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Farm Maps

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will issue new satellite measured farm maps to all farmers to enable them to comply with the new requirements of the IACS forms. [128686]

Alun Michael: All farmers should receive their Rural Land Register farm maps by the middle of November this year. These maps are digitised using Ordnance Survey MasterMap and aerial photographs where further clarification is required.

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Fisheries

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fishing vessels there are in each EU applicant state capable of fishing in the North Sea. [128178]

Mr. Bradshaw: Under the outcome of the CFP review, fishing rights will continue to be based on the principle of relative stability. This means that none of the applicant countries will gain access to regulated fish stocks in EU waters, including the North Sea. Access will be limited to unregulated stocks outside the 12 mile limit. It is not possible to estimate the number of vessels that might fish in this area.

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many foreign nationals work on UK flagged fishing vessels. [128179]

Mr. Bradshaw: Information is not held on this subject by Defra or the other Fisheries Departments in the UK.

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of United Kingdom flagged fishing vessels (a) by tonnage, (b) by horse power and (c) in absolute terms are owned by foreign nationals. [128180]

Mr. Bradshaw: The information sought is set out in the following table.

UK registered vessels at 1 January 2003

	Number of UK registered	Number of UK registered foreign		UK registered foreign ownedvessels as a proportion of the UK total for:
	fishing vessels	owned vessels	Fleet Number	Tonnage	Engine Power
Over 10 metre vessels	1,805	1,21	6.7%	17.5%	16.8%
All vessels	7,578	121	1.6%	16.0%	11.5%

The Department does not maintain comprehensive records on the beneficial ownership of fishing vessels. The number of foreign owned vessels is based on advice from local port offices of the Fisheries Departments in the UK on the vessels that are considered to be partly or wholly owned by foreign interests. This information relates to vessels over 10 metres in overall length. Information is not held on vessels under 10 metres, in which we are not aware of any significant overseas interest.

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what European Community compensation (a) is available to and (b) has been taken up by the Government for UK fishermen affected by the 2002 days at sea limits. [128264]

Mr. Bradshaw: Under the Fisheries Structural Fund, grants co-financed by the EU may be made to fishermen for the temporary cessation of their activities. Where a recovery plan is adopted by the Council, compensation may last for one year, and may be extended by one further year. Where the financial contribution from the Structural Fund exceeds Euro1million or 4 per cent. of the Community financial assistance for fisheries in the UK, the measure must include a decommissioning scheme,

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with the aim of removing vessels with fishing effort at least equal to the effort of the vessels for which compensation is given.

This provision is not being used in the UK, but the Scottish Executive is financing an equivalent scheme using national funding.

Community funding is also available for decommissioning vessels. Defra is awaiting clearance by the EU Commission of a scheme under the provision, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland has announced its intention to introduce a scheme. The Scottish Executive has implemented a parallel scheme with national funding.

Flood and Coastal Defences

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the adjustable flood control and defences that have been constructed since May 1997; what analyses have been made of upriver spillover since construction; and if she will make a statement. [128168]

Mr. Morley: Defra provides grant aid as a percentage of eligible costs to the flood and coastal defence operating authorities in England—the Environment Agency (EA), local authorities and internal drainage boards—to assist with capital works and studies to manage flood risk. Since May 1997 approximately 800 such capital construction projects have been approved by Defra for grant and/or completed by the operating authorities. However information is not held centrally as to whether these defences were adjustable or not. I regret this information could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.

The Environment Agency is by far the largest flood risk operating authority in England, being empowered to manage flood risk from all rivers designated as "main" and from the sea. The agency undertakes analyses both upstream and downstream of new defences, both adjustable and fixed, prior to construction in order to understand the river regime. These "river models" provide a tool for understanding how different types of flood defence structure can influence the river regime and assist in the final selection and detailed design processes. By undertaking this in advance of construction any potential adverse impacts should be avoided or minimised.

Unless particular circumstances arise it is not usual to revisit river models soon after the construction of new defences given the pre-construction activities. However, periodic modelling of many rivers/locations is undertaken through other agency activities such as periodic reviews of defence performance and improvement strategies, broad scale modelling for flood mapping, flood risk assessments and catchment flood management plans.

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the long-term strategic maintenance plans for flood defences in Lincolnshire. [128169]

Mr. Morley: The Environment Agency has long-term flood management strategies in place for each of the major rivers in Lincolnshire: the Nene, Welland,

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Glen and South Forty Foot. These strategies are implemented through maintenance regimes and capital improvement works, and are subject to regular review. Responsibility for maintenance of other flood defences in Lincolnshire rests with the agency, local authorities or internal drainage boards.

The agency will also be preparing more wide-ranging catchment flood management plans for the major rivers over the next three years, and a revision of the shoreline management plan for the Wash will be started next year.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on changes in (a) the level and (b) the mechanisms of flood and coastal defence funding. [127759]

Mr. Morley: The Government are committed to maintenance and improvement of flood and coastal defences, including those to reduce the risk of coastal erosion as well as flooding, and have planned to spend nearly £1.5 billion in this and the next two years:

£ million

	Defra(91)	ODPM(92)	Total
2002–03	131	280	411
2003–04	144	295	439
2004–05	137	332	469
2005–06	182	382	564

⁽⁹¹⁾ For capital projects, Environment Agency national initiatives such as National Flood and Coastal Defence Database and Catchment Flood Management Plans, Storm Tide Forecasting Service etc.

⁽⁹²⁾ Funding from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to local authorities to support their levies to the Environment Agency and internal drainage boards and their own spend on flood and coastal defence.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced the Government's conclusions of the Flood and Coastal Defence Funding Review on 12 March 2003. We propose that Government funding of the Environment Agency's flood defence service should in future come from a single stream of Defra block grant which will replace the existing requirement to approve individual projects for capital grant and the levies currently paid by local authorities to the Agency. These changes will provide more assured flood defence funding for the Agency and allow better long-term planning. The introduction of block grant to replace individual project approvals relies on successful passage of provisions in the Water Bill and, subject to this, we aim to implement the changes as soon as possible.

Fluoridation

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the effects of water fluoridation on farm businesses. [128171]

Mr. Morley: Fluorine is a natural environmental contaminant and both feeding stuffs and water for livestock contain fluorides. Some fertilisers and ingredients of livestock and poultry diets contain relatively high concentrations of fluorides. Drinking water limits are designed to accommodate exposure to other sources of fluorides in the diet and in the

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environment. The best available evidence suggests that safe upper fluoride concentrations in livestock and poultry drinking water are up to 2 mg/l.

If the water fluoridation provisions in the Water Bill before Parliament were enacted, all local farmers or their representative organisations would be able to participate in public local consultations. There would be no new water fluoridation schemes unless the majority of the local population were in favour. Arrangements for the conduct of local consultations, and the assessment of public opinion will be set out in regulations under powers in the Water Bill. It will also be possible to alter the target fluoride concentration by statutory instrument.

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