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18 Dec 2003 : Column 1021W—continued
Dairy Industry
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the help available to dairy farmers to increase innovation. [143654]
Mr. Bradshaw: Product innovation is, of course, for individual businesses to consider in line with the demands of the market. Nevertheless, Government can play a role in promoting innovation.
Under the auspices of the Dairy Supply Chain Forum, chaired by my Noble Friend Lord Whitty, the Milk Development Council has been working with other members to establish a Market Development and Innovation sub-group. The objective of this group is to stimulate and co-ordinate innovation for the development of British dairy products by creating a forum for the exchange of market information and ideas that anticipate consumer needs. The group will also consider how barriers to innovation might be addressed.
Furthermore, the Agriculture Development Scheme (ADS) offers grants for the various activities associated with the marketing of produce, including dairy products, and welcomes innovative applications. Support is also available under the England Rural Development Programme, which encourages the development of new products and markets through the Rural Enterprise Scheme and the Processing and Marketing Grant.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Office of Fair Trading to seek clarification of competition rules regarding the production, processing and retailing of milk. [143655]
Mr. Bradshaw: The application of competition rules in the milk sector was discussed between Ministers and officials in Defra, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Office of Fair Trading during 2002. These discussions were prompted by comments on the impact of competition rules on collaborative ventures made in the report of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food. The outcome of the discussions is reflected in the Government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food and in its Response to the Report of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, both of which can be found on Defra's website at: http://defraweb/farm/sustain/newstrategy/index.htm
Endangered Species
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many import permits her Department (a) granted and (b) refused for species listed on (i) Appendix I and (ii) Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in each year from 1997, broken down by species. [143756]
Mr. Morley: This Department issues over 5,000 import permits each year for a wide range of CITES controlled species. We do not keep precise statistics of the numbers refused but we believe that approximately 1 per cent. are refused on scientific grounds with a further 2 per cent. to
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3 per cent. refused on administrative grounds (e.g. failure to supply outstanding information or refusal to pay the fee).
The breakdown between Appendix I and Appendix II species is not readily obtainable either. However, Annex A and Annex B of the relevant EC Regulation (338/97) broadly equate to CITES Appendices I and II. In recent years 11 per cent. of the permits issued have been for Annex A species and 89 per cent. for Annex B species.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department charges for a permit to import species listed on (a) Appendix I and (b) Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. [143757]
Mr. Morley: The charges are as follows:
| Fee | |
|---|---|
| Plants and Corals | |
| Application for fewer than five genera where the import, export or re-export is for commercial purposes | £7 per genus |
| Application in respect of five or more genera where the import, export and re-export is for commercial purposes | £5 per genus |
| Application in respect of any number of genera where the import, export or re-export is not for commercial purposes | £5 per genus |
| Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Others | |
| Application for fewer than five genera where the import, export or re-export is for commercial purposes | £10 per species |
| Application in respect of five or more genera where the import, export and re-export is for commercial purposes | £8 per species |
| Application in respect of any number of genera where the import, export or re-export is not for commercial purposes | £5 per species |
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Article 10 certificates her Department granted for the sale of species listed on (a) Appendix I and (b) Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in each year from 1997. [143758]
Mr. Morley: Article 10 certificates are issued under EC Regulation 338/97, which lists all CITES species in Annexes which broadly equate to the CITES Appendices. Annex A is therefore broadly equivalent to CITES Appendix I and Annex B to Appendix II. The Regulation requires the issue of Article 10 certificates only for Annex A species. The numbers of certificates produced for the years in question have been:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 5,738 |
| 1998 | 16,838 |
| 1999 | 14,498 |
| 2000 | 14,308 |
| 2001 | 18,754 |
| 2002 | 16,230 |
| 2003 | (2)16,150 |
(2) To date.
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The 1997 figure is significantly lower than the others because the Regulation did not come into effect until 1 June in that year.
Energy Consumption
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the development of new technologies to help reduce the demand for energy consumption. [142848]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Energy White Paper recognised the need to promote innovation to find new ways to save energy in the future. We agreed with the Chief Scientific Adviser's Energy Research Report that energy efficiency should be a priority area for investment in research and development and an inter-departmental high-level group, on which the Energy Saving Trust and The Carbon Trust are also represented, is co-ordinating work in this field.
The Carbon Trust has established the Low Carbon Innovation Programme, launched in 2002, which aims to accelerate the development of new and emerging low carbon and energy efficient technologies in the UK and provides funding across the low carbon innovation process—research, demonstration and development—by investing in projects and leveraging in further funding.
Environmental Regulations
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the cost and enforcement of EU environmental regulations in (a) the UK, (b) other EU countries and (c) applicant states. [143809]
Mr. Morley: In 1998, this Government announced that no proposal for legislation, which has a potential to impact on business, the voluntary sector or charities, should be considered by Ministers without a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). Departments are required to undertake RIAs for all proposed regulations and policies, including environmental regulations, that impose a burden or realise a benefit to business, charities and the voluntary sector whether initiated by the UK or EU. The RIA includes an analysis of the costs of implementation and enforcement. It is an ex-ante appraisal and it is an explicit requirement that consideration is given to monitoring and review at the appraisal stage.
The RIA process will be strengthened further by the National Audit Office (NAO) taking on a new role as an independent evaluator of selected RIAs. The NAO will focus on the quality of analysis in the RIAs and the thoroughness with which the RIAs have been undertaken. The findings and recommendations of best practice will be fed back to Departments.
All RIAs published by Government Departments since January 2001 can be accessed via the Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit website (http://www. cabinet-office.gov.uk/regulation/index.htm).
The responsibility for assessing the cost and enforcement of EU environmental regulations in other member states rests with individual member states.
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In June 2002 the European Commission adopted an Action Plan for Better Regulation, in which it committed itself to the introduction of a two-stage impact assessment process, covering the economic, social and environmental impacts of policy proposals, the phased implementation of which started earlier in 2003. Impact assessment is to be applied to all proposals listed in the Annual Policy Strategy or Work Programme. All proposals will be subject to preliminary assessment, with some proposals being selected for extended assessment.
The European Commission produces an annual survey on the implementation and enforcement of environmental Community law within existing member states. The 4th edition, which covers 2002, is now available and can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). Comparable data on the implementation and enforcement of EU legislation in the Accession States will also be compiled once they join the EU.
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