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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 11 February 2004
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Benefit Fraud
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in her Department have been (a) investigated, (b) suspended, (c) dismissed, (d) prosecuted and (e) convicted for involvement in benefit fraud in each of the last six years; and what the amounts involved were in each of the cases listed. [151648]
Alun Michael: Records only exist for the period since Defra came into existence in June 2001. There have been no cases in that period.
Bovine TB
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of whether there are (a) physiological and (b) neurological differences between rabbits and moles, and badgers, which would affect their response to poisoning by fumigants, in terms of the distress and pain caused. [153926]
Alun Michael: All pesticides used as fumigants are subject to strict regulatory control and must be approved by Ministers before they can be marketed or used in the UK. Those seeking approval for such products are required to provide data to ensure that the product is safe, effective and humane.
No specific assessment is made of physiological or neurological differences between rabbits and moles in response to poisoning by pesticide fumigants.
However, the Advisory Committee on Pesticides considered a report in 1996 on humaneness of vertebrate control agents, which resulted in the loss of one pesticide fumigant substance and approval for the remaining pesticide fumigant products to continue. Data on humaneness of pesticide fumigants in relation to the target test species, such as rabbits and moles were considered.
Use of pesticide fumigants against badgers, which are protected species, is not permitted, except in special circumstances, and as such would not have been considered.
Crematoriums
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will conduct (a) quantified and (b) qualified research into mercury emissions from crematoriums prior to reaching a decision on whether gas cleaning systems should be fitted. [153430]
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Alun Michael: I refer to the reply to my hon. Friend on 17 November 2003, Official Report, column 624W, concerning the consultation paper the Department issued containing an assessment undertaken by the Environment Agency of the case for tackling mercury emissions from crematoria. The assessment included a review of the available mercury monitoring data and of estimates of mercury emissions from crematoria. Several of the responses to the consultation raised concerns that the emission estimates were uncertain. We recognise that there remain uncertainties and that these will have to be taken into account in reaching a decision on the extent to which gas cleaning will be required. The uncertainties do not extend to the health impacts of mercury nor affect our long-standing policy approach, as summarised in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mrs. Clark) on 14 October 2003, Official Report, columns 99 and 100W.
Officials are currently in discussion with representative cremation organisations to develop a fair mechanism for reducing emissions from a proportion of existing crematoria which is what is needed to fulfil the Governments policy objectives. We will be consulting in due course on detailed proposals, including what that proportion should be.
Fisheries
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the (a) thickness and (b) stiffness of twine on the escape properties of a trawl net; [150237]
- (2) what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the use of double twine in the construction of trawl nets on the selectivity of gear; and what the effect has been of permitting the use of different thicknesses of twine on the size of fish caught in North Sea fisheries; [150238]
(3) what the impact of lightweight high-strength fibres on the (a) selectivity properties and (b) fishing performance of trawl nets is. [150482]
Mr. Bradshaw: The effect of the thickness of modern twines on selectivity of whitefish gears was first studied in 1993 at the FRS Marine Laboratory Aberdeen. Since then several further UK studies have been completed. Thicker twine has been found to reduce selectivity. In the case of double twine a decrease in thickness from 6mm to 4mm has an effect equivalent to increasing mesh size by 10mm. A codend made of 8mm single twine has similar selectivity to that made of 5mm double twine.
As a result of this research, legislation was introduced, initially by UK and then EU authorities, to limit the thickness of twines. It is not possible, however, to isolate the effect on stocks of this one measure limiting twine thickness as many other changes have been made to gear designs during the same period.
Mathematical models of codend geometry have shown that stiffer twine limits the expansion of the codend as the catch builds up and hence limits the openness of the codend meshes in the area where the majority of fish escape.
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Nets made of lightweight, high strength twines will have lower drag for a given size. This will allow a fisherman either (a) to reduce his fuel bill and maintain the same catch or (b) to tow faster (with the same fuel bill) and possibly increase his catch per unit time or (c) to buy a larger net to increase catch at the same towing speed.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what trials have been carried out in British waters of the Icelandic Ex-It cod excluder device. [150312]
Mr. Bradshaw: As far as is known, no trials with the Icelandic Ex-It excluder device have been carried out by any UK government departments or agencies.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people seconded to her Department from outside organisations are helping to draft Answers to honourable Members' (a) oral and (b) written Parliamentary Questions. [153913]
Alun Michael: Defra's Ministers see secondment and interchange as a key means of complementing the skills and experience of the civil service, drawing in expertise from such fields as business, local government and the voluntary sector as well as other Government Departments. This is assisting Defra's commitment to playing its part in developing a modern, flexible, outward looking Civil Service that works in partnership with all sectors of society. Interchange is seen as a key tool in meeting this commitment. Defra continues to promote and encourage the interchange of personnel between the Department and a range of other organisations.
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The term "secondee" is used within the civil service in a more limited sense than the meaning used outside the civil service. In the civil service a secondee is a person "borrowed" from an organisation outside the Civil Service for a period of between three months, and three years (exceptionally five years), without affecting employment status. During the secondment period the secondee would remain an employee of the parent organisation but would be expected to abide by the Defra Staff handbook and the Official Secrets Act 1989. At the end of the secondment the secondee would return to the parent organisation.
Defra currently has 41 secondees from outside organisations. All are at Higher Executive Office grade and above. The secondees are appointed on the basis of the match of competencies and skills required for the post and in the case of the 41 formal secondees from outside organisations in Defra at present this may include drafting answers to PQ's. Although some details of the secondee and the parent organisation are held centrally, duties undertaken on a day to day basis would be a matter for their managers and are not centrally recorded. Detailed information could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.
Rural Payments Agency
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what value of payments (a) have been made and (b) remain unpaid from the Rural Payments Agency to Welsh farmers, broken down by (i) constituency and (ii) local authority area for each year since the scheme began. [151726]
Alun Michael: The following figures relate to payments made to Welsh farmers under the schemes administered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), since its creation on 16 October 2001. The information has been provided by county, as breaking down the data by constituency and local authority area could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
(1) 2003 scheme year still on-going figures as at January 2004
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| County | Amount paid (£) | Claims Paid | Amount unpaid (£)(2) | Claims unpaid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OTMS payments 16 October 2001 to 31 December 2001 | ||||
| Powys | 843,391.22 | 2,828 | 12,000 | 32 |
| Gwynedd | 775,822.93 | 2,655 | 9,000 | 24 |
| Dyfed | 4,419,479.41 | 14,970 | 34,875 | 93 |
| Clwyd | 1,079,744.08 | 3,633 | 10,125 | 27 |
| South Glamorgan | 146,974.88 | 478 | 750 | 2 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 119,429.71 | 410 | 0 | 0 |
| West Glamorgan | 135,249.99 | 472 | 1,500 | 4 |
| Gwent | 570,685.83 | 1,868 | 3,750 | 10 |
| Total | 8,090,778.05 | 27,314 | 72,000 | 192 |
| OTMS payments 2002 | ||||
| Powys | 3,717,572.46 | 12,422 | 37,875 | 101 |
| Gwynedd | 2,773,056.53 | 9,439 | 31,875 | 85 |
| Dyfed | 13,436,464.53 | 45,786 | 96,000 | 256 |
| Clwyd | 4,291,106.78 | 14,399 | 44,250 | 118 |
| South Glamorgan | 434,365.31 | 1,378 | 3,750 | 10 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 458,556.67 | 1,527 | 3,000 | 8 |
| West Glamorgan | 433,968.41 | 1,497 | 9,750 | 26 |
| Gwent | 1,718,300.68 | 5,753 | 16,500 | 44 |
| Total | 27,263,391.37 | 92,201 | 243,000 | 648 |
| OTMS payments 2003 | ||||
| Powys | 3,491,120.13 | 12,151 | 35,250 | 94 |
| Gwynedd | 2,281,981.75 | 8,155 | 37,125 | 99 |
| Dyfed | 10,753,321.43 | 38,393 | 141,000 | 376 |
| Clwyd | 3,867,087.60 | 13,434 | 42,750 | 114 |
| South Glamorgan | 338,412.43 | 1,127 | 1,500 | 4 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 341,557.64 | 1,160 | 3,375 | 9 |
| West Glamorgan | 296,161.28 | 1,076 | 5,625 | 15 |
| Gwent | 14,531,26.91 | 5,103 | 29,250 | 78 |
| Total | 22,822,769.17 | 80,599 | 295,875 | 789 |
(2) The Rural Payments Agency's OTMS payment system does not calculate animal values until they are eligible for the scheme, The figures for unpaid animals have been calculated using an average payment of £350 each.
Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme (LW(D)S)
This scheme has since been discontinued and there are no outstanding payments to be made to any Welsh farmers.
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| County | Amount paid (£) | Claims paid |
|---|---|---|
| Powys | 418,597 | 1,658 |
| Gwynedd | 68,085 | 432 |
| Dyfed | 283,481 | 680 |
| Clwyd | 132,118 | 337 |
| South Glamorgan | 6,301 | 7 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 16,553 | 39 |
| West Glamorgan | 24,591 | 40 |
| Gwent | 85,763 | 99 |
| Total | 1,035,489 | 3,292 |
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| County | Amount paid (£) | Number entitled |
|---|---|---|
| Clwyd | 97,793.70 | 543 |
| Dyfed | 313,785.30 | 1,976 |
| Gwent | 43,708.64 | 221 |
| Gwynedd | 32,048.30 | 265 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 7,231.90 | 43 |
| Powys | 50,077.70 | 338 |
| South Glamorgan | 11,362.02 | 63 |
| West Glamorgan | 5,516.54 | 54 |
| Grand total | 561,524.10 | 3,503 |
This scheme for dairy farmers was introduced with the intention of offsetting the reduction in prices received by UK dairy farmers resulting from currency fluctuations during 1999 and 2000.
There are no outstanding payments for this scheme.
The RPA made these payments from October 2001 to April 2002.
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