| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
5 Feb 2003 : Column 278W—continued
Committee Reports
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place in the Library the latest Annual Report of the (a) Committee of Investigation for Great Britain, (b) Committee of Agricultural Valuation, (c) Committee on Products and Processes for Use in Public Water Supply and Swimming Pools, (d) Advisory Committee on Pesticides and (e) Consumers' Committee for Great Britain under the Agricultural Marketing Act 1958; and if she will make a statement. [93712]
Alun Michael: The Committee of Investigation for Great Britain, the Committee on Agricultural Valuation and the Consumers Committee for Great Britain under the Agricultural Act 1958 are now effectively defunct and have therefore not produced Annual Reports for a number of years.
Copies of the current Annual Reports of the Committee of Products and Processes for Use in. Public Water Supply and the Advisory Committee on Pesticides have now been placed in the Library. Future copies will also be placed in the Library on publication.
Dairy Incomes
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average net income of dairy farmers was in 2000–01; and what she expects the figure to be in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [94425]
5 Feb 2003 : Column 279W
Mr. Morley: Average net farm income:
Net farm income is defined as the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their labour and on the tenant-type capital of the business.
Average net farm income for full-time dairy farms in England was £10,800 in 2000–01, £22,800 in 2001–02 and is forecasted to be £17,000 in 2002–03.
Fair Trade
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what fair trade criteria she sets when deciding upon what suppliers to use. [89908]
Alun Michael: As explained by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 9 December 2002, Official Report, column 92W, the Government are committed to supporting ethical trading wherever possible within the boundaries set by the public procurement rules and provides significant support to the Fair Trade Foundation's efforts in promoting the supply and marketing of fair trade products.
This is reflected in Defra's Green Guide for Buyers (http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/sdig/improving/partf/greenbuy/index.htm) and the work that departmental officials are undertaking with Defra's catering contractors. In consultation with them Defra has produced a catering action sheet that, among other things, calls for promotion of fair trade or ethically produced food. I shall shortly receive a report from officials about work on reviewing Defra's catering contracts and working with our caterers to make fair trade tea and coffee generally available within the Department.
5 Feb 2003 : Column 280W
Fish Stocks
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much is included in the Environment Agency's budget for the maintenance of fish stocks; and what that figure was in 1992. [95482]
Mr. Morley: In 2002–03 the Environment Agency's total forecast fisheries budget for England and Wales is £26.5 million, of which the Government (Defra and the National Assembly Government) will provide £9.8 million in grant-in-aid, to help meet the Agency's statutory duty in relation to salmon and freshwater fisheries.
In 1992 the total fisheries budget of the National Rivers Authority (the Environment Agency's predecessor) for England and Wales was £23.6 million of which the Government provided £13 million in grant-in-aid.
Flooding
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes flooded (a) in January 2003, (b) in winter 2000 and (c) in the previous two major floods in (i) the lower Thames Valley downstream of the Jubilee River, (ii) Surrey and (iii) Spelthorne. [94613]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 31 January 2003]: The number of properties flooded in 2003 is provisional as information is still being gathered. The information for 2000 and 2003 is based on properties known to have flooded internally. The figures for 1968 and 1947 are taken from the historic flood outlines. It is not known how many of the properties affected flooded internally.
All information is the best available to the Environment Agency.
| Number of properties confirmed | River Thames from Windsor to Teddington (downstream of Jubilee River) | Surrey (includes Thames,Bournes and Wey) | Spelthorne, Borough, (Thames, Colne) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003—January | c. 123 | c. 231 | c. 60 |
| 2000—October/November/December | c. 47 | c. 333, (also includes River Mole) | c. 40 |
| 1968 | Not available | c. 4,724 | Not available |
| 1947 | c. 6,956 | c. 7,015 | c. 2,114 |
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the key flood defence systems in the Thames Valley that are not in good condition or better. [95346]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 3 February 2003]: The River Thames is the primary drainage channel conveying river flows through the Thames Valley. Along the stretch of river between Reading and Teddington (the effective tidal limit) the Environment Agency report that there are no riverside flood defence structures that are in worse than good condition. The weirs that primarily control water levels for navigation also have an important function in flood level control, however the condition of the weirs did not contribute to the flooding in the Thames Valley in the New Year period. The Agency advise that eight of these weirs are in worse than good condition and their reconstruction is either in progress or planned in the medium term. These weirs, with provisional reconstruction dates, are listed in the table.
| Weirs | Provisional reconstruction dates |
|---|---|
| Marsh Weir (near Henley) | under construction |
| Sunbury A Weir | 2003–05 |
| Shepperton B Weir | 2004–07 |
| Romney Weir (near Windsor) | 2006–08 |
| Bell Weir (near Runnymede) | 2007–10 |
| Molesey B Weir | 2007–08 |
| Molesey D Weir | 2008–10 |
| Teddington Weir | 2009–11 |
Focus Groups
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what use she has
5 Feb 2003 : Column 281W
made of focus group research since June 2001; and if she will identify for each research project the (a) topics covered and (b) total cost. [93102]
5 Feb 2003 : Column 282W
Mr. Morley [holding answer 23 January 2003]: The Department has made use of focus group research as follows:
| Project | Cost (£) |
|---|---|
| Consultation requirements on the release of genetically modified organisms | (9)23,000 |
| Views on the management of radioactive waste | (9)56,000 |
| The 2004 Periodic review: Research into Customers Views(10) | 25,000 |
| Pilot and customer research on the content and presentation of information which might be made available by water and sewerage undertakers | (9)13,800 |
| The appraisal of the intangible human health related impacts of flooding (11) | (9)285,000 |
| Improving the public awareness and understanding of flood risk(11) | (9)80,000 |
| Water-based Sport and recreation—the facts(12) | (9)139,000 |
| Contribution to the ongoing Woodland Creation Review in England | 3,535 |
(9) Costs relate to total project of which focus groups formed an undifferentiated part.
(10) Used to inform the Initial Guidance from the Secretary of State to the Director General of Water services. 2004 periodic review of water price limits which was published on 21 January 2003.
(11) Research being undertaken by a consortium.
(12) Undertaken by Brighton University—published December 2001.
GM Crops
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she is taking to halt the approval process for GM rape and maize before the European Commission set out in the European Union Directive of 17 October 2002. [94916]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 4 February 2003]: The Government are not taking any measures to halt the decision making process for these applications to import and market GM grain in the European Union. We believe decisions on these applications should be taken based on scientific evidence and existing legal obligations laid down in Directive 2001/18 on the release of GMOs to the environment.
Logica
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contracts have been awarded by her Department to Logica since 1 August 2002, providing in each case the (a) title, (b) total cost, (c) time scale and (d) terms of reference on the contract; what the reasons were for awarding each contract; and if she will place copies of the contracts in the Library. [93272]
Alun Michael: From information held centrally, since 1 August 2002 the Department has not awarded any contracts to Logica.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |