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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Organic Farming

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much financial assistance will be available to fund organic conversion in the current financial year. [127017]

Mr. Morley: We expect to spend £12 million on aid for conversion under the Organic Farming Scheme in financial year 2000-01.

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Mr. Tyler: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which European Union countries provide continuous financial support to farmers after the conversion process to organic farming has been completed. [127019]

Mr. Morley: The hon. Member may like to refer to the table of statistics (page 51 of the Minutes of Evidence) on this matter included in the Report of the Inquiry on "Organic Farming and the European Union" undertaken by the House of Lords European Communities Committee (Sub-Committee D) in Session 1998-99 (HL Paper 93).

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of agricultural land is certified organic and in conversion in (a) Austria, (b) Denmark, (c) Finland, (d) France, (e) Sweden and (f) the United Kingdom. [127016]

Mr. Morley: In respect of organic areas in other EU member states, the hon. Member may like to refer to the table of statistics (page 49 of the Minutes of Evidence) on this matter included in the Report of the Inquiry on "Organic Farming and the European Union" undertaken by the House of Lords European Communities Committee (Sub-Committee D) in Session 1998-99 (HL Paper 93). Currently, around 3 per cent. of agricultural land in the UK is certified organic or in conversion.

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the answer of 11 April 2000, Official Report, column 134W, on organic food, what additional financial assistance he will make available to farmers wishing to convert to organic farming, in addition to free conversion advice and on-farms visits by the Organic Conversion Information Service, before the Organic Farming Scheme reopens. [127025]

Mr. Morley: We have no plans to provide funding additional to the £12 million we already plan to spend in 2000-01 under the Organic Farming Scheme. The OFS will reopen to new applications early in 2001 following the review of the scheme, which is currently taking place.

Floods

Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress the Environment Agency has made in implementing its action plan in response to the independent report on the Easter 1998 floods; and if he will make a statement on the serious flooding in Todmorden and other areas of northern England in early June. [127295]

Mr. Morley: The Chairman of the Environment Agency has provided me with a report of progress up to the end of April 2000. Copies are being placed in the House Libraries.

I am pleased to note that the major work programme set out in the Action Plan is almost complete.

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Key developments since the Agency's last report, which covered the period to end of December 1999, are as follows:

Completion of the first phase of the telemetry works resulting in an additional 109 river level gauges, 16 river flow gauges and 65 rain gauges. These will enable conditions to be monitored during flooding and the calibration of flood models.

A concordat between the Agency and the Meteorological Office has been signed to provide a framework for improved liaison and exchange of data.

The Agency has completed its programme of visual inspections of its flood defences. Local authorities have inspected between 75 per cent. and 90 per cent. of their defences. The remainder are scheduled for completion by September in line with the Ministry's High Level Targets. Defences belonging to third parties have been inspected where identified through discussions with local authorities.

Of the 1.6 million properties within the flood plain, one million addresses have been identified as high risk. This will enable flood risk information and other publicity material to be better targeted within the wider flood plain.

A letter designed to raise awareness of the flood risk to caravan sites has been produced and distributed together with a request for site owners to make visitors aware of such risks and what they should do in the event of a flood.

The Agency is providing guidelines to enable the severity and extent of flooding to be calculated on a consistent basis in order to better inform post event surveys.

Two activities have yet to be fully completed by the Agency. These are the introduction of the new flood warning codes and revised management structures. The new flood warning codes are scheduled to be introduced on 12 September 2000. The introduction of the revised management structures will be phased during April to September 2000 in order to minimise the risk of disruption to services.

The Agency's Easter Floods Project Team has now completed its work and is to be congratulated for its efforts in delivering the Action Plan and meeting the priorities I set out in striving for a seamless and integrated service of flood forecasting, warning and response. The outstanding issues will be taken forward by the Agency's National Flood Warning Centre. Further activity in improving flood defence will be driven by the High Level Targets that the Government set last November.

As regards the flooding earlier this month, I am acutely aware of the suffering experienced by many communities in northern England, and express the Government's sympathy to all those affected. I have asked the Chairman of the Environment Agency to provide a report on the flooding, by 21 July 2000, to include:

the impact of the flooding;

the causes of the flooding, including assessment of the contributory factors suggested by local members of the public;

the effectiveness and timeliness of flood warnings;

to what extent the effects of these floods were mitigated as a result of the measures taken to implement the Independent Report of the Easter 1998 floods; and

what further lessons can be learned from these floods.

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SCOTLAND

Employment Service

Ms Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what performance targets have been set in respect of the employment service in Scotland's aims and objectives in 2000-01. [127225]

Dr. Reid: The aim of the Employment Service is to help people without jobs find work and employers to fill their vacancies. The Employment Service in Scotland makes a significant contribution to an efficient and flexible labour market and to meeting the Government's objectives of high and stable employment and growth, opportunity for all and social inclusion. Its main priority is to help people faced with particular difficulties in the labour market move from welfare and economic inactivity into sustainable employment. It is taking forward an ambitious programme of technological change and business improvement and is preparing for the merger with the Benefits Agency in 2001. I am announcing today the targets we have set for the Employment Service in Scotland for 2000-01, which relate to its four key objectives.

Vision and Purpose

The Employment Service in Scotland aims to make a major contribution to an efficient and flexible labour market and to the Government's objectives of high and stable levels of employment and growth, opportunity for all and social inclusion. The Employment Service in Scotland works closely with employers, and with its private, public and voluntary sector partners to provide a quality service for all people without a job and to promote employment opportunities for all who can work. It aims to attract a diverse range of vacancies and to fill those vacancies quickly by matching the right people and skills with the right jobs. Its main priority is to help individuals facing particular difficulty in the labour market to move from welfare and economic inactivity into sustainable employment. It does this through correct application of the JSA regime, delivery of the New Deals and the pilot ONE service, and through the provision of appropriate advice training and support. The Agency has achieved much over the past three years. The challenge and opportunity now facing it is to sustain continuous improvement in its services to jobseekers and employers and to make these services more accessible and relevant to customer needs, through effective use of modern technology and close working with a wide range of partners.

Aim

To help people without jobs find work and employers to fill their vacancies.

Objective A

To help all people without jobs, and particularly those on welfare and at a disadvantage in the labour market, to find and keep work by providing appropriate information, advice, training and support and by encouraging employers to open more opportunities to them.

Targets

1. To help 20,292 participants in the New Deals and the Glasgow Employment Zone, directly or in partnership with others.

2. To help 11,200 people with disabilities into work, directly or in partnership with others.

3. To help 33,335 disadvantaged jobseekers into work, directly or in partnership with others.

4. To help 91,875 people from welfare into work, directly or in partnership with others.

5. To help 169,325 jobless people into work, directly or in partnership with others.

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Objective B

To ensure that the rights and relevant labour market responsibilities of people on JSA and other benefits are fulfilled, while helping to combat fraud and abuse of the benefits system.

Target

To ensure that the relevant labour market responsibilities of people on JSA are fulfilled in 94 per cent. of cases checked.

Objective C

To harness new technology, the pursuit of excellence and continuous improvement to deliver effective, efficient and accessible services to all people without jobs and to employers in Jobcentres and increasingly through other locations and means of communications.

Targets

1. To achieve a 91 per cent. customer service level for jobseekers.

2. To introduce the Learning and Work Bank, new Labour Market System, touch screen kiosks and a single national telephone number for employers by March 2001.

Objective D

To deliver services to all ES customers in a way which respects individual differences, helps to overcome disadvantages due to ethnicity, gender, age or disability and achieves the best possible outcome for all.

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