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Badgers

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence her Department evaluated in advance of the slaughter of badgers at Saltdean. [95331]

Mr. Morley: Before granting a licence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, for the capture and humane killing of badgers occupying one sett, to prevent serious damage to property in Saltdean, we evaluated evidence that included reports following site visits by wildlife advisers from the Department's Rural Development Service, and advice given by the Central Science Laboratory. In this case we also consulted English Nature, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the National Federation of Badger Groups.

Capital Projects

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place the evaluations for Capital Modernisation Fund projects in her Department and undertaken by the Forestry Commission since 1998 in the Library; and if she will make a statement. [97030]

Mr. Morley: The Forestry Commission is undertaking two projects through the Capital Modernisation Fund. The first relates to Community Forestry and the second involves the modernisation of the Commission's holiday cabin sites in England.

However, both projects are still in progress and full evaluation reports are not, therefore, available at this time.

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Cetaceans

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the estimated number of dolphins in (a) 2003 and (b) 1993 within the British Isles. [96921]

Mr. Morley: Obtaining population estimates for cetaceans is difficult. There is a wide margin of error within abundance estimates and the geographical limits of most biological populations of dolphin species are not known.

To date, major surveys of cetacean distribution or abundance have not been carried out at regular intervals. The table, which has been placed in the Library, gives figures from the 2002 report of the Advisory Committee on Ecosystems of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), illustrating the latest information on the populations and abundance of cetaceans that occur in UK waters. The populations are given in terms of ICES areas or geographical locality. A map showing the ICES areas has been placed in the Library of the House.

A consortium of international researchers, co-ordinated by the Sea Mammal Research Unit, is planning to carry out a survey of the distribution and abundance of small cetaceans in 2004–05. It is intended that all UK waters will be included in the survey area. International funding is being sought in support of this work.

Reliable estimates for dolphin abundance in British waters in 1993 are not available.

Correspondence

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Workington dated 10 December 2001, sent on to her Department in March 2002, concerning Mr. Williams, a constituent. [92879]

Mr. Meacher: The correspondence referred to was received in the Department for the first time in December 2002 when the hon. Member sent a copy. I replied on 12 February 2003.

Dairy Industry

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance and support she is able to provide to dairy farmers in the north-west; and what recent discussions she has had with (a) representatives from the dairy industry and (b) supermarkets regarding the price of milk. [94918]

Mr. Morley: Dairy farmers in the north-west, in common with the rest of the country, benefit indirectly from the Dairy CAP, which involves expenditure of nearly two billion euros across the Community. Despite this considerable expenditure, the farmgate price of milk remains below the level at which many dairy farmers can make the investment required to sustain their businesses. This clearly shows the current Dairy CAP is failing farmers and is in need of reform. The UK Government do not regard the Commission proposals for dairy reform in the context of the Mid Term Review to go far enough to address those concerns.

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The prices negotiated between farmers and purchases, or processors and retailers, are private commercial matters in which the Government cannot get involved. We have not therefore met with representatives of the dairy industry specifically to discuss this issue. However, Ministers frequently meet with representatives from all parts of the dairy sector in the course of their duties, to discuss the overall market situation, and we are well aware of concerns about prices.

We believe that a sustainable future for dairy farming is best secured through the action we have already announced in response to the recommendations of the Policy Commission on the Future of Food and Farming and our Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food, which we published on 12 December 2002. My noble Friend, Lord Whitty has convened a number of meetings of an informal dairy supply chain group, which has addressed some of these issues. In addition, at its next meeting on 28 February 2003 this group will discuss how the industry might address any lessons that emerge from the on-going study by KPMG on the structure of the UK dairy sector and milk pricing, which was commissioned by the Milk Development Council, as well as the Commission's proposals for reform of the Dairy CAP.

Departmental Budgets

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the budgets are for 2002–03 for each of the advisory bodies, stakeholders groups, executive agencies, executive non-departmental public bodies, advisory non-departmental public bodies, public corporations and tribunals sponsored by her Department, as listed on pages 87–89 of the Defra Departmental Report 2002; and if she will make a statement. [93713]

Alun Michael: The information requested on the executive agencies and for most of the executive non-departmental public bodies and public corporations is given in the table. Equivalent information on the other bodies is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost:

	£000
Central Science Laboratory	2,233
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science	9,443
Pesticides Safety Directorate	-2,449
Rural Payments Agency	493,595
Veterinary Laboratories Agency	9,089
Veterinary Medicines Directorate	-398
Apple and Pear Research Council	105
British Potato Council	6,747
Countryside Agency	95,439
English Nature	71,038
Environment Agency	330,569
Food From Britain	5,428
Home-Grown Cereals Authority	11,364
Horticultural Development Council	571
Horticulture Research International	7,297
Meat and Livestock Commission	27,873
Milk Development Council	7,464
National Forest Company	1,824
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew	22,159
Sea Fish Industry Authority	1,449
Wine Standards Board	448
British Waterways Board	123,250
Covent Garden Market Authority	1,957

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Departmental Consultations

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list consultations her Department has conducted since it was established; and when each consultation (a) opened and (b) closed. [97433]

Alun Michael: Information on written consultation exercises undertaken by Defra is in the public domain and can be obtained from the Department's website at pa www.defra.gov.uk. in the section entitled 'Consultations'. This includes information on the opening and closing dates for all consultations.

European Water Directive

Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to develop and implement a communications strategy for the EU Water Framework Directive. [96617]

Mr. Morley: Defra's stakeholder group will be meeting regularly to discuss implementation issues and develop agreed approaches to communicating the key messages of the directive. The Environment Agency is also developing a public participation strategy for the implementation of the directive through river basin management plans. This will draw on a pilot river basin project in the Ribble basin.

Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to pilot the Common Implementation Strategy Guidance on Wetlands in the EU Water Framework Directive. [96620]

Mr. Morley: A drafting group led by Italy with UK participation is due to submit draft guidance on wetlands for adoption by an EC Water Directors group by May 2003. We will then be able to take a view on whether and in what way the guidance might be piloted in England, alongside other piloting work which will be under way.

Flood Defences (Hampton Bishop)

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Environment Agency is taking to ensure that the Welsh Environment Agency repairs the flood defence barrier by the Bunch of Carrots pub at Hampton Bishop, Herefordshire. [95656]

Mr. Morley: Operational responsibility for flood measures rests with the local operating authorities, normally the Environment Agency (EA) and local councils, who decide which projects to promote and their timing. This Department provides grants for flood and coastal defence capital works and associated studies, which meet essential technical, economic and environmental criteria and achieve an appropriate priority score.

I understand that EA Wales is preparing a submission to Defra for approval of grant aid on a proposed scheme to strengthen and improve approximately 1 km of the existing embankment along the River Wye at Hampton Bishop, Herefordshire. The EA has identified this length

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as having a potential weakness in extreme flood conditions. Additionally the agency, in co-operation with Herefordshire county council, has put into place an emergency response procedure for Hampton Bishop. This would include the evacuation of residents in the event of the agency issuing a severe flood warning for the location.

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