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British Produce

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the procurement of British-produced food by public bodies. [173682]

Alun Michael: A key objective of the Government's public sector food procurement initiative is to increase the amount of locally produced food purchased by public sector bodies. This cannot be done by restricting business to UK suppliers because the European Treaty prohibits discrimination on the basis of nationality. However, the legal and policy framework for procurement does allow public bodies to create a competitive environment that will encourage more UK producers to bid for public sector business.

Public bodies are being advised to structure contract requirements so that small and local suppliers have the capacity and opportunity to compete and a realistic chance of being successful. One example is to specify
 
20 May 2004 : Column 1108W
 
more fresh seasonal produce. We are also asking food service companies to develop opportunities for local producers to become part of their supply chains.

The scope for applying these measures will vary depending on the size and particular requirements of each public sector contract. Public bodies have an overarching duty to secure value for money and so will have to ensure that the measures they adopt to encourage more supplies of local food are proportionate and justified. Nevertheless, the Government are confident that more local produce could be supplied to the public sector through the intelligent application of procurement practice.

More information on this initiative is given on Defra's      website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/index.htm.

Coastal Defence Strategy

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Coastal Defence Strategy. [174417]

Mr. Morley: Assuming the question is about the River Arun to Pagham Harbour Coastal Defence Strategy, the Department anticipates receiving submission of the Executive Summary some time in June this year. A complete submission of all documentation is anticipated within the next three months. Defra would anticipate making a response within about three months if the documentation is complete.

Common Agricultural Policy

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will publish the final draft of the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy; how long farmers will have to comply with the requirements of the mid-term review from the date of publication; and if she will make a statement. [174271]

Alun Michael: On 26 June 2003, Official Report, column 1220, my right hon. Friend reported to the House on the political agreement that had been reached that morning on the Commission's proposals for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. That agreement was subsequently given legal effect in Council Regulations 1782/2003, 1783/2003, 1784/2003, 1785/2003, 1786/2003, 1787/2003, and 1788/2003. Member states and individual farmers, where applicable, will have to comply with the requirements of those Regulations until such time as the Regulations are amended or repealed. Some provisions are already in place, for example those relating to the new Dairy Premium Scheme, but most will apply from 1 January 2005, when the new Single Payment Scheme (SPS) is introduced, and some, for example, on the Farm Advisory System, will not apply until later years. Details on these provisions appear on the Department's website (www.defra.gov.uk) and further information will be sent to farmers over the coming months in the lead up to the first application period for the SPS.
 
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Departmental Expenditure (Entertainment)

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her latest estimate is of the amount spent by her Department on official entertainment in each year from 1996–97 to 2004–05. [169004]

Alun Michael: The information for Defra is as follows:

	£
2001–02	(1)239,000
2002–03	(1)450,000
2003–04	(2)428,000

⁽¹⁾ Outturn.
⁽²⁾ Provisional outturn.

It should be noted that Defra only came into being in 2001. An estimate is not provided for 2004–05 since specific budgets are not set for this type of expenditure.

The figures include expenditure on official entertainment made in accordance with the principles set out in "Government Accounting" and can range from tea and biscuits to catering for major events at which the Department—at official or ministerial level—discusses a range of issues from high-level policy issues to highly technical, legal and scientific issues. All such expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety.

Animal Welfare

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much Government funding was allocated to the protection and welfare of animals in 2003–04, broken down by budget heading. [169945]

Mr. Bradshaw: In 2003–04 a total of £9.2 million was spent on the protection and welfare of animals. This can be broken down as follows:

	Amount
Research (£ million)	3.6
Enforcement (£ million)	(3)2.5
Administration (£ million)	2.2
Scheme (£000)	(4)900

⁽³⁾ This does not include the cost of enforcement by local authorities.
⁽⁴⁾ This figure includes items such as contracts with the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) and the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service (ADAS) to support and promote animal welfare.

Fallen Stock

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the contribution made by hunt kennels to the disposal of farm animal carcases. [174206]

Mr. Bradshaw: No formal assessment has been made. Hunt kennels play a useful role in disposal of fallen stock in some areas. However, overall the quantity of material collected is relatively low, and the type of
 
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material collected limited, when compared to that collected by the fallen stock collection and disposal industry as a whole.

Milk

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many litres of liquid milk were imported into the UK from EU countries in each of the last five years, broken down by country of origin. [172935]

Alun Michael: The following table shows UK imports of liquid milk from the EU 15 member states in each of the last five years to 2003, broken down by country of despatch.
UK imports of liquid milk from EU 15 countries, 1999–2003

Thousand litres
Country	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	Grand total
Irish Republic	60,342	60,199	54,835	26,233	135,719	337,328
Denmark	30,334	25,166	9,421	795	425	66,140
Germany	17,078	19,531	11,196	5,629	3,888	57,323
France	13,288	8,514	9,667	10,299	8,600	50,368
Belgium	6,786	6,922	3,811	2,345	3,759	23,624
Netherlands	3,620	462	919	2,198	1,027	8,227
Austria	2,844	1,355	—	—	—	4,200
Italy	114	214	91	101	70	590
Portugal	—	0	—	—	40	40
Spain	23	14	—	—	—	37
Sweden	1	—	—	—	—	1
EU 15 total	134,431	122,378	89,940	47,600	153,527	547,877

Note:
2003 data are provisional and subject to amendment.
Source: HM Customs and Excise.
Data prepared by Statistics (Commodities & Food) Consultancy, Trade & IT, ESD, DEFRA.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Fitness Initiatives

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been (a) allocated to and (b) spent on advertising fitness and exercise initiatives in each year since 1997. [174593]

Mr. Caborn: The Department has not allocated any specific funding to advertising fitness and exercise initiatives since 1997. However, Sport England has earmarked £250,000 from their budget this financial year to test a campaign in the North East region aimed at changing people's attitude to physical activity. The campaign will be launched on 11 June.

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