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15 Oct 2002 : Column 575Wcontinued
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list external (a) public relations/communications companies, (b) advertising and marketing companies, (c) management consultancies, (d) accountancy companies, (e) banking firms, (f) individual consultants and (g) other specialist consultancies used by her Department since June 2001; what actions those consultancies/companies have performed within her Department; and what costs have been incurred through use of these consultancies/companies. [74684]
Alun Michael: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 23 July 2002, Official Report, column 916W.
1972 1 | 1997 | 2002 | |
---|---|---|---|
Tonnage (at 1st January) 2 , 3 : | |||
Vessels less than 10 metres | n/a | 20,095 | 19,768 |
Vessels greater than 10 metres | 278,000 | 254,390 | 243,206 |
Total UK fishing fleet | n/a | 274,485 | 262,974 |
Numbers of vessels (at 1st January) 2 : | |||
Vessels less than 10 metres | 3,785 | 6,091 | 5,713 |
Vessels greater than 10 metres | 2,286 | 2,576 | 2,008 |
Total UK fishing fleet | 6,071 | 8,667 | 7,721 |
Personnel employed at sea during the year 4 : | |||
Full time | 17,898 | 14,832 | 11,923 |
Part-time | 4,115 | 3,772 | 2,722 |
Total numbers of fishermen | 22,013 | 18,604 | 14,645 |
Notes:
1 Estimates for 1st January 1972 relate to the active fishing fleet, while those for 1st January 1997 and 2002 relate to the registered fishing fleet.
2 Data for 1972 relate to vessels below and above 40ft in length (12.2 metres).
3 Data for 1997 and 2002 relate to the Gross Tonnage of registered fishing vessels as reported to the European Commission under the Multi Annual Guidance Programme for the structure of the UK fishing fleet. The data available for 1972 related to Gross Registered Tonnage of active fishing vessels, which is not comparable. Data for vessels below 40ft in length are not available.
4 The information given in the column for 2002 relates the numbers of fishermen in the year 2001.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding arrangements have been proposed to deal with disposal in the county of Cambridgeshire of (a) refrigerators and (b) tyres. [74222]
Mr. Meacher: We have announced a further #40 million for local authorities to cover the costs of fridge disposal this year. This is in addition to #6 million already allocated for the last financial year. It is not possible to provide a meaningful allocation for each authority. It is intended that #40 million will be distributed later this year through the Special Grant system.
15 Oct 2002 : Column 576W
The Landfill Directive is due to ban the disposal of tyres to landfill from mid-2006 by which time alternative ways of handling those tyres currently landfilled will need to be in place. At present 30 per cent. of used tyres are landfilled. However, the Government is supporting a number of research and development studies aimed at developing end markets for used tyre products which should become commercially available before the ban comes into effect. We do not anticipate, therefore, an additional burden on local authorities.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the target is for domestic energy efficiency improvements. [74227]
Mr. Meacher: The UK Climate Change Programme envisages savings of carbon emissions from domestic energy efficiency measures of up to 5 million tonnes a year by 2010.
The Government has announced its intention to produce a Domestic Energy Efficiency Strategy to ensure delivery of these savings and work on this is being taken forward in the context of the production of the Energy White Paper, which the Government aims to publish around the turn of the year. The White Paper will also address the recommendation of the Performance and Innovation Unit's Energy Review that Government develop energy efficiency targets for each sector of the economy, including a 20 per cent. improvement in domestic energy efficiency by 2010.
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what was the total tonnage of domestic waste collected in the last recorded 12 month period. [74575]
Mr. Meacher: Figures from the Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey show that in 200001, 25,109,000 tonnes of household waste were collected in England.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the agendas and minutes for meetings of the cross-departmental working group in fiscal arrangements for farm tenancies. [73912]
Mr. Morley: The Department does not routinely publish minutes of cross departmental meetings such as those held to discuss fiscal measures affecting farm tenancies. Any requests for the release of this information will be dealt with in accordance with the Government's Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Second Edition, 1997) and the Freedom of Information Act when it comes into force.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the cross-departmental working group on fiscal arrangements for farm tenancies has been established. [73911]
15 Oct 2002 : Column 577W
Mr. Morley: Tax is a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer and all parts of the tax system are kept under review as part of the Budget process. Cross departmental discussions on the tenancy related fiscal measures mentioned in the Policy Commission report on the Future of Farming and Food and the Plymouth University Report on the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 have taken place. Further discussions will take place as appropriate prior to the publication of the Government's strategy for sustainable food and farming in the autumn, which will include a full response to the Policy Commission recommendations.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress is being made to allow farm tenants greater flexibility to diversify their income-earning activities on farms that they rent. [73910]
Mr. Morley: The report of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food recommends that Defra should revisit the definition of agriculture used in tenancy legislation and suggests a broader definition might remove a potential obstacle to business development. The Government is keen to ensure that the legislative framework governing farm tenancy arrangements does not act as a barrier to tenant farmer participation in diversification activities. We are therefore considering this recommendation carefully and the conclusions reached will be made known in the autumn when the Government publishes its strategy for sustainable food and farming, incorporating a response to the Policy Commission's recommendations.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress is being made in addressing issues relating to the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, with particular reference to section 4 of that Act. [74047]
Mr. Morley: The Plymouth University Report on the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 made a number of recommendations involving section 4 of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995. These recommendations are currently being considered in parallel with the tenancy related recommendations made by the Policy Commission on the Future of Food and Farming. The Government's approach to the recommendations made in both reports will be clarified when the strategy for sustainable food and farming, incorporating the response to the Policy Commission's recommendations is published in the Autumn.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what proportion of UK farmers received European Community grants of over (a) #100,000 and (b) #500,000 per annum in each of the last five years; [73980]
(3) what proportion of UK farmers do not receive European Union grants. [73865]
15 Oct 2002 : Column 578W
Mr. Morley: The following table gives the numbers of addresses in England to which the specified levels of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) have been made in the last three years. Earlier figures are not readily available. We cannot estimate precisely the number of farmers who do not receive payments. The payment of CAP grants in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the devolved authorities. Farmers may also have received European Union grants under non-agricultural programmes.
CAP Financial Year | Addresses to which payment was made of #1 to #99,999#100,000 to #499,999Over #500,000 | ||
---|---|---|---|
19981999 | 63589 | 61 | 3 |
19992000 | 58238 | 1933 | 34 |
20002001 | 63497 | 1822 | 29 |
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total sum of grants by the European Union to farmers was in (a) the UK and (b) other EU member states in the last year for which figures are available. [73859]
Mr. Morley: The United Kingdom received Euro4,058.9 million from the European Union under the Common Agricultural Policy during its 2000 financial year. The other Member States received the following:
Country | Euro (millions) |
---|---|
Austria | 1,018.5 |
Belgium | 954.7 |
Denmark | 1,305 |
Finland | 727.5 |
France | 8,982.2 |
Germany | 5,641.7 |
Greece | 2,597.1 |
Holland | 1,396.5 |
Ireland | 1,678.3 |
Italy | 5,031.1 |
Luxembourg | 20.6 |
Portugal | 651.9 |
Spain | 5,469.3 |
Sweden | 798 |
These figures include both direct aid and market support. Nearly all of the direct aid will have gone to farmers. Much of the market support expenditure will in the first instance have been paid to traders.
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