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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 22 April 2004

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

New Opportunities Fund

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from the New Opportunities Fund was allocated to Burnley in each year since 1997. [167901]

Estelle Morris: The New Opportunities Fund began making grants in 1999. The awards to Burnley are shown in the table.
Financial year£
1997–98—
1998–99—
1999–200038,000
2000–01286,877
2001–02872,209
2002–031,466,891
2004–03220,000
Total2,883,977

The information is derived from the Department's Lottery award database, which uses information provided by the Lottery distributors.

Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from the New Opportunities Fund was allocated to Preston in each year since 1997. [168142]

Estelle Morris: The New Opportunities Fund began making grants in 1999. The awards to Preston are shown in the table.
Financial year£
1998–99—
1999–20004,378,682
2000–01558,009
2001–023,068,323
2002–032,500,450
2004–031,730,044
Total12,235,508

The information is derived from the Department's Lottery award database, which uses information provided by the Lottery distributors.

Smithfield General Market

Alan Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will spotlist the Smithfield General Market, the adjacent fish market and Red House. [165520]

Mr. Caborn: These buildings have previously been turned down for listing in 1990,1999 and 2003. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State
 
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has asked English Heritage for further advice. She will take a decision on whether to list these buildings once this advice has been received.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Biofuels

18. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for    Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from farming groups regarding biofuels. [167024]

Mr. Morley: Representations have been received, both at meetings and in correspondence, from the National Farmers Union, the Country Land and Business Association, the British Association for Biofuels and Oils, British BioGen, plant breeders, agricultural suppliers, farming consultants and other agricultural businesses.

Farm Subsidies

19. Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessments her Department has made of the effects of her proposals for single farm payments with respect to (a) tenant farmers, (b) new entrants and (c) farmers in severely disadvantaged areas; and if she will make a statement. [167026]

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 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's Statements to the House on 12 February and earlier today.

Aggregates Tax

Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the environmental effects of the aggregates tax on Somerset. [167025]

Mr. Morley: The Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund was set up using revenue from the aggregates levy to address the impacts associated with aggregates extraction. Somerset is one of the three counties which receive funding direct from Defra to support projects to reduce local impacts.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she plans to take to deal with the threat of bovine tuberculosis to cattle. [167018]

Mr. Bradshaw: We are currently consulting on a long-term strategy for dealing with bovine TB in Great Britain. In the short term our priority must be to prevent further spread of the disease and our consultation seeks views on various cattle-based measures designed to help us achieve this.
 
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Coastal Protection

Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues in the Netherlands on similarities between the approaches taken in the UK and in the Netherlands to (a) the protection of the coastline, (b) the use of soft defences in coastal protection, (c) managed retreat and (d) managed realignment; and if she will make a statement. [164249]

Mr. Morley: I have had informal discussions with ministerial colleagues in the Netherlands on matters relating to coastal defences. However, officials from the two countries meet on a regular basis. Recognising the benefits to be gained by shared experiences both in respect of policy and engineering solutions, officials from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark and England agreed to meet on an annual basis more than five years ago and so formed the North Sea Coastal Managers Group. The English delegation is led by my Chief Engineer.

Meetings of the group have proved an invaluable forum for the exchange of information on the subjects raised by the right hon. Member. However it is important to recognise that there are differences between the Netherlands and England both in terms of the geography of the coastline and the proportion of the economic wealth at risk of flooding.

Employment Agencies

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the employment agencies which her Department and its predecessors have used to supply temporary staff in each financial year since 1996–97 to the most recent date for which figures are available. [163821]

Alun Michael: Defra was formed in June 2001. The information prior to this date cannot be provided, as it is not held centrally. For the financial years for which information is available centrally the main employment agencies which the core Department has used to supply temporary staff are as follows:

2001–2002:


 
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2002–2003:


 
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2003–2004 (April to December):

Other agencies may have been used by local managers when business needs have required resources which could not be provided from within the Department or a quick response. Data on these agencies is not held centrally.

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