinary Service monitors compliance on farms and other premises. It is not feasible to assess how many animals may have been slaughtered in contravention of the law: however, the Government seek full compliance with these regulations and does not hesitate to take action where there is evidence of contraventions. Prosecution action has been taken in 13 case since the regulations were introduced in April 1995.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what payments he has proposed under the Organic Aid Scheme for (a) Arable Area Payments Scheme eligible land, (b) ineligible land and (c) unimproved grassland or rough grazing. [72620]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 24 February 1999]: The proposed rates of aid under the Organic Farming Scheme in England are as follows:
Arable Stewardship Pilot Scheme--This project aims to help restore wildlife in arable farmland areas. Grants are available in two areas, East Anglia and West Midlands. This is a three-year pilot scheme, launched in January 1998.
The Uplands Experiment--This project involves an integrated approach to a number of existing grant schemes including Countryside Stewardship rather than a new scheme and will be
available in two areas, Forest of Bowland in Lancashire and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. This is a 2 year pilot due to be launched on 1 March.
"Operation Gangmaster"--This project seeks to clamp down on exploitative agricultural gangmasters: co-ordinated enforcement by up to 8 agencies of legislation relevant to casual and seasonal workers, in East Anglia/East Midland area. It began in the 1998 summer season.
Flood and Coastal Defence Capital Programme--The Environment Agency, in liaison with MAFF, is undertaking a formal test of the market on two pilot Public Private Partnership (Private Finance Initiative) projects--at Pevensey Bay in Sussex and Broadland in Norfolk. Both schemes have been included on the HM Treasury list of "significant projects" and have been given "pathfinder status". Invitation to Negotiate documents were issued on Pevensey in September 1998 and Broadland in October 1998, and the Agency will continue negotiations with selected consortiums with a view to contracts being let in Autumn 1999. The wider application of this procurement approach to the flood and coastal defence programme will be examined in the light of experience gained from these two pilot projects.
A pilot study in the UK is being conducted in preparation for a National Survey on the "Microbiological quality and Heat Processing of Cows Milk".
A project on the development and testing of a manual designed to help farmers minimise waste was completed in February 1998. Areas covered were Cheshire, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Dyfed.
A large-scale anonymous postal survey of British sheep farmers concerning the incidence of scrapie took place in November/December 1998 from which the data are presently being analysed. Two pilot studies preceded this survey:
(i) In February 1998, a pilot study of 20 farmers in England and Wales nominated by their veterinary surgeons was conducted to investigate whether a survey of sheep farmers could obtain a valid estimate of the incidence of sheep scrapie.
(ii) A pilot study conducted in May-June 1998 trialled questionnaires amongst 300 sheep farmers throughout Great Britain.
Economic Evaluation of Access Provisions in the MAFF Agri-Environment Schemes--England.
Economic Evaluation of the Milk Quota System--England and Wales.
Customer Satisfaction Survey of MAFF's Regional Service Centres--England.
Economic Evaluation of Nitrate Sensitive Areas Scheme--England.
Farmers' Attitudes to Arable Options in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme--England.
EU Survey of Farmers' Attitudes to and Comprehension of the Agri-Environmental Programme--Northern England.
Interim Evaluation of the PESCA Community Initiative--United Kingdom.
Economic Evaluation of Stage IV Environmentally Sensitive Areas--All six Stage IV ESAs in England: Blackdown Hills; Cotswold Hills; Dartmoor; Essex Coast; Shropshire Hills; and Upper Thames tributaries.
Pilot Study of Countryside Maintenance and Management--The South West: Cornwall; Devon; Somerset; and Dorset.
Arable Land Management Initiative: Norfolk Pilot Study.
Pilot Study of Livestock Marketing Channels and Marketing Practices--North of England.
Property and Pollution in Arable Agriculture--Arable farms in East Anglia.
Estimating the Value of Environmental Features: Stage One--England.
Economic Evaluation of Farm Animal Welfare Policy: Baseline Study and Framework Development--United Kingdom.
Farmers' Irrigation Decisions and Attitudes to Risk under Conditions of Water Scarcity--England.
Economic Evaluation of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme--England.
Economic Evaluation of MAFF's Contract with ATB Landbase--Great Britain.
Hedgerow Management: a Study of Farmers' and Contractors' Attitudes--England: Devon; Dorset; Somerset; Leicestershire; Northamptonshire; Nottinghamshire; Yorkshire.
Economic Evaluation of the Sheep Annual Premium Scheme--United Kingdom.
£/ha
| Type of land | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Total
| Eligible for AAPS or under permanent crops | 225 | 135 | 50 | 20 | 20 | 450
| Improved land not eligible for AAPS | 175 | 105 | 40 | 15 | 15 | 350
| Unimproved land | 25 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 50
| | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr. Soley:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what (a) financial and (b) other support he is currently giving to organic farming. [72960]
26 Feb 1999 : Column: 497
Mr. Morley:
Support for organic farming is delivered in the following ways:
under the Organic Aid Scheme, payments are made to farmers who convert to organic farming methods. Payments in England for this financial year total £776,567 to end December 1998. The amount paid in 1997-98 was £570,614. Subject to the approval of Parliament, a new scheme, the Organic Farming Scheme, will be introduced in Spring in which the rates of aid for most types of land will be almost doubled. Payments in England are estimated to increase to a total of £9 million by year 2000;
there is a dedicated research and development programme. Expenditure for the current financial year is estimated at £1.5 million and expected to increase to £2 million in 1999-2000;
MAFF funds the Organic Conversion Information Service (OCIS) which operates a "Helpline" providing advice to potential organic farmers and offers free on-farm advisory visits.
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