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Telephone Kiosks (Prostitutes' Cards)
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish his consultation paper on dealing with advertising by prostitutes in public telephone kiosks. [81672]
Mr. Boateng: The Home Office hopes to publish its consultation paper on new measures to tackle the problem of prostitutes' cards in telephone kiosks next month. The consultation paper will look at options for changing the law to enable those who put cards in telephone kiosks to be dealt with more effectively.
Kosovan Refugees
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to use the former RAF base at Sopley to accommodate Kosovan refugees; and if he will make a statement. [81690]
Mr. Straw: None at this stage. The Government's priority remains to ensure that as far as possible, Kosovan refugees receive protection in the region so that they can return easily to their homes when it is safe for them to do so. However, I announced on 20 April that we have agreed to a request from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to accept a group of vulnerable refugees, mainly women and children, from Macedonia.
Reception centres will be staffed by the Refugee Council and will provide temporary accommodation for refugees prior to their moving into more permanent accommodation. The Refugee Council is liaising closely with local authorities through the Local Government Association. They are currently looking at accommodation throughout the United Kingdom that could be used for reception centres.
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Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has carried out regarding the rights of appeal of a person with limited leave applying for a variation of leave; and what representations he has received on this subject. [81465]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The Consultation Paper on the Review of Appeals contained details of our proposals regarding rights of appeal for persons with limited leave applying for a variation of leave. We received no comments on these specific points in the responses to the Consultation Paper.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals claimed asylum at Waterloo Station in (a) 1997, (b) the first two months of 1998 and (c) 1998. [81463]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
In 1997, 2,235 applications for asylum were lodged at Waterloo Station. In 1998, 2,820 were made at the same port, of which 210 were made in January 1998 and 205 in February 1998.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many written undertakings in respect of support for persons entering the UK were signed in 1997-98; [81469]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The information requested is not available.
(2) how many persons in respect of whom a written undertaking had been given by another accepting responsibility for their maintenance and accommodation applied for asylum in the UK in each of the last five years. [81470]
Kennedy Report
6. Ms Osborne: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the progress he is making towards the implementation of the Kennedy report. [80347]
Mr. Nick Brown: I announced on 26 March that new arrangements along the lines recommended by Professor Kennedy are expected to be in operation by April 2001. We also plan to launch a pilot scheme or schemes by April 2000.
CAP Reform
10. Ms Keeble: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the impact which reform of the CAP will have on the consumer. [80352]
Mr. Nick Brown:
CAP reform should result in significant savings for consumers, of the order of £1 billion a year in aggregate when all the changes have
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worked through. The average family of four will save £65 per year provided the likely reductions in market prices are passed to retail.
25. Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the reform of the common agricultural policy in connection with farmers' incomes. [80368]
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the effect on farmers of the CAP reform package agreed at the Berlin summit. [80369]
Mr. Morley:
The reform package will increase the market orientation of European agriculture and assist producers in their efforts to improve the competitive position of their businesses. In the short term, before these adjustments take place, there may be a negative impact on aggregate incomes of the order of 5 per cent. But in the particularly hard pressed beef sector, incomes have been fully protected.
27. Mr. Luff:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the impact of the final outcome of the negotiations on reform of the common agricultural policy on the competitiveness of UK dairy farming. [80370]
Mr. Morley:
The competitiveness of UK dairy farming will depend on the ability of producers to adjust to the new market situation. However, the agreement preserved the milk quota system and as long as this remains UK dairy farmers will be prevented from competing freely on world markets.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the Agenda 2000 CAP Reform consultation exercise. [82167]
Mr. Nick Brown:
I have today sent to interested organisations an information document entitled "CAP Reform Agreement" which summarises the outcome of the negotiations on the CAP reform package of Agenda 2000. It also includes an economic note on the likely effect of the reforms upon producers, taxpayers and consumers, and a summary of responses to the consultation exercise received to date. A further consultation will be undertaken on the implementation of the agreed CAP reform measures when detailed regulations and details of available Community funds are known.
I have also made available today two consultation documents which stem from the agreement on CAP reform on which early preparatory action is necessary. The first, "Rural Development Regulation: Consultation on Implementation in England", seeks views on mechanisms for drawing up and operating seven year rural development plans. We will be asking for comments on who should prepare plans, on the geographic areas they should cover and on who should operate them.
The second, "Supporting the Hill Farmer", seeks views on how we should support farming in the Less Favoured Areas in future. Since the Agenda 2000 reforms have changed the basis on which LFA support can be provided, we will be replacing our Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances scheme. We hope this consultation document will stimulate a wide debate on how we should design a new and better framework of support for our hill farmers.
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I shall be placing copies of these documents in the Library of the House today.
11. Mrs. Brinton:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the state of the pig industry. [80353]
Mr. Morley:
Market prices for pigs have improved since the turn of the year, but remain below costs of production. The Government will continue to do all they can to help, while recognising that pigs are traded in a relatively free market with limited opportunity for direct Government involvement.
12. Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish tables on levels of charges faced by the fishing industry in the United Kingdom relative to the European fishing industries. [80354]
Mr. Morley:
We do not have the necessary information about the level or nature of charges to the fishing industries of other Member States to enable us to make the comparisons requested.
13. Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will waive the proposed Food Standards Agency fee for food shops of less than 1,000 sq ft retail area. [80355]
Mr. Rooker:
We are still considering the large response we have received on our proposals and will not reach any final decisions on the scope or operation of the levy until we have completed our assessment.
15. Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects the Food Standards Agency to be fully operational. [80358]
Mr. Rooker:
The timetable depends on when the necessary legislation can be completed. We would hope the Agency to be established in the first half of next year.
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