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5 May 2004 : Column 1493W—continued
Farming
David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what extra subsidy schemes severely disadvantaged area farmers may apply for. [169078]
Alun Michael:
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Malden and East Chelmsford (Mr. Whittingdale) on 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 271W.
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David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what headage of livestock is registered in Cumbria. [169079]
Alun Michael: The total livestock figures for Cumbria, according to the latest available census returns, are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Cattle and calves | 446,241 |
| Pigs | 31,875 |
| Sheep and lambs | 1,951,139 |
| Goats | 1,620 |
| Horses | 5,163 |
| Deer | 493 |
| Poultry | 2,392,240 |
Source:
June 2003 Agricultural Census
David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms there are in Cumbria. [169095]
Alun Michael: The number of registered agricultural holdings in Cumbria was 7,969 at the 19 April 2004.
The number of holdings in Cumbria as at the June 2003 Census was 7,849.
Source:
Farm Survey System 19/4/04, June Agricultural Census 2003.
David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether Cumbrian farmers will be subject to different cross-compliance measures from Scottish farmers. [169097]
Alun Michael: Agriculture is a devolved matter, allowing the Scottish Executive to tailor policies where appropriate and permitted under the relevant regulations.
Currently there are public consultations on possible cross-compliance measures in England and Scotland. Officials continue to work closely in the design and implementation of CAP reform policies, including cross-compliance, to develop complementary measures wherever possible.
David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether farmers in severely disadvantaged areas in Cumbria will be subject to different cross-compliance measures from farmers not in severely disadvantaged areas in Cumbria. [169098]
Alun Michael: Defra launched its consultation on proposed and possible measures for implementation of cross-compliance in England on 29 March 2004. Final decisions on cross-compliance will be taken after careful consideration of responses.
David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average difference in payments between 2005 and 2013 will be for farmers (a) in severely disadvantaged areas, (b) not in severely disadvantaged areas and (c) in Scotland. [169099]
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Alun Michael: Under the flat-rate system for allocating Single Farm Payment entitlement in England, the mean payment rate within each region will be similar between 2005 and 2013 even though individual payment rates will change during this transition. In Scotland, under the historic approach, both the mean and individual payment rates will change little over time. In both countries, however, some variation may arise from year to year due to movements in the prevailing exchange rate used to convert from euros and different rates of deduction for the national reserve, modulation and financial discipline.
David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what effect the lower rate severely disadvantaged areas allowance will have on numbers of livestock in Cumbria. [169101]
Alun Michael: From 2005 decoupling will break the link between subsidy and production in the UK and cause farmers to reassess their farming operation and production decisions. Decoupling is not affected by the method chosen for allocating entitlement to the Single Farm Payment. The impact of decoupling on production patterns and livestock numbers is very difficult to assess. There are several studies on the Defra website that examine this at the UK level but there are no assessments by county.
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what differences in cross-compliance requirements will exist between farms in different regions in England; [168034]
(2) what differences in cross-compliance requirements will exist between farms in severely disadvantaged areas and non-severely disadvantaged areas. [168035]
Alun Michael: Defra launched its consultation on proposed and possible measures for implementation of cross compliance in England on 29 March 2004. Decisions on cross compliance will not be determined until all responses have been considered carefully.
Fisheries
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has responded to the Cabinet Office Strategy Unit recommendation that she should designate the sea bass stock for recreational use; and if she will make a statement. [165929]
Mr. Bradshaw:
"Net Benefits", the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report giving recommendations for a sustainable and profitable future for UK fishing, was published on 25 March. These recommendations are presented as the basis for Her Majesty's Government, the Devolved Administrations, the fishing industry and all other stakeholders to determine future action. In response, the Fisheries Departments in the UK will engage intensively with stakeholders to develop by the end of 2004 an action plan for change and a timetable for its delivery. Defra has set up a dedicated team to
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advance this work. The need to balance the needs of the recreational and commercial sectors is one of the many important issues that were identified in the report and will be covered.
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many UK fishing vessels will be required to use pingers in gillnet fisheries in areas IV and VII under the provisions of the new Regulation agreed at the Fisheries Council on 22 and 23 March, on the basis of current fishing effort; [168244]
(2) what proportion of UK fishing effort will be exempt from the pinger requirement on the basis of the exclusion of vessels smaller than 12 metres under the provisions of the new Regulation agreed at the Fisheries Council on 22 and 23 March. [168246]
Mr. Bradshaw: The new Council Regulation to address cetacean bycatch will require pinger usage on vessels of 12 metres and over in ICES divisions VIId, e, f, g, h and j when using bottom-set gillnets or entangling nets. In ICES Area IV and division IIIa, the pinger requirement will apply to vessels of 12 metres and over using bottom set gillnets or entangling nets where the combination of net lengths used does not exceed 400 metres or where the mesh size used is greater than or equal to 220mm. The data are not available to isolate definitively the number of vessels falling into the latter categories; it is only possible to identify the total number of vessels of 12 metres and over using bottom set gillnets and entangling nets in the areas concerned. On this basis, and using 2003 fishing data, the number of UK vessels required to use pingers would be 63.
Bearing in mind the same caveats, the proportion of UK fishing effort (i.e. days at sea) using bottom set-nets and entangling nets exempt from the pinger requirement would be approximately 80 per cent. It should be noted, however, that this calculation does not take account of the length of net deployed by those covered by the pinger requirements which is a significant factor affecting bycatch rates.
Hops
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition her Department uses of (a) hedgerow hops and (b) standard hops under the new single payment regime. [168147]
Alun Michael: For the purposes of the Single Payment, no distinction is drawn between different types of hops.
Orchards
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what definition her Department uses of an orchard; [168145]
(2) at what tree density her Department defines woodland as an orchard. [168146]
Alun Michael:
There is no general definition of an orchard. Under present arrangements, densities above
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50 trees per hectare have been regarded as ineligible for the purposes of claiming CAP subsidies and this is likely to continue in respect of the Single Payment.
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government will take to protect old varieties of apples if traditional orchards do not qualify for half subsidy. [168149]
Alun Michael: Old varieties of apple are protected in the National Fruit Collection and the conservation of traditional orchards is funded through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which EU member states subsidise orchards. [168150]
Alun Michael: There is no provision within the Common Agriculture Policy for subsidies to orchards. However, member states may, in certain circumstances, allow the forage area within grazed orchards to be used in support of a Single Payment Scheme claim and make payments under rural development and conservation measures.
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