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15 Sept 2003 : Column 536W—continued
Export Refunds
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the most recent annual amounts of export refund provided through the EU for the export of (a) fruit, (b) vegetables and (c) sugar; and if she will list the amounts in sterling per pound weight. [128819]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 10 September 2003]: EU expenditure on export refunds in 2001, the latest year for which full information is available, was as follows:
- Fresh fruit and vegetables—36.1 million euros
- Processed fruit and vegetables—14.8 million euros
The rates of export refund vary by product and over time and the cost per pound weight is not readily available.
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Fallen Stock
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of a ban on the disposal of fallen stock. [129113]
Alun Michael: The Animal By-Products Regulations 2003 permit hunt kennels to continue collecting fallen stock; however they will be required to upgrade to knackers' yard standards if they wish to collect fallen stock for the purposes of feeding to hounds. The effect of a ban on hunting would depend on decisions made by those who currently offer a service and on choices made by farmers leading to takeup of the national scheme. Most hunts already make a charge and there is no reason why such a service should not continue as a business opportunity when hunting wild mammals with dogs is banned.
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Departmental Staff
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many jobs under the remit of her Department in (a) the core department and (b) executive agencies are in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, excluding Greater London, (iii) Greater London, (iv) Wales, (v) Northern Ireland and (vi) overseas, broken down by (A) whole-time equivalent jobs and (B) the percentage per individual department, body or organisation; if she will break down the figures in terms of responsibilities which apply to (1) England, (2) England and Wales and (3) the UK as a whole; and if she will list the non-departmental public bodies and independent statutory bodies for which information is not held centrally. [127308]
Alun Michael: The following table shows the number of permanent staff in Defra and its executive agencies that are located in the regions specified as at 1 April 2003.
| DEFRA | CEFAS | CSL | PSD | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTE | % | FTE | % | FTE | % | FTE | % | |||||
| Scotland | 77.6 | 1.17 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 11.0 | 1.70 | 0.0 | 0.00 | ||||
| England, excluding G London | 3,707.4 | 56.14 | 524.7 | 100.00 | 636.9 | 98.30 | 174.2 | 100.00 | ||||
| Greater London | 2,680.8 | 40.59 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | ||||
| Wales | 135.2 | 2.05 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | ||||
| Northern Ireland | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | ||||
| Overseas | 3.0 | 0.05 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | ||||
| Total | 6,603.9 | 100.00 | 524.7 | 100.00 | 647.9 | 100.00 | 174.2 | 100.00 | ||||
| RPA | VLA | VMD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTE | % | FTE | % | FTE | % | |
| Scotland | 0.0 | 0.00 | 44.0 | 3.40 | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| England, excluding G London | 3,370.9 | 99.94 | 1,218.3 | 94.15 | 119.3 | 100.00 |
| Greater London | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| Wales | 0.0 | 0.00 | 31.7 | 2.45 | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| Northern Ireland | 2.0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| Overseas | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| Total | 3,372.9 | 100.00 | 1,294.0 | 100.00 | 119.3 | 100.00 |
Due to the complexity of the department and the wide range of business areas that it covers, a break down of these figures in terms of responsibilities that apply to geographical areas could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The following non-departmental public bodies and independent statutory bodies are under the remit of Defra:
Executive
Agricultural Wages Board for England & Wales
Agricultural Wages Committee
Apple and Pear Research Council
British Potato Council
Countryside Agency
English Nature
Environment Agency
Food From Britain Council
Home Grown Cereals Authority
Horticulture Development Council
Horticulture Research International
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Meat and Livestock Commission
Milk Development Council
National Forest Company
Regional Flood Defence Committee
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Sea Fish Industry Authority
UK Register of Organic Food Standards
Wine Standards Board
Advisory
Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment
Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the Environment
Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances
Advisory Committee on Packaging
Advisory Committee on Pesticides
Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment
Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committee
Air Quality Expert Group
Committee of Investigation for Great Britain
Committee on Agricultural Valuation
Committee on Products and Processes for use in Public Water Supply
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Committee on Radioactive Waste Management
Consumers Committee for Great Britain
Darwin Advisory Committee (the Darwin Initiative)
Expert Group on Cryptosporidium in Water Supplies
Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards
Farm Animal Welfare Council
Government-Industry Forum on non-food uses of crops
Hill Farming Advisory Committee
Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) Appeals Panel
Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB
Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council
Pesticide Residues Committee
Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee
Royal Commission on Environment Pollution
Science Advisory Council
Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC)
Sustainable Development Commission
Sustainable Development Education Panel
Veterinary Products Committee
Veterinary Residues Committee
Water Regulations Advisory Committee
Zoos Forum
Tribunals
Agricultural Land Tribunal
Dairy Produce Quota Tribunal
Plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal
Commons Commissioners
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Public corporation
British Waterways Board
Covent Garden Market Authority
Lantra
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with representatives from Lantra on the delivery of its strategic plan. [130541]
Alun Michael: I have met the Chairman and senior directors of Lantra on several occasions to discuss a range of matters relating to Lantra's activities, including progress towards meeting the organisation's strategic objectives, and I will continue to do so.
Levies
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the levies, expressed in sterling per pound weight, are for (a) fruit, (b) vegetables and (c) sugar. [128821]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 10 September 2003]: EU import duties on fresh fruit and vegetables are set for a range of products on an ad valorem basis. For some products, an additional or minimum sum based on an amount per kilo is payable. The relevant duty rate is applied to the customs value which is normally based on the price actually paid or payable for the goods. However, for certain products, simplified rules are in place which allow a standard unit value to be used as the customs value; these are updated fortnightly. The simplified procedure values in force from 29 August to 11 September are as follows:
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The current import duty on (non-preferential) sugar imported into the EU is 419 euros per tonne. This equivalent to about 13p per pound.
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