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Council of Europe/WEU

Mr. Terry Davis: To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library the latest Information Bulletin on the activities of the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Assembly of Western European Union covering the period October 1998 to April. [87100]

The Prime Minister: I have done so today.

Correspondence

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to send a substantive reply to the letter dated

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11 May from the hon. Member for Aldershot concerning former members of the 1 Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. [86685]

The Prime Minister: I have done so today.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Fisheries Council

Mr. Hood: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Fisheries Council held in Luxembourg on 10 June; and if he will make a statement. [87099]

Mr. Morley: The Fisheries Council met in Luxembourg on 10 June. I represented the UK together with my noble Friend, Lord Sewel, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Scottish Office.

The Council adopted proposals introducing and allocating in 1999 two new Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for North Sea spurdog and Northern prawn. It also allocated for 1999 two existing TACs for blue whiting fished in Western waters and the Bay of Biscay. The UK secured an 81 per cent. share of the Spurdog TAC and 27 per cent. of the Northern Prawn TAC. On blue whiting we negotiated an increase of 5,000 tonnes in the proposed UK allocation. A further 7,000 tonnes was allocated to the UK under the Bay of Biscay TAC with the option of taking this in Western waters as a linked stock. This makes an effective total allocation of over 42,000 tonnes and gives the UK a 24 per cent. share of the two TACs, the highest of any Member State. The introduction and allocation of these TACs will enhance the conservation of stocks in the North Sea and Western waters.

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I drew the attention of the Council to the significance of forthcoming scientific advice sought by the Commission from the International Council from the Exploration of the SEA (ICES) on the need for precautionary restrictions on fishing activity to protect vulnerable seabird populations which depend on sandeels. The Commission promised to work quickly on appropriate measures once the ICES advice was available.

The Commission introduced its second annual report on progress in the EU in following up on the Recommendations of the 1997 Bergen Intermediate Ministerial Conference on the integration of environmental concerns in fisheries management in the North Sea. This report was remitted for further study.

The Commission made an interim report on the cost benefit study it is undertaking of the EU's Third Country Fisheries Agreements and the Council adopted Conclusions urging the Commission to pursue talks with Morocco on co-operation in the fisheries sector following the expiry in November of the present EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement.

After lengthy discussion, a Presidency compromise on the reform of the structural funds in the fisheries sector failed to secure a Qualified Majority. This issue will fall for further consideration by the Council in October.

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Maclean: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what (a) reviews, (b) task forces and (c) advisory groups have been established by his Department since 1 May 1997; what costs they have incurred to date; and what reports they have published. [71518]

Mr. Morley: The following tables set out the details of Reviews, Task Forces and Advisory Groups established by my Department since 1 May 1997, the costs they have incurred to date and the reports they have published.

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Review	Costs incurred to date (£000)	Report published	Date report published
Review of the Milk Development Council	Nil	No formal report published. Announcement made on 29 October 1997	n/a
Review of Bovine Tuberculosis in Cattle and Badgers	289	Bovine Tuberculosis in Cattle and Badgers Report to the right hon. Dr. Cunningham MP	16 December 1997
Review of the Rates and Structure of Aid to Farmers under the Organic Aid Scheme	Nil	Review of the Organic Aid Scheme. A Report by Agriculture Departments	2 April 1998
Review of the Home-Grown Cereals Authority	Nil	Final Report	12 May 1998
Review of the Future Funding of Regulatory Arrangements for Pesticides	Nil	No formal report published. Outcome notified to all interested parties on 1 September 1998	n/a
Review of the Current Rules of Quarantine on Imported Pet Animals	355	Final Report	23 September 1998
Review of Food From Britain	Nil	Food From Britain Efficiency and Effectiveness Review	1 October 1998
Review of Public Analyst Arrangements in England and Wales	5	Final Report	28 October 1998
Review of Raw Cows' Drinking Milk Policy	Nil	No formal report published. Announcement made on 20 January 1999	n/a
Review of Arrangements for Enforcing the Rules on the Welfare of Animals Exported Live to the Continent	Nil	No formal published report. Final outcome of review reported in News Release on 27 September 1997	n/a
Review of the UK Legislation Controlling the Disposal of Animal Waste	Nil	No formal published report. Consultation paper on the review of the animal by-products legislation issued on 6 October 1997. Consultation paper on a proposed Animal by-Products Order issued on 12 November 1998. Animal By-products Order 1999 Came into force on 1 April 1999.	n/a
Review of the Sugar Beet Research and Education Council	Nil	No formal report published. Consultation document issued on 29 January 1998. Outcome of consultation notified in MAFF News Release 492/98 on 18 December 1998	n/a
Review of Fishing Vessel Licensing	Nil	Review of the Licensing of UK Registered Fishing Vessels: Report of a Joint Departmental/Industry Working Group	March 1999
Review of the Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances Scheme	Nil	No formal report published. Consultation document on the new Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances Scheme issued on 23 April 1999.	n/a
Review of Funding Mechanisms for Flood and Costal Defence	Nil	Non-Review ongoing	n/a
Review of the Hill Farming Advisory Committee for England, Wales and Northern Ireland	Nil	Non-Review ongoing	n/a
Review of the Meat Hygiene Appeal Tribunal	Nil	Non-Review ongoing	n/a
Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review Group	57	Non-Review ongoing	n/a
Review of the Access provisions Under the Agri-Environment Schemes	Nil	Non-Review ongoing	n/a
Review of Nitrate Sensitive Areas Scheme	Nil	None-Currently being prepared for publication	n/a
Review of Environmentally Sensitive areas, Stage IV	Nil	None-Currently being prepared for publication	n/a

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	Costs incurred (£000)	Report published	Date report published
Advisory Group
The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle Tuberculosis	134	Interim Report--Towards a sustainable policy to control TB in Cattle--A Scientific Initiative	17 August 1998
Ministers Agricultural Advisory Group		Europe's Agriculture. A Case for Change	18 January 1999
Task Force
Official Group on Organophosphates	Nil	Official Group on OPs--Report to Ministers	25 June 1998

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Meat Hygiene Service (Charges)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had with abattoirs and their representatives to review the current regime for charging. [85133]

Mr. Rooker [holding answer 25 May 1999]: Since the beginning of this year, my right hon. Friend and I have separately met representatives of the Federation of Fresh Meat Wholesalers (now the British Meat Federation) and jointly met a delegation of small plant operators led by an all party group of hon. Members. I have also had meetings with a representative of turkey producers, the National Farmers Union, Dr. Richard North, and most recently a further meeting with representatives of the all party Parliamentary group. These meetings included discussions on charging, but they were not set up specifically to review the current regime.

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In addition all Ministers in the Department have had issues of charging raised with them when attending functions around the country.

Fishing

Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his decision to discontinue safety grants for fishing vessels applies in Scotland; and what consultations he has held on this with his Scottish counterpart. [85908]

Mr. Morley: The MAFF funded Fishing Vessels (Safety Improvements) (Grants) Scheme 1995 enabled payments to be made in all parts of the United Kingdom. The closure of the scheme to new applications on 21 May 1999 also applies to Scotland. The EU funded Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), which also provided fishing vessel safety grants, was effectively

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closed in Scotland on 9 April when the Scottish Fisheries Minister announced the final round of awards to the Scottish industry. These EU awards fully committed the balance of FIFG funds available for Scottish projects.

The decisions relating to MAFF expenditure were taken in the context of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) which examined the most effective use of public money across and within all Departments.

Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements he is making for the English fishing industry to be consulted on proposals for the Scottish Executive to develop distinctive management measures for Scottish waters. [85907]

Mr. Morley: Issues relating to consultation will be covered in the concordat between the Scottish Executive and MAFF. It will be for the Scottish Executive, in the first instance, to ensure that it consults all interests likely to be affected by proposals for local fisheries conservation measures to be applied in the Scottish zone of British Fishery Limits.

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