You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Commons Debates by date > Commons Debates - previous sessions > Bound Volume Hansard - Written Answers
Previous Section Index Home Page
24 Jun 2004 : Column 1468W—continued

GM Crops

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer from the Minister for Public Health of 11 December 2003, Official Report, columns 596–7W, on GM crops, what (a) notice and (b) formal communication the Food Standards Agency gave to her Department of its intention to support the approval of the application of the use of Bt 11 GM maize in food at the EC Standing Committee for the food chain and animal health meeting on 8 December 2003. [179970]

Mr. Morley: The Food Standards Agency wrote on 30 October last year seeking the clearance from all relevant government departments of the UK's voting position on Bt11 sweet maize at the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. Additionally my Department is kept informed of the progress of applications as they proceed through the Novel Foods regulatory process.

Orchards

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the position will be under the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy of orchards which are returned to general agriculture. [177787]

Alun Michael: Entitlements to subsidy under the new Single Payment Scheme will be established in 2005 on the basis of eligible land declared in that year. The Single Payment will not normally be payable on land under permanent crops, including orchard fruit. This rule applies throughout the European Community. The scope of a possible exception for grazed orchards is being explored with the European Commission.

A grower who decided that he wished to return land to general agriculture would need to do so before the beginning of the 10-month qualifying period in order to be eligible for the Single Payment. This period can start on any day from 1 October this year to 30 April next at the grower's discretion.
 
24 Jun 2004 : Column 1469W
 

Claims to establish new entitlements in subsequent years will not generally be permitted. However, use of the national reserve to accommodate new entrants is one of the possibilities being considered in our current consultation exercise.

WALES

Euro Task Force

Mrs Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money has been spent by the Wales Euro Task Force on preparing Welsh firms for the introduction of the euro; how that money was spent; and what actions the funding facilitated. [178293]

Mr. Touhig: The National Assembly for Wales funded the Wales Euro Taskforce which was in existence until 30 June 2002 and then subsequently a consultant until October 2003. The total cost was £64,000.

The Task Force remit was to disseminate information on the Euro, providing help for businesses in Wales. This work was taken forward in a number of ways including presentations, conferences, exhibitions, a telephone helpline with access to an expert panel, an information website and leaflet distribution.

Working Time Directive

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many employees in his Department have (a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available. [178369]

Mr. Touhig: Two members of staff have voluntarily opted out of this directive and are therefore exempt from the Working Time Directive.

The Wales Office has a duty to ensure the health and safety of its staff. Therefore no member of staff at the Wales Office is asked to work hours in excess of the Working Time Directive (an average of 48 hours a week over a 17-week period).

TREASURY

Cigarette Duties

Julie Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government earned in revenue from tobacco duty and VAT on cigarettes in financial years (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04. [180258]

John Healey: Tobacco duty revenue figures are published by HM Customs and Excise in the Tobacco Factsheet, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House and from Customs' website.

Customs do not collect data on VAT from individual goods or services.
 
24 Jun 2004 : Column 1470W
 

Correspondence

Mr. Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford in response to his letter of 11 March to the Inland Revenue concerning his constituents, Mr. and Mrs. Moss. [180315]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue replied to the hon. Member on 29 April 2004.

Departmental Websites

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost of his Department's websites, including those of its agencies, was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [178790]

Ruth Kelly: The costs and traffic figures for each website operated by the agencies and Departments for which the Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible, during the 2003–04 financial year, were as follows:
Department/site address
Direct costs (£)

Visits		Page impressions (million)
HM Customs and Excise
www.hmce.gov.uk(1)393,0003.7 million—
www.uktradeinfo.com(1)285,000214,3361.05
HM Treasury
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk(1)197,0002.6 million41.4
www.euro.gov.uk32,000660,000
www.isb.gov.uk(2)62,785—
Inland Revenue
www.ir.gov.uk(3)1.9 million9.9 million110.6
Office for National Statistics
www.statistics.gov.uk(1)1.1 million7.14 million60.6 million
National Savings and Investments
www.nsandi.com(1)156,1805.5 million16.7
Office of Government Commerce
www.ogc.gov.uk
www.sds.ogc.gov.uk
www.gps.ogc.gov.uk
www.co.ogc.gov.uk
www.supplyinggovernment.gov.uk
https://www.epims.ogc.gov.uk
www.ogc-top.co.uk		226,000592,551—
OGC buying solution
OGCbuying.solutions corporate website
Energy Website
G-Cat
S-Cat
Portfolio Portal
Web enabled 'Central Product Database' and
e-commerce system		499,999439,268—
Royal Mint
www.royalmint.gov.uk(1)93,000966,0477.2
UK Debt Management Office
www.dmo.gov.uk
www.pwlb.gov.uk
www.crnd.gov.uk		(1)85,000384,5331.4
Valuation Office
http://www.voa.gov.uk/(1)42,00026,8962.4


(1) Staff costs are included.
(2) Costs include database development work for this joint Treasury-Cabinet Office website.
(3) Of this 1.9 million, 1.4 million is a one off cost relating to the redesign of the Inland Revenue's website.



 
24 Jun 2004 : Column 1471W
 

Employment Levels

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effect of employment levels on the economy. [180333]

Ruth Kelly: The performance of the UK labour market over recent years has been strong by both international and historical standards. The UK has the highest employment rate among the G7 economies. Over 1.8 million new jobs have been created since 1997. High employment levels contribute to growth and prosperity.

Office for National Statistics

Mr. Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change the way statistics related to (a) cancer, (b) neurology, (c) ophthalmology, (d) nursing and (e) midwifery are recorded by the Office For National Statistics. [180202]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr Baron dated 24 June 2004:

Next Section Index Home Page