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Live Cattle Exports

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost has been to UK public funds of subsidising the export of live cattle from the EU to the middle east and North Africa in the last five years. [5281]

Mr. Morley: During the 1999–2000 EU budget year, the EU spent approximately 110 million euros on export refunds for live cattle to all destinations. We do not have data for specific destinations. The UK Exchequer does not contribute directly to the cost of any agricultural expenditure from the EU budget, but contributes to the budget as a whole. The UK position is to argue for a reformed CAP and an end to such export subsidies.

Departmental Events

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) national and (b) international awareness events her Department has participated in since June 1997 in the form of (i) sponsorship, (ii) departmental attendance, (iii) similar departmental activities and (iv) a message of support. [5044]

Mr. Morley: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was not formed until 8 June 2001. Consequently, historical information for the years mentioned in the question is not available.

DEFRA Website

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of converting the MAFF website into the new DEFRA website. [5254]

Mr. Morley: The redesign of the MAFF website into the new DEFRA website was undertaken using internal resources. It is not possible to be precise about the extent of those indirect costs but they are estimated to be less than £10,000.

Farming

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in (a) England and (b) Cumbria do no other farming activity except letting out their grass. [5258]

Mr. Morley: The information is not available.

The annual June census asks farmers only to account for land that they actively farm themselves.

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals she has to assist farmers whose only business is letting out their grass. [5257]

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Mr. Morley: My officials are in touch with the Arthur Rank Foundation and with industry bodies about the work of the ARF's National Fodder Bureau and Government match funding for this charitable work. These discussions have included consideration of the prices and availability of fodder and grazing across the country.

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to represent non-farming and conservation interests on her Department's Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food. [6002]

Mr. Morley: Appointments to the independent Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, announced on 9 August, have been made by the Prime Minister. Members have been appointed in a personal capacity, not as representatives of particular groups, and reflect a wide range of interests, knowledge and expertise extending beyond farming and conservation.

Full details of membership are on the Commission's website www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/farming.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to reduce the level of bureaucracy for farmers. [6246]

Mr. Morley: We are very conscious of the need to reduce bureaucracy. While some regulation is unavoidable if the Government are to safeguard public and animal health, environmental matters or public funds, the aim is to keep regulation to a minimum. A major programme of work to streamline processes has been under way for the last 18 months since my right hon. Friend the former Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food asked the industry to identify particular problem areas. In Europe, too, we continue to seek greater simplification of regulations affecting farmers.

Money has been saved in direct costs to industry as well as time saved in paperwork—for example, by implementing a simplified procedure for granting "own-use" approvals for imports of pesticides with a reduced fee, by streamlining intervention procedures and by better co-ordinated cattle inspections. We continue to implement the remaining recommendations from the Red Tape Reviews and the Better Regulation Task Force report on Environmental Regulation and Farmers.

In addition, in common with other regulatory departments, we are preparing a Departmental Regulatory Reform Action Plan.

Absence

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days on average were lost per employee in his Department because of sickness; and how many officials retired early from his Department, in each of the past 10 years. [R] [5051]

Mr. Morley: This reply essentially reflects the position in the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Details are not readily available for the ex-DETR and Home Office groups who now form part of DEFRA.

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The Department does not maintain aggregated data on sickness absence but relies instead on a comprehensive analysis of sickness absence in the Civil Service which is produced annually by Cabinet Office. Copies of such reports are placed in House Libraries.

In 1998 the Cabinet Office published a report 'Working Well Together—Managing Attendance in the Public Sector' aimed at promoting wider awareness and use of the very best attendance management techniques in order to reduce sickness absence levels across the public sector. Following that report, the Department has designed a range of new sickness absence management procedures which it is currently in the process of rolling out across the Department.

Responsibility for attendance matters within the Central Science Laboratory, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, the Centre for Environmental Fisheries and Aquaculture Agency—all former MAFF agencies—has been delegated to the agency chief executives and I have asked them to reply direct. The Pesticides Safety Directorate and Veterinary Medicines Directorate Agencies are covered by the departmental response.

1,045 officials retired early from the former MAFF and its agencies in the 10 calendar years to 31 December 2000:

1991: 33


1992: 230


1993: 50


1994: 82


1995: 231


1996: 165


1997: 94


1998: 21


1999: 72


2000: 67.

Letter from Michael Roberts to David Maclean, dated 24 September 2001:

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has asked me to reply, in respect of the Central Science Laboratory, to your question concerning sickness absence.

Comprehensive analysis of sickness absence data for the Civil Service is provided in the annual Cabinet Office reports, copies of which are to be found in House Libraries. However for illustratory purposes sickness absence within Central Science Laboratory for the last four years is as follows:

1998 = 6.65 days per employee

1999 = 7.96 days per employee

2000 = 6.39 days per employee

2001 to date = 5.68 days per employee.

Letter from Steve Edwards to David Maclean, dated September 2001:

The Minister has asked me to reply to your question on how many days on average were lost to the VLA because of sickness and how many officials retired early in each of the past 10 years.

The Agency does not maintain aggregated data on sickness absence but relies instead on a comprehensive analysis of sickness absence in the Civil Service which is produced annually by the Cabinet Office. Copies of such reports are placed in House Libraries.

In 1998 the Cabinet Office published a report "Working Well Together—Managing Attendance in the Public Sector" aimed at promoting wider awareness and use of the very best attendance management techniques in order to reduce sickness absence levels across the public sector. Following that report the Agency reviewed

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the sickness absence management procedures and issued new guidance to staff and managers. We continue to keep procedures under review and introduce new practices where necessary.

Details of the Agency staff who retired early are contained in the figures given for the former MAFF and its Agencies in the response given by DEFRA.

Letter from Peter Greig-Smith to David Maclean, dated September 2001:

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has asked me to reply to your question regarding how many days, on average, were lost due to sickness. I am replying on behalf of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS).

The number of days lost per employee in CEFAS averages out, over the past six year, as nine days. However I would refer the Honourable Member to the annual Cabinet Office reports which provide a comprehensive analysis of sickness absence in the Civil Service, copies of which are to be found in House Libraries.

This Agency's response to the second part of the Parliamentary Question on early retirements is to be included in the single reply in respect of the core-department and its agencies.

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