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ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

EU Agricultural Barriers

Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking in concert with other Government Departments to reduce agricultural barriers within the EU before the WTO ministerial meeting in Cancun in September 2003. [121287]

Mr. Bradshaw: On 26 June 2003 the Agriculture Council reached agreement on reform of the CAP, which sets a new course for agriculture in Europe. It will reduce agricultural trade barriers, and puts the EU in a strong position to negotiate a successful outcome at the next round of WTO talks in Cancun in September 2003.

The reform proposals enable decoupling of farm subsidies from production, removing the perverse incentives to over-produce. The deal enables the EU to exceed the domestic support targets that have been proposed in the WTO negotiations, reducing the distortions in world markets which the CAP has caused, and paving the way for a successful conclusion to the Doha trade round.

In addition to the direct involvement in the negotiations of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, as well as other colleagues in Government, played a pivotal role in the agreement by lobbying their European colleagues on the importance of such reform.

Warm-front Grants

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps her Department is taking to encourage a wider take-up of warm front grants by pensioners; [120751]

(2) what measures her Department is taking to provide for better targeting of warm front grants towards those in fuel poverty. [120752]

Mr. Bradshaw: Warm Front is delivered through two Scheme Managers who have responsibility for marketing the scheme to eligible groups, including pensioners. The Scheme Managers work with a range of groups to reach older people who may be eligible for assistance through Warm Front. These include local community groups, national agencies and charities, Primary Care Trusts as well as targeted mailing of households.

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As part of our review of Warm Front we are considering the current eligibility criteria and targeting of the scheme.

Dioxin Emissions

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual dioxin emissions produced by (a) on-farm drum incinerators, (b) on-farm carcass incinerators and (c) waste oil burners were in each year since 1998. [122701]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 30 June 2003]: UK emission estimates are contained in the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory and are published annually. Full NAEI data is available at the NAEI website www.naei.org.uk. UK dioxin emissions were estimated at 1,184 grammes (international toxic equivalent, I-TEQ) in 1990, and to have reduced from 424 grammes in 1998 to 357 grammes in 2001, the latest date for which data are available. The NAEI does not contain data at the level of detail requested. As regards on-farm drum incinerators, the total emissions from all small-scale waste burning are estimated at 50g per year I-TEQ, but this figure includes both agricultural and non-agricultural waste burning and is subject to considerable uncertainty. The total emissions from all small animal carcase incinerators are estimated at 0.25g per year I-TEQ. These figures have all remained constant between 1998 and 2001. There are no data on emissions from waste oil burners.

Fallen Stock

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations have been received on the issue of fallen stock collection from (a) individuals and (b) organisations in Wales. [121721]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Department has received a number of such representations, although this is an issue for which responsibility is devolved to the National Assembly for Wales.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the predicted unit-cost is of (a) collection and (b) disposal of fallen stock under the new scheme for farmers in Ogmore. [121722]

Mr. Bradshaw: No decision has yet been taken on whether a scheme for fallen stock will proceed, or if so on what basis. Industry estimates of the costs of collection and disposal under a national scheme have been made but these are average costs put together on an aggregated basis for the UK as a whole.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which facilities will serve the farmers of (i) Bridgend and (ii) Ogmore constituencies for (a) collection and (b) disposal of fallen stock. [121723]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Fallen Stock helpline on 0845 8507070 can give advice to farmers on what collection services exist in their area. Disposal will then be a commercial matter to be arranged between the collector of the fallen stock and disposal outlets.

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Fishing

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what part (a) CEFAS, (b) her Department and (c) other British fisheries experts played in the EU research report issued in the week beginning 16 June 2003; and what account was taken of the impact of de-commissioning and days at sea limitation on fish stocks. [121719]

Mr. Bradshaw: I take it my hon. Friend is referring to the response that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has made to the request from the European Commission for a mid-year evaluation of recovery plans and management measures for cod. The ICES response was included in the report of the May meeting of the Advisory Committee on Fishery Management (ACFM), and was in part based on an earlier meeting of an EU Expert Group, which met in Brussels a few weeks previously. ACFM comprises a scientist from each member country of ICES (the current UK member is from Fisheries Research Services, Aberdeen, but a CEFAS observer was also present in another capacity). The EU Expert Group comprised a wide range of European experts including scientists from CEFAS, and industry representatives also attended on the first and last days. Defra officials are not involved in these scientific meetings.

ICES evaluated in particular the regulatory measures being adopted for cod in 2003 (relating to gear, TACs and restrictions on fishing effort). ICES was unable to cover in its evaluation the effects of effort restrictions and of decommissioning in 2003 at the level of individual fleets, due to lack of appropriate data. However, it noted that the effort limitations are expected to benefit the stock by reducing discards and by helping to reduce the amount of illegal, unreported or undeclared landings.

It should be noted that the 2003 assessment of the North Sea cod will not be carried out until September 2003, and that ICES' definitive 2003 advice on this and the latest Irish Sea and West of Scotland cod assessments will not be settled until the October meeting of ACFM.

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent consultations she has had with (a) the Scottish Fishing Federation, (b) representatives from the Scottish fishing industry and (c) Scottish stakeholders on the protection of the Darwin Mounds. [121647]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Department is in regular contact with the Scottish Executive, who consult the relevant Scottish interests on all live fishing matters, and my predecessor at this Department recently responded to correspondence on this subject from the Scottish Fishermen's Federation.

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to use the emergency powers available under the new Common Fisheries Policy framework regulation, (EC) No. 2371, in relation to the protection of the Darwin Mounds. [121649]

Mr. Bradshaw: We are pursuing with the European Commission the most effective means for the protection of Darwin Mounds. The emergency powers available to

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the UK under the new Common Fisheries Policy Framework Regulation, (EC) No. 2371/02 are not a practicable means of protection for the Darwin Mounds as the threat to the area would not meet the necessary criteria of being both serious and unforeseen. In addition, such measures could be imposed only for three months. Emergency powers are available to the Commission where the threat is serious, can be put in place for six months, renewable for a further six months and would allow time for more permanent protection to be developed and put in place. We are therefore pressing the Commission to use these powers.

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to designate the Darwin Mounds as a Special Area of Conservation. [121650]

Mr. Bradshaw: In parallel with consultations on Regulations that will transpose the Habitats Directive offshore, formal consultations on proposals to designate the Darwin Mounds will take place over the summer. The consultations will be supported by data already provided by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Subject to the conclusion of those consultations, the site will be proposed to the European Commission later this year, once enabling legislation is in place.

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has undertaken into the damage done to the Darwin Mounds in the last three years. [121651]

Mr. Bradshaw: The last surveys of the area were performed by Southampton Oceanographic Centre in 1999 as part of the AFEN project, and in 2000 for DTI. These surveys, however, concentrated on identifying the mounds and providing information on their extent and biology. Information on damage to the Darwin Mounds was obtained from sidescan surveys taken during the 1999 survey.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) cetaceans and (b) small whales she estimates were caught in fishing nets in each of the last 10 years. [122657]

Mr. Bradshaw: Information on the full extent of cetacean and small whale casualties caused by fishing is not available.

The Natural History Museum, Institute of Zoology and the Scottish Agricultural College, under contract to Defra, carry out post-mortem examinations on a sample of cetaceans and small whale casualties which occur on the UK coasts. Of the 949 post mortems carried out in England and Wales on cetaceans between September 1990 and December 2002 inclusive, 389 casualties were attributable to entanglement in fishing gear. Within Scotland, there have only been 14 cases of by-catch diagnosed in stranded cetaceans between 1992–2002.

Of the 75 post mortems carried out in England, Wales and Scotland on small whales since September 1990, 14 were due to entanglement in fishing gear.

Since 2000 the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), under contract to Defra, has carried out a number of surveys to estimate the level of small cetacean by-catch in UK fisheries. These surveys recorded for the offshore bass fishery 53 common dolphins caught in 116 hauls in

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2001 and eight common dolphins caught in 66 hauls in 2002. However, by-catch information from other member states whose vessels operate in this fishery and elsewhere in UK waters is not available so it is not possible to produce reliable estimates of dolphin by-catch deaths within the UK 200-mile limit. It is for this reason that we have been pressing the Commission for urgent action to widen observer coverage of EU fisheries and to bring forward proposals for positive action to reduce by-catch.

Defra, along with the devolved Administrations, issued a consultation document in March this year outlining a UK by-catch response strategy. This sets out the extent of our knowledge of by-catch in UK waters and makes proposals for action to address the by-catch problem. The document has been placed in the Library of the House.

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