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ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal By-products

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will issue technical guidance on the use of on-farm incinerators for the purposes of complying with the EU Animal by-products regulation. [107215]

Mr. Morley: Interim guidance is already available on the DEFRA website. Full guidance will be sent with a letter to all livestock farmers about disposal of fallen stock under the EU Animal by-products regulation shortly.

Farm Incomes

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the level of change in farm incomes between 2001 and 2002. [106383]

Mr. Morley: Total income from farming in the UK in 2002 is estimated to be £2.36 billion which is 15 per cent. (14 per cent. in real terms) higher than its 2001 level. Total income from farming is income generated by production within the agriculture industry, including subsidies, and represents business profits plus remuneration for work done by owners and other unpaid workers. Total income from farming per full time person equivalent rose by 19 per cent. (18 per cent. in real terms) to £11,107.

Although having risen in each of the last two years, total income from farming is still 62 per cent. below its peak in 1995 (after more than doubling between 1990 and 1995). The long term trend in income has been downwards although it rose and fell dramatically in the nineties due to changes in exchange rates, world commodity prices and the impact of BSE.

More detailed information on farm incomes can be found in a Statistics News Release titled Provisional estimates of farm incomes in the United Kingdom' published on 30 January 2003 (amended 31 January 2003), which can be found onthe Defra website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/esq/work htm/Notices/account.pdf, and in the publications Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2002 and Farm Incomes in the United Kingdom, which may be found on the Defra website at http://www.defra.qov.Uk/esq/m publications.htm.

Food Chain (Terrorist Threat)

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken in the last five years to develop a network of laboratories for the (a) detection, (b) identification, (c) diagnosis and (d) research into (i) biological agents and (ii) technology to counter terrorist action to British (A) farms and (B) food supplies. [105072]

Mr. Morley: Terrorism is a scenario we do consider seriously. DEFRA has for many years had in place emergency planning and contingency planning for dealing with threats to food supplies and agriculture. Such threats come not only from terrorism or a deliberate action; they can be part of nature.

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As part of normal business the department does carry out research against potential contamination of public water supplies and research in areas such as exotic animal disease detection, diagnosis and control.

Illegal Meat Imports

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) training and (b) technical advice has been provided by her Department to officers of Customs and Excise who are due to take over responsibility for anti-smuggling controls on illegal imports of meat from 11 April. [106107]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 31 March 2003]: Defra is working with Port Health Authorities and HM Customs and Excise to ensure Customs have the resources and knowledge to fulfil their new role. Detailed tables of products, countries and allowances have been prepared by Defra for use by Customs officers working in passenger terminals, postal depots and with cargo. Defra has provided guidance to Local and Port Health Authorities on Customs' new role and is contributing to HM Customs guidance to their officers. Defra has, since last autumn, paid for additional staff to carry out checks on illegal meat and plant imports at major ports and airports. These staff will be retained for an interim period from 11 to 30 April to give technical support to Customs officers on their new responsibilities.

Light Pollution

Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures the Government are taking to combat light pollution in urban areas. [106610]

Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.

The Government have issued "Lighting in the Countryside: Towards Good Practice", and guidance on good street lighting practice to encourage the use of lighting types which prevent or minimise unwanted upward illumination.

Food Supplies

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of food purchased by the (a) MOD, (b) NHS and (c) DFES was locally sourced in the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [103348]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 18 March 2003]: Defra is leading an initiative designed to encourage key public sector bodies to procure their food and catering services in a manner that promotes sustainable development and does not discriminate against local and UK suppliers. However, we do not hold information on the proportion of food purchased by the MOD, NHS and DfES from local sources. This is a question that should be addressed to them, although they may only be able to supply figures for food purchased from UK sources, as they are unlikely to collect such detailed information. DfES does not purchase food for schools or other educational institutions, as this is the responsibility of individual schools etc or, where budgets have not been delegated, that of the local education authority.

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TREASURY

EU Funding

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total EU funding to (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England was in each of the last three years. [107314]

Ruth Kelly: A breakdown of all EC receipts paid in Scotland, Wales and England is not held centrally. However, details of total UK public sector receipts, broken down by Fund, from the EC Budget for the period 1996–97 to 2001–02 can be found in Table 3.2 (page 12) of the Government's White Paper: European Community Finances (Cm 5547) published in July 2002.

International Finance Facility

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether additional capital raised through the International Finance Facility will count against the target of gross national product that the United Kingdom has pledged to spend on aid to developing countries; and how it will be accounted for. [105676]

John Healey: The International Finance Facility will seek to provide the additional resources necessary to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The UK is committed to reaching the 0.7 per cent. of GNI target in the longer term; the IFF provides a realistic and feasible way to rapidly increase aid flows and make faster progress towards this target in the years up to 2015. The accounting treatment of the disbursement of funds raised through the IFF is subject to further technical discussions.

Marriage Fees

Mr. Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the costs of waiving the fee charged to couples seeking to marry in less than the 15 day waiting period where one partner has been called up for military service overseas; and if he will make a statement. [106998]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr John Denham, dated 4 April 2003:

As National Statistician and Registrar General, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the waiving of fees charged to couples seeking to marry in less than the 15 day waiting period. (106998)

The fee payable to me as Registrar General is 28 for each application to reduce the 15 day waiting period. It was set when the power was introduced on 1 January 2001 and is a prescribed fee that represents the costs to the Registrar General of providing this service and I have has no power to reduce or waive it.

Wine and Spirits

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how the total revenue from duty on (a) wines and (b) spirits is calculated in any one year; [105515]

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(2) what the total value of wine brought across borders to the UK in 2002 is; [105499]

(3) how much wine and spirits were smuggled into the UK last year. [105494]

John Healey: The total revenue from the duty on wines and spirits for any one year is calculated from the net duty receipts recorded by HM Customs and Excise Central Accounting Operations. Details of the amount of revenue received on wines and spirits are published in Customs' annual report, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

The declared value of wine imports in 2002 was £2.01 billion, excluding duty and VAT.

Figures for the total volume of wine and spirits smuggled in 2002 are not available. Estimates of the value of alcohol products smuggled by cross-Channel passengers in 2002 and estimates of the total of fraud affecting alcohol products in 2000–01 were published in "Measuring Indirect Tax Losses" in November 2002, a copy of which is also available in the Library of the House.

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