| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
8 Mar 2004 : Column 1247W—continued
Speed Cameras
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of fees from speed cameras in Essex was reinvested in road safety measures in each of the last five years. [158786]
Mr. Jamieson: Essex has been participating in the safety camera cost recovery scheme since April 2000. Receipts from safety camera fines resulting in areas participating in the scheme may be applied solely to the installation and operation of approved safety camera installations. I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 53W, to the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) for details of the receipts received by the Essex Safety Camera Partnership. Other investment in road safety measures is funded within local authorities1 and national road programmes. Before the setting up of the safety camera cost recovery scheme in April 2000, fine revenue from camera activity in Essex accrued in whole to the Consolidated Fund.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2004, Official Report, column 343W, if he will list the partners in each partnership. [159636]
Mr. Jamieson: The partners comprise the relevant police authorities, highway authorities and magistrates courts committees, and for some partnerships local health authorities also.
Temporary Staff
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff the Department employs on a temporary basis through employment agencies; what percentage this is of total staff employed; and how much the Department paid employment agencies to supply temporary staff in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04 to the most recent date for which figures are available. [158246]
Mr. McNulty: The Department for Transport was formed on 29 May 2002. Due to Machinery of Government changes information on temporary staff working in DfT(C) is only available from December 2002. At any one time the Department employs approximately 47 temps through employment agencies which represents approximately 2 per cent. of the total staff employed. For the period December 2002 to March 2003 the total cost paid to employment agencies was £277,855 and £793,542 for the period April 2003 to January 2004.
Track Maintenance
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will investigate whether Network Rail's planned activities in respect of clearing trackside vegetation in the Westerleigh area are (a) consistent with Network Rail's environmental policy and (b) no more than is required for safety purposes. [158908]
8 Mar 2004 : Column 1248W
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 5 March 2004]: This is an operational matter for Network Rail. I have passed this question to Network Rail, for them to respond directly to the hon. Member.
Vehicle Excise Duty
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many car owners failed to pay for car tax discs in each year since 1997. [159315]
Mr. Jamieson: Vehicle excise duty evasion is measured by roadside surveys. The last two were carried out in 1999 and 2002. The best estimate of total unlicensed stock in GB in 1999 was 1.52 million vehicles and in 2002 1.76 million vehicles.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Combined Heat and Power
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the capacity of the combined heat and power unit run by her Department is: [154208]
- (2) when she last conducted an environmental audit on the combined heat and power unit run by her Department; [154209]
(3) what assessment she has made of (a) the sustainability, (b) the effectiveness and (c) the efficiency of her Department's combined heat and power unit; [154210]
(4) what the latest figure for cost per unit of operating the Department's combined heat and power plant is; [154211]
(5) what estimate she has made of damage to (a) information technology equipment and (b) stationery within her Department caused by the Department's combined heat and power unit; [154212]
(6) when she will reply to the questions on her Department's combined heat and power unit of 5 February from the hon. Member for Vale of York, reference 154208, 154209, 154210, 154211 and 154212. [156341]
Alun Michael: Defra currently operates one combined heat and power system on its estate. This is at its Weybridge site occupied by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency.
The capacity of the system is 1 megawatt, it was installed in 2000 and to date no environmental audit has been conducted on it. While no assessment has yet been made on its sustainability it is proving effective being very reliable and producing electrical power for the site at a cost per unit of 0.709p per kwh. A study is currently underway to review its efficiency.
Since the plant has been in use no damage has been caused to information technology equipment nor stationery.
Common Agricultural Policy
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total
8 Mar 2004 : Column 1249W
Government expenditure on agriculture was in each of the last five years; and what proportion of each total required payments under the Common Agricultural Policy. [155889]
Alun Michael: Total public expenditure on agriculture and EU receipts under the CAP over the past five years are provided in the table. The increase in expenditure in 2001–02 was due to the foot and mouth crisis.
| Total public expenditure on agriculture | EU receipts under the CAP | EU receipts under the CAP as a proportion of total public expenditure on agriculture | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial year | £ million | £ million | Percentage |
| 1 April 1998 to-31 March 1999 | 3,482 | 2,941.7 | 84.5 |
| 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 | 3,161 | 2,674.4 | 84.6 |
| 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 | 3,042 | 2,534.8 | 83.3 |
| 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 | 4,663.9 | 2,320.3 | 49.75 |
| 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 | 3,119.2 | 2,619.2 | 84 |
Source:
The total public expenditure figures provided in the table have been taken from the relevant Agriculture in the United Kingdom publications and the EU receipts from the relevant Annual Report and Accounts of the Intervention Board and Rural Payments Agency (founded October 2001).
Illegal Animal Products
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the pilot project using detector dogs to find illegal animal products will be concluded. [158831]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 4 March 2004]: The pilot using detector dogs began in September 2002 and ran for six months to end March 2003.
8 Mar 2004 : Column 1250W
The dogs were found to be effective and were taken on permanently by HM Customs and Excise when they took over enforcement responsibility of anti-smuggling measures in relation to illegal imports of products of animal origin on 11 April 2003.
Milk
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the farm-gate value of cows' milk produced by the dairy herd in England was in the last year for which figures are available. [157936]
Alun Michael: Defra collects farm-gate price information for England and Wales. As the figures are based on data supplied by the purchasers of raw milk, as opposed to the producers, we are unable to provide a regional breakdown of price or differentiate milk produced on farms located in England and Wales.
We have estimated the farm gate value of cow's milk by the dairy herd in England and Wales for 2003 to be £2,034 million.
Farming
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the extent to which problems English farmers face affect farmers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differently. [156111]
Alun Michael: The following table illustrates variations in Net Farm Income between the four UK countries. It highlights a welcome overall recent upward trend in Net Farm Incomes in each of the four countries. One of the most important drivers of UK farm incomes has been and will continue to be the exchange rate which has had a positive impact on all countries within the UK in recent years.
(1) Excluding farms subjected to compulsory foot-and-mouth disease cull.
(2) Provisional.
8 Mar 2004 : Column 1251W
Further information on the situation of agriculture in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found in the following publications.
Defra, on behalf of the UK Agricultural Departments, publishes the annual report "Agriculture in the United Kingdom" (AUK). This describes agricultural and environmental developments during the previous year, reporting on each of the main agricultural commodities and containing information on agricultural incomes. Details on the circumstances of Agriculture in the four UK countries are given in tables 2.3 and 2.4 of AUK. Copies of AUK are placed in the House Library and more information can be found on the Defra website at: http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/auk/default.asp
In addition to this, a more detailed breakdown of information on agriculture in each of the UK countries is provided in the following specialist publications:
- England: Farm Accounts in Englandhttp://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/fab/default.asp
- Wales: Aggregate Agricultural Output and Income 2002
- http://www.wales.gov.uk/kevpubstatisticsforwalesheadline/content/agriculture/2003/hdw20030227-e.htm
- Northern Ireland: Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture 2002http://www.dardni.gov.uk/econs/spub0018.htm
- Scotland: Scottish Agriculture—Output, Input and Income Statisticshttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/agri/oiis02.pdf
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |