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Milk Imports
Mr. Robertson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the (a) quantity and (b) value of milk imported into the UK from non-EU countries in the last three years for which figures are available; what tariff such milk attracts; and if he will make a statement. [119656]
Ms Quin: The information requested is set out in the table:
| Volume (tonnes) | Value (£000) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2.1 | 6.3 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | 6.0 | 2.7 |
Source:
HM Customs and Excise
The import duty paid on imports of skimmed milk in January and February 1997 was 18.9 ecus per 100 kg. The import duty paid on imports of whole milk in October 1997 was 29.1 ecus per 100 kg. The import duties paid in July 1999 on imports of skimmed milk and whole milk were 15.1 euros per 100 kg and 24.8 euros per 100 kg, respectively. These are the only months in the years concerned in which imports were recorded.
Correspondence
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what target he has set for Ministers in his Department to reply to letters from hon. Members; in what proportion of cases since 1 October 1999 he has met those targets; in how many cases it has taken his Department (a) more than eight weeks and (b) more than 16 weeks to reply to letters from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [118933]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 13 April 2000]: Ministers in my Department aim to answer letters from hon. Members within 15 working days. Between 1 October 1999 and 31 March 2000, Ministers in my Department answered 3,098 letters from hon. Members, of which 987 (32 per cent.) were answered within 15 working days. A total of 562 letters took over eight weeks to answer: of these, 27 took longer than 16 weeks. In 1999 as a whole Ministers in my Department answered 60 per cent. of letters from hon. Members within 15 days.
The number of staff processing correspondence has been increased to improve our performance in responding to letters from hon. Members.
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a reply to his letter of 8 March on behalf of his constituent, Miss Marvin. [119747]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 19 April 2000]: I replied to the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire on 19 April.
2 May 2000 : Column: 99W