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French Beef

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of advice issued by the Food Standards Agency to British consumers concerning French beef. [144317]

Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 8 January 2001]: The Government have accepted it.

Departmental Business (Overseas Visits)

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many visits abroad have been made by him and his Ministers on departmental business (a) since 1 May 1997 and (b) in the last 12 months. [149141]

Mr. Nick Brown: For overseas visits from 2 May 1997 to 31 March 1999, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the list published on 17 June 1999, Official Report, column 196W; for overseas visits for the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000, I refer him to the list published on 28 July 2000, Official Report, column 969W. In the past 12 months, my Ministers and I have made 36 visits abroad.

Tobacco Farming

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many times the Agriculture Council has discussed CAP subsidies for tobacco farming since May 1997. [153227]

Mr. Nick Brown: The Agriculture Council discussed the EU tobacco regime, including subsidies for tobacco growing, three times in 1998 and adopted a number of changes to the regime. The tobacco regime has also been raised on a number of other occasions since May 1997 during discussions on other regimes and CAP reform.

Departmental Policies (Truro and St. Austell)

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Truro and St. Austell constituency, the effects on Truro and St. Austell of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154531]

8 May 2001 : Column: 117W

Ms Quin: MAFF does not hold statistical information on a constituency basis relating to the Department's policies. Information on land use, crop areas, livestock numbers and labour on holdings in England by parliamentary constituency has been produced from 1 June 1999 annual agricultural and horticultural census. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House. Information from the 1 June 2000 census has been placed in the House Library.

8 May 2001 : Column: 118W

As many of the Department's policies flow from measures agreed within the framework of the EU common agricultural policy, statistical data are normally available on a UK or England basis. Farmers in the UK receive approximately £3 billion per year in direct CAP payments. This does not include the significant additional costs to consumers as a result of CAP price supports which keep EU prices above prevailing world prices. The value of direct CAP payments to the average farmer is set out in the table.

8 May 2001 : Column: 117W

Average subsidies received by full-time farm businesses, England 1999-2000

					£000
		Of which:
	Total direct subsidies	Crop subsidies	Livestock subsidies	Agri-environment	Other(23)
Cereals	37.8	34.2	2.3	1.0	0.1
General cropping	31.8	28.8	2.4	0.6	0.0
Horticulture	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.1	0.2
Pigs and poultry	3.6	2.2	1.4	0.1	0.0
Dairy	8.5	2.8	4.9	0.8	0.0
LFA cattle and sheep	29.3	0.4	25.4	3.3	0.2
Lowland cattle and sheep	14.1	1.7	10.6	1.8	0.0
Mixed	33.8	21.4	10.7	1.7	0.0
All types	22.5	14.8	6.4	1.2	0.1

⁽²³⁾ Includes capital grants and any other miscellaneous grants. These reflect a combination of nationally funded and partly match funded schemes.

Notes:

1. HLCA payments to hill farms are included under livestock subsidies.

2. The figures show direct subsidy payments: they do not include allowance for the financial benefit of prices supported above world market levels under the CAP.

Source:

Farm Business Survey

8 May 2001 : Column: 117W

In addition to CAP direct payments, farmers in the UK are benefiting from £1.35 billion in short-term financial relief since 2 May 1997. This includes £785 million in agrimonetary compensation, worth some £4,800 per average arable farmer; £3,200 per average dairy farmer; £1,400 per average sheep farmer; and £1,140 and £3,800 per average farmer for agrimonetary compensation related to the beef special premium scheme and suckler cow premium scheme respectively.

Since May 1997, the Government have more than doubled expenditure on agri-environment schemes in England. We now have more than twice as much land covered by countryside stewardship agreements and we have increased the funding of organic conversion from £571,000 in 1997-98 to £12 million in 2000-01 and £18 million in 2001-02. Full-time hill farmers in England will be in receipt of some £6,360 on average following the introduction of the hill farm allowance scheme this year. This compares to £4,048 under the hill livestock compensatory allowance in 1996-97.

Truro and St. Austell also fall within an area with an objective 1 designation. This means that under the EU structural funds, the area is eligible for assistance to promote its development and structural adjustment. About £50 million of European funding over the next six years is available for rural development measures in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. This money will attract an equal amount of national public spending as matched funding, the majority of which will be provided by this Department. Details of these measures, which include

8 May 2001 : Column: 118W

support for processing and marketing, farm diversification and training, are set out in the single programming document for Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. Farmers in Truro and St. Austell can also benefit from agri-environment schemes available under the England rural development programme.

Consumers in Truro and St. Austell will benefit from the Agenda 2000 reforms of the CAP in the form of reduced food bills, with the average saving for a typical family rising to £65 a year by 2010.

In relation to the Department's responsibility for fisheries policy, our key priority is to protect our fisheries resources for the future and we are taking firm action to ensure a viable future for the fishing industry. The last set of grant schemes, which ended in 1999, invested over £27 million in measures to help the fishing industry in England. Fishermen operating in the Truro and St. Austell constituency will now benefit from the £22.5 million aid package announced on 2 April to help restructure the English fishing industry, to improve the quality and value of the catch, and to retrain fishermen and rejuvenate fishing ports.

Sheep Exports

Mr. Luff: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions in the last five weeks, and on which dates, sheep unloaded into the lairage at the Port of Dover awaiting export were returned to their (a) farms of origin and (b) other United Kingdom destinations; and how many sheep have been returned from Dover in this way. [155083]

8 May 2001 : Column: 119W

Ms Quin [holding answer 23 March 2001]: Three consignments of sheep, totalling 1,005 animals, awaiting export at premises in the Dover area were returned to their holdings of origin on 21 and 23 February 2001. One consignment of 416 sheep, awaiting export, was returned to a UK destination other than the holding of origin, on 23 February 2001.

Departmental Policies (Great Grimsby)

Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effect on the Great Grimsby constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [156243]

Ms Quin: MAFF does not hold statistical information on a constituency basis relating to the Department's policies. As many of the Department's policies flow from measures agreed within the framework of the EU common agricultural policy, statistical data are normally available on a UK or England basis.

Farmers in the UK receive approximately £3 billion per year in direct CAP payments. This does not include the significant additional costs to consumers as a result of CAP price supports which keep EU prices above prevailing world prices.

Consumers in Great Grimsby will benefit from the Agenda 2000 reforms of the CAP in the form of reduced food bills, with the average saving for a typical family rising to £65 a year by 2010.

The Government are committed to securing a more economically rational CAP. This will benefit both consumers and taxpayers in Great Grimsby. We aim to redirect public money from agricultural price support mechanisms to rural development measures of benefit to the wider rural community and visitors to the countryside.

One of the most important outcomes of Agenda 2000 was the establishment of the rural development regulation, which is being implemented in England through the England rural development programme (ERDP), investing around £1.6 million in rural areas over seven years. By supporting rural development, including diversification into tourist activities, and by conserving and enhancing the rural environment through support for public goods such as biodiversity and landscape appearance, the ERDP offers benefits to all who visit the countryside.

In relation to the Department's responsibility for fisheries policy, our key priority is to protect our fisheries resources for the future and we are taking firm action to ensure a viable future for the fishing industry. The last set of grant schemes, which ended in 1999, invested over £27 million in measures to help the fishing industry in England. Fishermen operating in the Great Grimsby constituency will now benefit from the £22.5 million aid package announced on 2 April, to help restructure the English fishing industry, and to improve the quality and value of the catch, and to retrain fishermen and rejuvenate fishing ports.

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