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Inshore Fishing

Mr. Moss: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will support the lifting of the ban on the Fleetwood inshore fishing fleet from fishing in their traditional waters in zone VIIa; if he will act to curtail the activities of Belgian and Irish beam trawlers catching cod in the same zone; and if he will compensate the Fleetwood inshore fleet for the time they have been laid-up under the ban under Article 16 of the Structures Regulation. [116094]

Mr. Morley: The priority at present in the Irish Sea (zone VIIa) is to protect cod spawning given the serious state of cod stocks in this area. With this in mind the European Commission decided in February to close the area to most demersal fishing from 14 February until 1 May 2000. Shrimp and nephrops fisheries (in designated areas), however, remain open. I announced on 10 March that a voluntary agreement had been reached between the UK, Belgium and Ireland to withdraw flatfish beam trawlers from the closed area until 1 May. This has been welcomed by the industry.

In conjunction with the Fleetwood Fish Producers' Organisation, CEFAS is conducting trials in the inshore fishery to see what proportion of cod is likely to be taken. Results from these trials will enable us to decide what inshore fisheries could remain open without jeopardising the recovery of cod stocks in the event of closures in future years.

There are a number of conservation closures in place. The Government do not believe it is appropriate to compensate fishermen for a decline in stocks or for conservation measures designed to improve stocks and hence fishing opportunities in the future; there is no history of this under preceding Governments. Those fishermen who are unable to work in the nephrops and shrimp fisheries or in other fisheries outside the closed area may be entitled to claim Job Seeker's Allowance and other benefits.

Beef Imports

Mr. Cox: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the (a) amount and (b) value of beef imported from the Argentine to the UK in 1999. [116211]

Ms Quin: The volume and value of imports of beef and beef products from the Argentine during 1999, as recorded in the Official Overseas Trade Statistics, are shown in the table.

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Product	Tonnes	£ million
Meat and offal preparations(5)	7,719	10.9
Carcase meat	2,058	6.4
Offal	305	0.6
Total	10,082	17.9

(5) Primarily corned beef

BSE

Mr. Cox: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the EU countries that have detected BSE in their cattle. [116247]

Ms Quin: BSE has been reported in home-bred cattle in Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. In addition, cases of BSE have been reported in cattle imported into Germany and Italy, but these countries have reported no cases in native cattle.

Mr. Livsey: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the results of the BSE inquiry conducted by Lord Justice Phillips. [116461]

Ms Quin [holding answer 28 March 2000]: The BSE Inquiry requested a six-month extension beyond the deadline of 31 March 2000 to complete their task. The Government have agreed this extension and the report will be published shortly after receipt by Ministers.

Chernobyl

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what restrictions exist on use of land and the movement of livestock as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident; and if he will estimate the cost to United Kingdom farmers of the restrictions introduced because of radioactive pollution from Chernobyl. [116269]

Ms Quin: There have never been restrictions on the use of land in the UK as a result of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl. However, restrictions on the movement, sale and slaughter of sheep were placed in certain areas of the UK. These restrictions have been progressively lifted from affected holdings so only approximately 430 of the holdings originally under restrictions are still under controls. This represents a decrease of around 95 per cent. Although the Chernobyl incident has undoubtedly affected the husbandry practices within the affected areas, the Government and devolved Administrations operate the Mark and Release Sheep Compensation Scheme to reimburse farmers for any market losses incurred.

Milk

Mr. Paice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the unit levels of export refunds in (a) euros and (b) sterling for (i) skimmed milk powder, (ii) whole milk powder, (iii) butter and (iv) condensed milk for each of the last 12 months. [116135]

Ms Quin [holding answer 27 March 2000]: The information in the form requested could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Hop Growers

Mr. Paice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will make a statement on the

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terms of special temporary measures for hop growers and (a) identify the reference date from which areas should not increase and (b) specify if that date refers to areas planted or areas harvested; [116136]

(2) for what reason some hop growers received lower payments under special temporary measures for 1999 than those for which they applied. [116137]

Ms Quin [holding answer 27 March 2000]: The aim of the special temporary measures for hops is to allow producer groups and individual growers to adjust their production to market requirements during the period 1998-2002 by receiving aid on areas temporarily rested or permanently grubbed-up, provided certain requirements are met.

Under current arrangements, the reference date from which the total area should not increase is the area harvested in 1997. Payments to hop growers were made on this basis by the Intervention Board Executive Agency, which administers the scheme in the UK. In some cases, payments were reduced because growers did not comply with these arrangements. The arrangements have been questioned by some hop growers and we are presently reviewing the matter.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Third-world Debt

3. Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on current third-world debt. [115431]

Clare Short: Debt relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative has been agreed for the first three countries, with Mozambique, Senegal and Tanzania being assessed next. Under the new framework, countries are required to develop poverty reduction strategies to qualify for debt relief. We are concerned that progress in finalising enhanced debt relief is slower than was originally agreed.

Conservation Projects

8. Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the impact of UK-sponsored conservation projects upon indigenous and nomadic people in Africa. [115437]

Clare Short: We have recently completed a substantial evaluation of British-funded project support for environmental improvement in five countries including Kenya and Tanzania. The study found that nearly two thirds of these projects achieved their objectives successfully but that they had a limited impact on the livelihoods of local people. Our current environmental policy places much greater focus on the need to improve the livelihoods of the poor to achieve sustainable development.

Kosovo

9. Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she had

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concerning the funding of post-conflict initiatives in Kosovo when she last met her colleagues from other member states of the European Union. [115438]

Clare Short: The UK has provided more than £100 million in humanitarian and rehabilitation assistance to Kosovo. The European Union has pledged 865 million euro over the last two years--of which the UK share is £112 million. I am frequently in contact with my EU colleagues on this and other issues.

10. Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on continuing support from her Department for projects in Kosovo. [115439]

Clare Short: The UK has provided more than £100 million in humanitarian and rehabilitation assistance to Kosovo. The European Union has pledged 865 million euro over the last two years--of which the UK's share is £112 million. I am frequently in contact with my EU colleagues on this and other issues.

17. Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when she next intends to visit Kosovo to discuss aid for reconstruction. [115446]

Clare Short: I have no present plans to re-visit Kosovo. We are working closely with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and other international agencies to support reconstruction.

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