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Common Fisheries Policy
16. Dr. Godman: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what wildlife conservation measures he is proposing in connection with the review of the common fisheries policy. [137149]
Mr. Morley: We believe that it is important to continue to integrate environmental considerations into fisheries management. The Commission have already indicated that reduction in the bycatch of cetaceans is a priority.
Livestock Farming (Northumberland)
17. Mr. Beith: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the prospects for livestock farming in Northumberland. [137150]
Ms Quin: The Government announced in September 1999 and March 2000 substantial aid to the livestock industry--on top of the £1 billion in normal subsidy payments made to UK livestock producers each year.
£1.6 billion over seven years will also be made available under the England Rural Development Programme and with natural advantages such as an abundance of grass, good breeding stock and a wealth of technical expertise at their disposal, the Government believe livestock farmers--including those in Northumberland--should have a successful future.
Countryside Stewardship Scheme
18. Mr. Hope: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to increase the area of farmed land subject to countryside stewardship agreements. [137151]
Mr. Morley: My right hon. Friend the Minister announced a substantial increase in the Countryside Stewardship budget last December. As part of the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP), £500 million is being allocated to the Scheme over the next seven years. During this period, MAFF aims to add 525,000 hectares of land to the 210,000 hectares already covered by the Scheme.
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to increase expenditure on the Countryside Stewardship scheme. [137131]
Mr. Morley: Our plans for a major expansion of the Stewardship budget are well known. As part of the England Rural Development Programme, £500 million is being allocated to the Countryside Stewardship Scheme over the next seven years to 2006-07. This means that there will be around £16 million available each year for new agreements and we will be able to offer more than double the number of agreements offered in previous years.
Organic Farming
19. Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what help his Department provides to farmers seeking to convert to organic production. [137152]
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Mr. Morley: The Organic Farming Scheme provides conversion aid over a five year period to farmers in England. The budget for the Scheme for the period 1999-2000 to 2006-07 is some £140 million.
In addition, the Organic Conversion Information Service (OCIS) funded by MAFF provides free advice to potential organic farmers.
Ms Drown: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many successful applications have been made to the organic farming scheme since May 1997; and how many were made in the previous five years. [137147]
Mr. Morley: Aid for conversion to organic farming has been provided since 1994, first under the Organic Aid Scheme and from April 1999 under the Organic Farming Scheme. There were 158 successful aid applications prior to April 1997 and 1,567 successful applications since that date.
Arable Farming
20. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what forecasts he has made for the economic prospects of the arable sector over the coming year. [137153]
Ms Quin: Forecasts of farm incomes in the United Kingdom, for the year ending February 2001, including incomes on cereals farms and general cropping farms, will be published at the end of January 2001. More detailed information will be available in the next edition of "Farm Incomes in the United Kingdom" which will be published in March 2001. There is no doubt, however, that UK arable farmers face very difficult trading conditions which is why my right hon. Friend the Minister has announced that a further £34 million in agrimonetary compensation is to be paid to arable farmers, subject to European Commission approval. The extra money will provide valuable assistance to the arable sector at an exceptionally difficult time.
Supermarkets
24. Mr. Luff: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had with supermarkets about their relationships with suppliers of horticultural products. [137158]
Ms Quin: Supply chain relationships are a theme of the Agricultural Forum, where Ministers meet key figures from all points in the food chain including retailers and horticultural producers, among others. The Forum last met on 6 July and will meet again on 23 November, when the food chain will be one of the key issues on the agenda.
As part of the Government's Action Plan for Farming, the major retailers, facilitated by the IGD, have developed a voluntary code of best practice in commercial relationships with trading partners. The Competition Commission has also recommended that a Code of Practice should be established which would put relations between supermarkets and their suppliers on a clearer and more predictable basis. Supermarkets with more than 8 per cent. of the market would have to give legally binding undertakings to comply with the Code. My right
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hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked the Director-General of Fair Trading to take this forward.
Illegal Fishing
25. Mr. Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to combat the illegal landing of fish in the UK. [137159]
Mr. Morley: The Fisheries Departments in the UK spend over £24 million a year on monitoring, control and surveillance. A number of steps have been taken to strengthen enforcement including the introduction of satellite monitoring, prior notification of landings and designated port arrangements for larger vessels and the implementation of more rigorous controls over the landing and sale of fish agreed by the Council of Ministers in 1998.
Flooding (River Roding)
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his Department's response to the flooding of the River Roding. [137155]
Mr. Morley: I visited the area on 1 November and sympathise greatly with all those affected. In common with elsewhere in the Country, the Environment Agency issued timely flood warnings and co-operated with the emergency services and local authorities, in this case the London Borough of Redbridge, to provide all possible assistance. The Agency has been asked to report on the flooding throughout the Country once the immediate effects of the flooding have been dealt with.
Agricultural Wages Board
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect the Agricultural Wages Board has had on current rates of pay in the horticulture sector. [137133]
Ms Quin: The Agriculture Wages Board last increased minimum rates of pay for full time standard and casual workers, including those in the horticulture sector, in June of this year. The Government also announced that the Agriculture Wages Board would continue to operate for at least another five years.
Rural Development Plan
Mr. Goggins: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what role the North West Regional Development Agency is playing in the implementation of the Rural Development Plan for England. [137156]
Mr. Morley: The North West Regional Development Agency is a member of the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) Regional Programming Group (RPG) for the North West. RPGs for each region have a strategic role in guiding the implementation of the regionally targeted schemes in accordance with the aspiration and goals in the Regional Chapters of the ERDP.
Advisory Bodies
Tony Wright: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all the (a) task forces,
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(b) action teams, (c) policy reviews and (d) other temporary advisory bodies with external members currently in existence within his Department; and on what date each body (i) was set up and (ii) is expected to terminate. [131460]
Mr. Morley: I refer to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 27 July 2000, Official Report, column 799W.
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list each group that is responsible to his Department, with significant and plural membership from outside the Civil Service, and to which the Nolan rules on non-departmental public bodies do not apply; and for each such group if it (a) is a private company, (b) is a charity, (c) has no formal legal basis and (d) has some other legal basis, giving details; [131173]
- (2) if he will list the reports submitted to his Department, by bodies that were created after May 1997 and that include significant and plural membership from outside the Civil Service, stating in each case the body writing the report, the date the report was submitted, how many recommendations were made, the number of those recommendations that have been implemented to date and the number of recommendations that have been rejected; and if he will make a statement. [133571]
Mr. Morley: [holding answer 18 July 2000]: I refer to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, 27 July 2000, Official Report, column 799W.
I also refer the hon. Member to the first central list of information that was published on 11 January 2000. Copies of the list are available in the Libraries of the House.
The detailed information requested about the number of recommendations made and the number rejected is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate costs.
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