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Flooding

Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the progress of the investigation aimed at providing an accreditation system for local temporary defences and aiding their more effective use referred to in Cm 5512 of May 2002. [95344]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 3 February 2003]: The accreditation system referred to relates to a 'publicly available specification' (PAS) standard being developed for temporary flood defences, funded by Department of Trade and Industry, Defra and the Environment Agency among others. I understand that details of the scheme are to be launched shortly.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 20 January 2003, Official Report, column 102W, if she will provide a breakdown of expenditure of the Environment Agency in England on managing flood risk from main rivers and the sea in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03, by (i) local authority area and (ii) Environment Agency regional area. [95081]

Margaret Beckett [holding answer 3 February 2003]: The breakdown by Region of Environment Agency expenditure in England for managing flood risk from main rivers and the sea is:

£000

	Actual		Forecast
EA Region	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
Anglian	58,540	62,205	68,162
Midlands	31,611	40,244	39,427
North East	27,679	39,016	47,571
North West	24,461	31,390	32,243
Southern	27,078	35,383	43,829
South West	20,137	30,649	39,296
Thames	69,956	68,884	78,600
Total England	259,462	307,771	349,128

I regret that a breakdown of this expenditure by local authority area could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Foot and Mouth

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much is owed to Cumbria county council in respect of reimbursement payments relating to foot and mouth. [88603]

Mr. Morley: The Department does not owe Cumbria county council any money in respect of reimbursement payments relating to foot and mouth. However, the Department received an inquiry from the council on 13 December 2002 about possible reimbursement of allowances for some of its Trading Standards staff who worked for the Department during the foot and mouth outbreak.

The council claimed no specific amount, as they wanted clarification as to whether they were eligible for reimbursement, before submitting a claim. The

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Department wrote to the council on 2 January 2003 saying it was looking into the details provided in their letter and would give a full reply as soon as possible.

Although the Department does not owe the council any money directly the council does own trading companies who provided services to the Department during the foot and mouth outbreak. Defra is in serious commercial dispute with these companies and has instructed external lawyers.

Farm Incomes

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total income was from farming in (a) 2000 and (b) 2001 including FMD compensation and other FMD payments; and what she expects it to be in 2003. [94424]

Mr. Morley: The latest estimates of farm income released on 30 January show Total Income from Farming (Tiff) in real terms (at 2002 prices) at £1.80 billion in 2000, £2.07 billion in 2001 and £2.36 billion in 2002.

Neither the losses due to foot and mouth nor the compensation are recorded in the aggregate agricultural income account. This is a consequence of the decision by the Office for National Statistics to treat destroyed livestock as "exceptional losses", as defined in the European System of Accounts 1995. Exceptional losses are shown in the other changes in the volume of assets account and compensation is treated as capital transfers and not part of income. FMD compensation payments totalled £1.1 billion.

Beyond 2002 commodity prices and exchange rates, and hence incomes, are highly uncertain. Estimated projections are given in Section f of the publication "Farming and Food's Contribution to Sustainable Development" which accompanied the publication of "The Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food" in December. This is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/newstrategy/econ/section1.pdf

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her latest estimate is of the cost of compensation to farmers for the slaughter of cattle as a result of foot and mouth disease in the last three years. [95593]

Mr. Morley: The latest estimate of the cost of compensation to farmers for the slaughter of cattle as a result of foot and mouth disease is £674,694,849.

Forestry Commission (Scotland)

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to review the operations of the Forestry Commission in Scotland. [95506]

Mr. Morley: The operations of the Forestry Commission in Scotland are, of course, the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. However, in August last year, the forestry Ministers in England, Scotland and Wales each announced the outcome of the Forestry Devolution Review of administrative arrangements for the delivery of sustainable forestry policies in the three countries. The review concluded that those arrangements need to be updated, without

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legislation, to achieve greater integration of forestry with other rural policy work while retaining a collaborative approach to common issues.

Work is now taking place on implementing the review's recommendations, and further announcements will be made in due course of the specific changes to be

made in each country.

Internal Drainage Boards

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when a decision will be made regarding the future of the internal drainage boards and their role; [95707]

(2) when a decision will be made regarding the flood and coastal defence review. [95706]

Mr. Morley: The future role of internal drainage boards is part of the flood and coastal defence funding review. I am currently considering the outcome of the review with ministerial colleagues and will make an announcement as soon as

possible.

Livestock Movements

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received concerning the workability of the six day standstill rule, given the ban on livestock staying overnight in auction marts. [95204]

Mr. Morley: We propose to reduce the whole farm standstill to six days from 4 March. This has been welcomed by the main livestock industry organisations and we expect them to co-operate in ensuring that the new rules are effectively implemented.

We intend to consult soon on a number of further proposals-including a ban on livestock staying overnight on market premises-for possible introduction later this year, aimed at improving biosecurity and disease detection.

Mawdesley to Warrington Pipeline(Farmers' Compensation)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with Transco on compensation payments for farmers affected by the Mawdesley to Warrington gas pipeline; and what estimate she has made of (a) the loss of income to farmers and (b) the number of compensation claims that are still outstanding as a result of the construction of the Mawdesley to Warrington gas pipeline. [92297]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 29 January 2003]: None. These are matters for my right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Meat Import (Quality Standards)

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the measures for the prevention of importation of substandard meat and bushmeat into the UK introduced on 1 January. [95206]

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Mr. Morley: On 1 January, following sustained pressure from the UK Government, new rules were introduced prohibiting all personal imports into the European Union of meat, meat products, milk and milk products from the majority of non-EU countries. This includes bushmeat, which is the meat of any wild animal hunted for food. The rules for other animal products and plants have not changed. The relevant legislation has been implemented in the UK and new publicity materials are available to notify travellers of the changes in the rules. It is still too early to make a proper assessment of the impact of these changes.

Sheep Tagging

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on the practicality of double tagging sheep under the EU Directive on sheep identification with particular reference to (a) the ease with which such tags are lost and (b) the difficulties in reading the tags. [95205]

Mr. Morley: The European Commission published proposals on identification and registration of sheep and goats on 13 December 2002. Discussion on these proposals are still at a very early stage and we are consulting stakeholders including those from the sheep industry on their implications. The proposed rules on tagging are one of the main concerns being raised and we shall be taking all the comments made into account as we attend EU discussions.

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