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10 Mar 2004 : Column 1545W—continued
Fallen Stock
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the implications for farmers of delays in the start-up of the fallen stock collection service; and what arrangement she has put in place to exempt farmers from possible prosecution under the EU directive on prevention of burying deadstock. [159404]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 5 March 2004]: The ban on burial has been in place since 1 May 2003 and, as we made clear then, we expect farmers to use existing approved outlets such as knacker yards, hunt kennels, maggot farms, rendering facilities or incineration plants for disposal of their fallen stock. However, we have asked local authorities to take a pragmatic approach to enforcement where farmers have made every effort to dispose of their fallen stock via these outlets but are genuinely unable to comply.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people signed up to the fallen stock collection scheme, broken down by region. [159405]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 5 March 2004]: There has been no invitation to farmers to sign up to the National Fallen Stock Scheme. Initial expressions of interest in joining the scheme were sought from farmers last year.
Farm Payments
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in what circumstances the Government are unable to disclose
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the names and addresses of (a) individuals and (b) companies in receipt of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy; and if she will make a statement. [160168]
Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is bound by commercial confidentiality in its dealings with its customers, whether sole traders or farmers or corporations, breach of which by disclosing information relating to the affairs of individual traders or farmers or corporations would expose the RPA to the liability of legal proceedings in tort.
In relation to individual farmers or traders, information which is of a personal nature, such as individual payments to such persons, is personal data which is protected from voluntary disclosure under the Data Protection Act 1998. While the RPA can release global figures relating to payments, which do not identify individual persons, including corporations, it is unable to release individual figures without incurring the liabilities under the two principles referred to.
GM Crops
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many GM plants per square metre would be expected to grown in a field of conventional crops of which 0.9 per cent. of plants are GM in respect of (a) oil seed rape, (b) sugar beet and (c) maize. [158276]
Mr. Morley [holding answers 2 March 2004]: Seed drilling rate is variable, depending on conditions, and only a proportion of those seeds sown will establish. Approximate figures for established plants are as follows: Oilseed rape 50–60 crop plants per metre square; Beet 8–10 plants per metre square; and, Fodder Maize 10 plants per metre square. Accordingly, 0.9 per cent. of these values would give 0.45–0.54 plants per metre square for Oilseed Rape; 0.07–0.09 plants per metre square for Beet; and, 0.09 plants per metre square for Maize.
Household Waste
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the legislative changes required to allow local authorities to adopt direct and variable charging schemes for the collection and disposal of household waste. [158231]
Mr. Morley: Amendments to sections 45 and 51 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 would be required to allow waste collection authorities and waste disposal authorities to charge householders for the collection, processing, treatment and disposal of household waste and for household waste delivered to Civic Amenity sites respectively. Provision would also need to be made under such powers for secondary legislation to provide for the exercise of those powers by local authorities.
Landfill
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for how long after use of a landfill site has been discontinued low-level radioactive waste monitoring is carried out. [157296]
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Mr. Morley: Responsibility for regular annual monitoring of radioactivity in the environment around landfill sites in England and Wales rests with the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for Scotland.
There is no fixed time after which monitoring for radioactivity around landfill sites will cease to be undertaken once they cease to receive radioactive wastes. Monitoring programmes are kept under review and any decision to discontinue monitoring is only made after careful evaluation. Evaluation takes into account the inventory of waste disposed to a site, including the radionuclides and quantities, the characteristics of the disposal site, and whether monitoring results have shown that radioactivity is consistently low or not detectable.
The results of radioactivity monitoring carried out around landfill sites are reported annually. Results for 2002 are presented in Radioactivity in Food and the Environment Report (RIFE—8), which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Meat and Livestock Commission
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding was given to the Meat and Livestock Commission in each of the last five years. [157706]
Alun Michael: Funding (ie from net Statutory Levy income and non-commercial fee and grant income) received by the Meat and Livestock Commission in the last five years was as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 39.566 |
| 1999–2000 | 38.461 |
| 2000–01 | 36.668 |
| 2001–02 | 27.667 |
| 2002–03 | 31.531 |
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how her Department's funding to the Meat and Livestock Commission is spent; and what rules apply to the promotion of (a) Welsh (i) lamb and (ii) beef, (b) Scottish (i) lamb and (ii) beef and (c) English (i) lamb and (ii) beef. [158582]
Alun Michael: The Agriculture Act 1967 requires the Department to pay for the remuneration and expenses of Meat and Livestock (MLC) Commissioners. As regards how the MLC spend the statutory general and promotional levies raised by them on cattle, sheep and pigs, this information is available in the MLC's annual report and accounts which Ministers are required under the Act to lay before each House of Parliament.
Bodies in receipt of MLC levy funding must abide by EU State Aid rules when undertaking lamb or beef promotion campaigns. These rules place restrictions on the use of State (including levy) funds for the advertising of agricultural products on the basis of origin. Welsh lamb, Welsh beef, Scotch lamb and Scotch beef have been awarded Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status by the European Commission. This means that the European Commission
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has accepted the link between the geographical origin and the characteristics of the product. In such cases, State money may be used to fund advertising where origin is part of the message. English lamb and English beef do not have PGI status.
Mobile Homes
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will provide financial assistance for owners of mobile homes in flood risk areas who are required by their insurance company to raise their homes above flood level; and if she will make a statement. [155866]
Mr. Morley: The Government do not offer financial assistance for homes in flood risk areas. Financial issues relating to maintenance and insurance of the property are the responsibility of the property owner.
For mobile homes as with other properties, insurers will examine the risks on a case-by-case basis, and will use their best efforts to continue to provide cover. The Association of British Insurers believes that nearly all homes are insurable to a degree, provided appropriate action is taken to protect the property, eg by raising homes above flood level.
National Fruit Collection
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will make a statement on the land ownership issues at Brogdale as they affect the National Fruit Collection; [159262]
- (2) if she will make a statement on the future of the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale; [159263]
(3) if she will make a statement on the criteria her Department used to assess a suitable manager for the National Fruit Collection. [159264]
Alun Michael: The National Fruit Collection belongs to Defra and we have contracts with Brogdale Horticulture Trust covering its maintenance and curation; and with Imperial College (Wye) on scientific programme direction. Under overriding lease provisions, agreed some years ago, we have access to the NFC until 2016, irrespective of land ownership or land holding considerations. We have been holding a number of discussions with Brogdale Horticulture Trust about the future curation contract arrangements which we hope to conclude shortly.
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