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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
GM Seeds
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when Ministers in (a) his Department, (b) the DETR, (c) the Scotland Office, (d) the Wales Office, (e) the Northern Ireland Office and (f) the Cabinet Office were first informed of the contamination of Advanta rapeseed with GM varieties. [126859]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 19 June 2000]: MAFF Ministers were informed on 18 April. The co-ordination of Government policy in this area falls outside my ministerial responsibilities.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Government first informed (a) the Food Standards Agency, (b) English Nature, (c) the Scottish Executive, (d) the Welsh Assembly, (e) the Advisory Commission on Releases into the Environment and (f) the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes that Advanta rapeseed had become contaminated with GM varieties. [126820]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 19 June 2000]: The co-ordination of Government policy in this area is not part of my ministerial responsibility.
Agricultural Aid
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the administration costs of paying agricultural aid. [128304]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 29 June 2000]: The administration costs of paying agricultural aid was approximately £67.5 million in the last financial year. This figure covers the payment of some £2.2 billion under CAP and agri-environment schemes, and BSE emergency measures, by the Ministry's regional organisation and the Intervention Board. It also includes the cost of support work carried out by the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency and ADAS on the agri-environment schemes.
Fallen Stock
Sir Nicholas Lyell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of the national herds of cattle and national flocks of sheep which die each year and have to be disposed of as fallen stock; what estimates he has made of the costs involved; and to what extent such work is currently performed by hunts. [130264]
Ms Quin: This Department has made no estimates of the proportion of the cattle and sheep populations which have to be disposed of as fallen stock, or of the costs involved. However, the Meat and Livestock Commission estimates that for all livestock production, the proportion is between 2 and 4 per cent. For cattle, the Licensed Animal Slaughterers and Salvage Association has estimated the proportions as 7.5 per cent. (dairy) 3.5 per cent. (beef) and 5.5 per cent. (other cattle). A small-scale and limited survey carried out by this Department suggested that, of these
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fallen stock, around 40 per cent. of calves, 32 per cent. of adult bovines and 15 per cent. of sheep were disposed of to hunt kennels in 1999.
Food Distribution Industry
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the Institute of Grocery Distribution in respect of a code of practice for buyers and sellers in the food chain. [130925]
Ms Quin: We have encouraged the major retailers to draw up a code of good practice covering business relationships throughout the food chain. The Institute of Grocery Distribution is facilitating this exercise and is keeping us informed of progress.
Fisheries
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the level of quota swap which has occurred between sand eels and Baltic cod. [131252]
Mr. Morley: None. There have been no recent exchanges of quota between member states involving sand eels and Baltic cod.
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the Government support the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations and the Scottish Fishermen's Federation policy document, "Zonal management; a new vision of Europe's fisheries". [131352]
Mr. Morley: The Government welcome this document which makes a useful and constructive contribution to the debate on how to secure an improved regional dimension to the Common Fisheries Policy and greater involvement by fishermen in fisheries management.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on expenditure in the UK in the past three years from EU budget line B2-903A. [130786]
Mr. Morley: This is a new budget line established in 2000. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 28 June 2000, Official Report, column 497W, which explained its purpose and that it does not cover funding of national projects.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many vessels, broken down by nationality, fish for sand eels within the six and 12 mile limits. [130789]
Mr. Morley: Only UK vessels are able to fish for sand eels within the six to 12 mile limits. However, our records do not enable us to identify how many do so.
Specified Risk Material
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if any specified risk material has been imported for destruction in this country. [131378]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 18 July 2000]: The Specified Risk Material Order 1997 and the Specified Risk Material (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, in force since 1 January 1998, do not permit the importation of SRM into the UK for destruction.
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Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the applications he has received seeking permission to import specified risk material into this country, indicating in each case the (a) name of the applicant, (b) date of the application and (c) outcome of the application. [131377]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 18 July 2000]: Since the introduction of the Specified Risk Material Order 1997 and the Specified Risk Material (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 on 1 January 1998, eight applications have been received to import SRM into the UK, all of which were approved. Details of the names of the applicants are commercially confidential.
Central Science Laboratory
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1999-2000 Annual Report for the Central Science Laboratory. [132367]
Mr. Nick Brown: The 1999-2000 Annual Report and Accounts for the Central Science Laboratory were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
Pig Industry Restructuring Scheme
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many applications for resources allocated under the outgoers element of the Pig Industry Restructuring Scheme have been made by pig producers (a) nationally, (b) in the Bury St. Edmunds parliamentary constituency and (c) in Suffolk. [131134]
Ms Quin: None; under state aid rules, we must await European Commission clearance of the Pig Industry Restructuring Scheme before opening the outgoers element for applications.
Abattoirs
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many abattoirs have closed in each of the past 18 months. [131097]
Ms Stuart: I have been asked to reply.
The number of abattoirs in Great Britain which ceased operating in each month from January 1999 to June 2000 is in the table.
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