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Minister without Portfolio
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what meetings the former Minister without Portfolio held with members and officials of the United States Government during his visit in January 1998 to Florida and Washington; and if he will list the date and
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location of each meeting and the names of the United States officials who took part in each meeting. [92285]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
The itinerary of the former Minister without Portfolio shows the following meetings with United States Government officials during his visit to Florida and Washington in January 1998:
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| Official | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Capricia Marshall, Executive Assistant to the First Lady | 5 January 1998 | The White House, Washington |
| Melanne Verveer, Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady | 5 January 1998 | The White House, Washington |
| Mark Penn, White House, pollster | 5 January 1998 | The White House, Washington |
| Ellen McCullough Lovell, Director of the White House Millennium Programme | 5 January 1998 | The White House, Washington |
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Gender Impact Assessment
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the subject of each gender impact assessment drawn up by his Department since June 1997, stating in each case whether the outcome has been (a) put out to consultation and (b) published. [91677]
Mr. Kilfoyle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Women on 14 July 1999, Official Report, House of Lords, column 636.
Anti-drugs Co-ordinator
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times the United Kingdom Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator has met Ministers and officials of the Irish Government since 1 January 1998, indicating the dates and locations of each meeting and the names of the Irish Ministers and officials at each meeting. [92271]
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Dr. Jack Cunningham:
The UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator has not had any meetings with either Ministers or officials of the Irish Government.
Mr. Sarwar:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what action the Government are taking to tackle age discrimination within Government departments. [92204]
Dr. Jack Cunningham:
The Cabinet Office has this week issued "Age Diversity in the Civil Service: Guidance for Departments and Agencies".
This Guidance is designed to help Departments and agencies to implement the Code of Practice published by the Department for Education and Employment in June. It includes advice on avoiding age and age-related criteria, such as age limits, for recruitment, selection, training and development.
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Mr. Gill:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the organisations which he has met to discuss meat inspection charges. [R] [90386]
Mr. Rooker:
Since the beginning of this year, my right hon. Friend the Minister 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 a further meeting with representatives of the all-party parliamentary group. With the Parliamentary Secretary, I have recently met with representatives of the Small Abattoir Federation (SAFe) and the Country Landowners Association (CLA), and with my right hon. Friend the Minister I have met with the Meat and Livestock Commission. These meetings included discussions on charging, but, with the exception of that with SAFe, they were not set up specifically for that purpose.
In addition, all Ministers in the Department have had issues of charging raised with them when attending functions around the country.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) of 17 June 1999, Official Report, columns 216-18, on the Common Fisheries Policy, if alternative management measures include (a) the amendment of the existing quota and (b) the introduction of a permit system. [91767]
Mr. Morley:
I have placed in the Library of the House copies of the research objectives of the study to which he refers. These include evaluation of possible adjustment of the operation of the quota system. This is not intended to affect quota share. It does not include a permit system.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the subject of each gender impact assessment drawn up by his Department since June 1997, stating in each case whether the outcome has been (a) put out to consultation and (b) published. [91678]
Mr. Morley:
The Government is committed to making sure that its policies are fair and inclusive and take full account of the needs and experiences of all those affected by them.
Although the nature of the Ministry's responsibilities means that much of its activity does not have a gender-specific impact, the Ministry has guidance in place which requires, among other things, the preparation of an impact analysis during policy development in cases where there is the possibility of differential impact on differing groups such as men and women. No formal impact assessments have been drawn up since June 1997. The women's organisations listed in the answer given by my
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hon. Friend the Minister of State on 23 June 1999, Official Report, column 418, have been contacted for views on a wide range of policies, and on legislative proposals.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will pay 80 per cent. of the beef premium on the first instalment. [92431]
Mr. Rooker:
The EC legislation currently specifies that the advance of the beef special premium is at 60 per cent. of the total payment. Although increases in the advance have been authorised in the past there has been no proposal to date from the Commission to increase the rate this year.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what powers he has to invoke Article 36 of the Treaty of Rome to restrict the importation of pigmeat; and if he will make a statement. [92429]
Mr. Rooker:
In certain circumstances, Article 30 (ex Article 36) of the Treaty allows the maintenance of restrictions on the free movement of goods where these can be justified for the protection of the health and life of humans or animals or on the grounds of public morality or policy. However, it is clear from Rulings by the European Court of Justice that we cannot use Article 30 to impose higher UK standards on imports where EU law has been harmonised as it has been in the case of both pigmeat and farm animal welfare.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy not to increase the number of lay holdings over 10 hectares owned by corporate bodies. [92430]
Mr. Morley:
The Wash Fishery Order 1992 restricts all lay holders to a maximum holding of 10 hectares. The Eastern Sea Fisheries Committee are grantees of the Order and can allocate larger areas to lay holders only if they have obtained ministerial permission. To date, the Committee has not made a formal request to do so.
Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate his Department has made of the effect of the proposed climate change levy on protected horticulture; and if he will make a statement. [92298]
Mr. Rooker:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) on 15 June 1999 Official Report, column 118.
Dan Norris:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to minimise defensive labelling by food producers in respect of nut content. [92491]
Mr. Rooker:
We are urging industry to take action on so-called defensive labelling, such as "may contain nuts", so that it is restricted to cases where it is really necessary
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and not used as an alternative to improving production procedures. The UK Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have both recently produced guidance notes for their members on this. Discussions with industry are continuing.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many appointments to public bodies were made by his Department in (a) 1997-98 and (b) 1998-99, broken down by (i) gender and (ii) ethnicity; and if he will list the chairmen appointed to those bodies in those years, similarly broken down. [92519]
| Chairmen | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) 1997-98 | ||
| Total | 30 | 223 |
| Male | 27 | 190 |
| Female | 3 | 33 |
| White | 30 | 221 |
| Ethnic | -- | 2 |
| (b) 1998-99 | ||
| Total | 4 | 85 |
| Male | 3 | 67 |
| Female | 1 | 18 |
| White | 4 | 83 |
| Ethnic | -- | 2 |
Departmental Plans on equal opportunities setting objectives and targets for improving the representation of women, people from ethnic minority groups and from people with disabilities were published by the Government on 25 May 1999 and deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
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