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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Day-old Chick Imports
Mr. Paice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many day-old chicks were imported into the UK from (a) within and (b) outside the EU in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997, (iii) 1998 and (iv) 1999 to date. [98590]
Ms Quin: (a) The number of live day old chicks imported into the United Kingdom from other member states from 1996 to 1999 is given in the table. These figures are derived from the information messages which European law requires exporting countries to send to the importing country to inform them of the number of animals certified for export in a given consignment.
| Number of day old chicks | |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 16,616,815 |
| 1997 | 1,342,848,163 |
| 1998 | 84,497,843 |
| 1999 | 98,280,536 |
| Number of day old chicks | |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 0 |
| 1997 | 28,100 |
| 1998 | 28,806 |
| 1999 | 192,126 |
Note:
1. These figures are provisional and subject to validation.
2. These data are subject to a degree of statistical error and care is needed when interpreting them.
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Live Animal Exports
Mr. Baker: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to introduce arrangements under which the Ministry will (a) nominate which local veterinary inspector is to inspect a specific consignment of live farm animals prior to export and (b) pay the LVI and recover the cost for this service through charges on the exporter; and if he will make a statement. [101634]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 7 December 1999]: We are in discussion with the Scottish and Welsh administrations about the implications of carrying forward these further changes to the pre-export procedures for live food animals, in the light of views expressed in response to our consultation paper last year.
Agriculture Council
Mr. Hood: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Luxembourg on 24 to 25 January; and if he will make a statement. [107151]
Mr. Nick Brown: I represented the UK at the Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels on 24 January, accompanied by the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead, East and Washington, West (Ms Quin) and by Mrs. Brid Rodgers, MLA, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The Council held an in-depth debate on the Commission's proposal for compulsory labelling of beef, notably on the indications which are necessary to guarantee traceability and on how to define the origin of beef. I welcomed the aims of the proposal and stressed my desire that British beef, a premium quality product, be marketed around the world as such. I supported including essential traceability information on the label, while
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stressing the need for some simplification of the Commission's approach. The proposal will return to the Council for decisions in the coming months.
Commissioner Byrne introduced the Commission's White Paper on Food Safety, which outlines plans for a European Food Authority and sets out an action plan for a comprehensive legislative framework intended to guarantee the highest level of consumer protection. Along with all other Council members, I welcomed the White Paper and the Commission's commitment to a new integrated approach to EU food law with food safety at its heart. The White Paper will now be considered intensively within the Council framework to prepare a report for the Feira European Council in June.
The Council agreed by qualified majority (Germany, Austria and Netherlands opposing) a common position deferring the deadline for introducing compulsory pig databases.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the initiatives launched by his Department since May 1997 under which specific grants are allocated, indicating in each case and for each financial year the funding provided by central Government. [109317]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 10 February 2000]: The initiatives launched by this Department since May 1997 under which specific grants are allocated are given in the table:
| Year/Initiative | Funding |
|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | |
| Organic Farming Scheme | 11.35 |
| 2000-01 | |
| Agricultural Development Scheme | 2.00 |
In addition to the above, in December 1999, the Government announced their intended expenditure under the England Rural Development Plan for the period 2000 to 2006, which includes the Organic Farming scheme. For details of the planned expenditure I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr. Yeo) on 16 December 1999, Official Report, columns 284-85W; and to the hon. Member for South- East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) on 20 December 1999, Official Report, column 442W.
EU Compensation
Mr. Burnett: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much EU agri-money compensation was available to the United Kingdom to claim in the years (a) 1995, (b) 1996, (c) 1997, (d) 1998 and (e) 1999, and how much of this money was drawn down by the United Kingdom for those years. [110035]
Ms Quin:
No compensation is payable in respect of the strength of sterling in 1995. The table sets out the amounts of compensation available and the amounts actually paid or being paid in each year for the strength of sterling in
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the years shown at the left of the table. Compensation is paid on a degressive basis for the three years following a year in which sterling's value has triggered compensation.
| Year for which compensation relates | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount payable in each year | |||||
| 1996 | 344 | 229 | 114 | -- | -- |
| 1997 | -- | 90 | 60 | 30 | -- |
| 1998 | -- | -- | 276 | 92 | 46 |
| Amount paid or being paid | |||||
| 1996 | 85 | 48 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1997 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1998 | -- | -- | 264 | 88 | 44 |
Compensation for the strength of sterling before 1998 was optional, and 50 per cent. EU and 50 per cent. nationally funded. For 1998, compensation is compulsory and 100 per cent. EU funded in the first year. Only the EU funded amounts are shown in the table.
Paper and Timber Products
Mr. Reed: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from a sustainable source. [110148]
Mr. Morley: The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label is accepted by buyers as demonstrating that timber and timber products have come from sustainably managed sources. This Department has encouraged such schemes.
However, it is not practicable to require that all paper and timber products purchased by the Ministry are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council because this might discriminate against any equally valid schemes based on similar sustainable criteria and therefore be against public procurement rules.
Specifying just the FSC label might also result in us failing to meet all our requirements as currently only a tiny percentage of timber products are FSC certified. This is why the Ministry's policy statement for greening its operations suggests that evidence of sustainability might take the form of a certificate issued under a credible, preferably independent, verification scheme; or other documents which demonstrate the operation of an environmental management system incorporating forest management criteria that conform with internationally recognised principles such as the Helsinki Guidelines.
Mr. Robertson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers' markets there are in England; what steps he is taking to encourage the setting up of such markets; what steps he is taking to encourage shops in market towns to purchase produce from local farmers; and if he will make a statement. [110561]
Ms Quin:
The National Association of Farmers' Markets (NAFM) estimate that there are about 150 farmers' markets currently operating in England and expect that number to rise significantly over the coming year. We fully support NAFM and their work to promote the farmers' market movement. We also wish to encourage farmers to
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better market their products through shops and other outlets, and financial support for new marketing initiatives will be a key feature of the England Rural Development Plan which will come into operation later this year.
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