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5 Mar 2004 : Column 1165W—continued
Single Farm Payments
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon land values (a) before and (b) after 2012; [157102]
- (2) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon (a) intensive dairy, (b) extensive dairy, (c) intensive beef, (d) extensive beef, (e) intensive suckler cow, (f) extensive suckler cow, (g) intensive sheep and (h) extensive sheep farming systems (i) before and (ii) after the end of the transitional period in 2012; [157127]
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(3) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon (a) intensive mixed and (b) extensive mixed holdings (i) before and (ii) after 2012; [157129]
(4) what assessment she has made of the anticipated per hectare payments to farmers in England under her proposals for single farm payments after 2012 for farms (a) within and (b) outside severely disadvantaged areas; [157103]
(5) if she will publish each of the assessments her Department made of the anticipated impact of her preferred option for the further payment of single farm payments (a) during and (b) after the transitional period; [157104]
(6) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon farms of (a) supported crops and arable and (b) unsupported crops and arable (i) before and (ii) after 2012; [157130]
(7) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon farm gate prices across each sector (a) before and (b) after 2012; [157131]
(8) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon (a) the future structure of farming, (b) farm and farmland ownership, (c) agricultural productivity, (d) agricultural profitability, (e) farm gate prices across all main sectors, (f) the viability of the present farm structure, (g) the future number of farms and (h) the future number of agriculture and agriculture-related jobs; [157123]
(9) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon (a) farm tenancies and (b) farm rents (i) before and (ii) after 2012; [157124]
(10) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon (a) traditional, (b) small, (c) part-time and (d) family farms in England (i) before and (ii) after 2012; [157132]
(11) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon (a) new entrants and (b) farmers seeking to retire during the period (i) up to and (ii) beyond 2012; [157133]
(12) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon the preponderance of tenanted (a) farms and (b) farmland (i) before and (ii) after 2012; [157125]
(13) what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposed arrangement for single farm payments upon the (a) viability and (b) number of farms in (i) upland and (ii) severely disadvantaged areas. [157126]
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the impact of single farm payments on (a) farms that are rented, (b) owner farms, (c) upland farms, (d) middlehill farms, (e) lowland farms, (f) dairy farms, (g) beef farms, (h) sheep farms, (i) arable farms and (j) mixed farms, in Chorley. [157704]
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Alun Michael: Defra will publish shortly an analysis of the economic impact on the English farming industry of the decoupling of CAP direct payment and the decision to allocate entitlement on the basis set out in the Secretary of State's Statement to the House on 12 February.
DEFENCE
Afghanistan
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on UK troop levels in Afghanistan. [156737]
Mr. Hoon: We currently have around 490 members of the armed forces deployed in Afghanistan, mostly serving with either the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, or with our Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mazar-e Sharif.
A400M
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the A400M will be delivered; and how many aircraft have been procured. [157564]
Mr. Ingram: The in-service date of the A400M (defined as acceptance into service of the seventh aircraft) is 2011. We expect delivery of the final (twenty-fifth) aircraft to be in 2015.
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce the size of the proposed new aircraft carriers. [154627]
Mr. Ingram: The Future Carrier programme is currently in its Assessment Phase. The Department has not sought to fix the dimensions of the aircraft carriers during this stage. Instead, parameters such as the ships' size will reflect the design required to meet our capability requirements. It is to be expected that the design of the ships will evolve as the Department seeks to balance, in conjunction with industry, overall performance, time and cost as part of normal Assessment Phase activity.
Defence Logistics Organisation
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the assessment of the feasibility of co-locating additional parts of the Defence Logistics Organisation alongside or close to the existing Ministry of Defence site at Abbey Wood in Bristol to be completed. [157312]
Mr. Ingram: I expect to make an announcement on this issue before the summer. This will need to be followed by more detailed work on the development of options for possible collocation.
Eurofighter Typhoon
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when Initial Operating Capability on the Eurofighter Typhoon is intended to be achieved; what the Beneficial Use Date for the Typhoon is; and if he will make a statement. [156955]
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Mr. Ingram: Typhoon will provide a meaningful "initial operating capability" when squadron pilots can begin training. At this point it is considered that they will begin to contribute to defence outputs, and this therefore signifies the Beneficial Use Date for accounting purposes. This is currently planned to be achieved during 2005.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is seeking liquidated damages for the delays to the entry into service of the Eurofighter Typhoon; and if he will make a statement. [156956]
Mr. Ingram: Liquidated damages for the delays to the entry into service of Typhoon will be recovered in accordance with our entitlements under the contracts.
Irish Guards (Kenya Exercise)
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on 1 Battalion, the Irish Guards exercise in Kenya planned for autumn 2004. [159265]
Mr. Ingram: It is currently planned that 1st Battalion, the Irish Guards will conduct training at Archer's Post, in Kenya, on Exercise GRAND PRIX over the period 16 September—27 October 2004.
Exercise GRAND PRIX is a battalion group infantry exercise, and provides an opportunity for the Battalion to develop further its collective training skills, while suitably balancing its other activities in 2004, which are focussed on Public and State Ceremonial Duties in London.
MOD Fire Service
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make (a) a decision and (b) an announcement on whether the Ministry of Defence Fire Service will be retained or privatised. [158692]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 March 2004]: This issue is being considered as part of the Airfield Support Services Project, which is seeking to establish the most cost-effective method of maintaining a full airfield support service including management and administration, without compromising operational capability and/or safety. No decision has yet been made about the outcome of this project and we will only do so following full and careful considerations of all the options. Although we are moving towards this point, I am not yet in a position to say exactly when this will be.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the comparative cost per firefighter per hour during the firefighters' strike of emergency cover by an armed forces' firefighter and a firefighter employed by a private firm under contract to his Department. [158693]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 March 2004]: The full cost of using armed forces fire fighters during the fire fighters strike was approximately £17 per hour. No fire fighters employed by private contractors under contract to this Department were deployed on such duties.
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Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what surveys his Department have undertaken to assess the willingness of firefighters employed by private contractors to serve in war zones during hostilities. [158694]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 March 2004]: As part of Fire Study 2000, a comprehensive investigation into the organisation of the Department's fire services, a survey was carried out to assess whether fire fighters engaged directly by the Department, and those employed by private contractors, would be willing to serve as Sponsored Reserves, which could involve serving overseas in hostile environments.
No other specific surveys of fire fighters have been carried out by the Department.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what insurance cover is given to (a) his Department's fire service personnel and (b) privately contracted firefighters when attending (i) road traffic accidents and (ii) other civil emergencies. [158695]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 4 March 2004]: The Ministry of Defence does not purchase insurance policies but pays claims for compensation directly from its current expenditure. Claims are paid in accordance with the Department's legal liability to make payment.
MOD Fire Fighters are covered for compensation if they should suffer injury or death as a result of negligence on the part of MOD while attending road traffic accidents or other civil emergencies to the same extent as when they are carrying out other official duties. Similarly, if MOD Fire Fighters were to cause injury or death to another individual, or damage to property belonging to another person, while attending road traffic accidents then MOD, not the fire fighter involved, would be liable to pay compensation to that person.
If MOD Fire Fighters should suffer injury or death as a result of negligence on the part of another person or organisation then MOD would not be legally liable to pay them compensation. Instead they, or their estate, would have to claim from the person concerned. However MOD does have a scheme called ToPaS, under which legal advice and assistance can be obtained, without cost, to enable a claim to be brought.
Under the rules governing Military Aid to the Civil Community, MOD requires local authorities to indemnify the Department against any costs, such as paying compensation, which may be incurred in providing Aid, such as attending road
Where the fire service is provided to the Department by a private contractor then it is the contractor who is responsible for making all the necessary insurance arrangements for their employees.
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