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11 Nov 2004 : Column 813W—continued
Consultants/Advisers
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of her annual departmental budget was spent on the payment of professional advisers and private sector consultants in each year since June 2001. [197223]
Alun Michael: Details of expenditure on professional advisers and private sector consultants since June 2001 are not held centrally.
For the financial year 2003–04, the Department spent £45 million on externally provided professional services, approximately 10 per cent. of core departmental expenditure on goods, services and works.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the private sector consultants and professional advisers employed by the Department since June 2001 are former civil servants; and, of those, how many were previously employed by her Department and its predecessor. [197224]
Alun Michael: The information requested cannot be provided as the Department does not keep records of the employment of staff after they leave the Department. The criteria for the selection of professional service providers in Defra are eligibility, economic and financial standing, and the ability and technical capacity to provide the services required at best whole life cost.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the UK defines a specialist private keeper when processing Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species importation applications for primates; and if she will make a statement. [196415]
Mr. Morley: This is not an expression defined by CITES or used by the UK CITES management authority.
Dairy Farming
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average dairy farm income in (a) England and (b) Lancashire was in the last period for which figures are available. [194624]
Alun Michael:
In 2002–03 the average net farm income for dairy farms in England was £18,300 and for the north-west Government office region £16,800. There are insufficient farms in the sample to quote county levels of income by farm type for Lancashire. Net farm
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income is the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and to the tenant-type capital of the business.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) dairy cows and (b) dairy herds there were in the UK in each of the past 10 years for which records are available. [196688]
Alun Michael: The following figures show the number of dairy cows and the number of holdings with dairy cows in England from 1994 to 2003.
Notes:
1. Figures for the other UK countries fall under the jurisdiction of the devolved authorities.
2. Figures prior to 2000 show main holdings only. From 2000 onwards all holdings are included.
Source:
June Agricultural Census
Departmental Expenditure
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will break down the budget set by her Department for public expenditure on the food industry and crops for financial years (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 by programme. [196693]
Alun Michael: The Department's plans for public expenditure on food industry and crops for the two years 2004–05 and 2005–06 consist of the following programmes:
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Egg Imports
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the status will be of egg imports from other EU countries where the eggs are produced in conditions that would not meet the standards set for the welfare of laying hens in this country. [193929]
Alun Michael: Council Directive 1999/74/EC sets down standards for the protection of laying hens and all eggs produced in the UK or imported from other EU countries have to meet these standards.
World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules do not permit the prohibition of imports of goods on animal welfare grounds alone. Restrictions can only be applied where there is a threat to human, animal or plant health in the importing country. Restriction on trade of goods based on method of production is not permitted and would put us in breach of WTO rules.
Energy Efficiency/Targets
Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to ensure that energy efficiency measures are implemented in the Government's Sustainable Communities Plans. [195189]
Mr. Morley: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister lead on delivery of the Government's Sustainable Communities Plans. Defra is working closely with ODPM at all levels to ensure that these plans encourage, among other things, an energy-efficient built environment. Low-carbon technologies, including CHP, changes to planning policy and building regulations, support for exemplary development schemes and research in the growth areas all have a role to play in this. Defra is also actively contributing to the development of the Code for Sustainable Buildings, to be demonstrated in the Thames Gateway and elsewhere.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when Government Departments will publish their plans detailing the actions they will take to deliver energy targets. [193824]
Mr. Morley:
Under the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate, all Departments were required to publish their delivery plans (within six months for civil Departments, eight months for MOD) detailing the actions they will take to deliver energy targets. These energy targets were published in February 2004. Delivery plans should be posted on departmental websites and can be accessed via the framework website at http://www.sustainable~development.gov.uk/sdig/improving/progressa.htm.
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EU Committees
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the Greek presidency of the EU the committees (a) for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress and implementation of the directives on waste met, (b) on the directive on packaging and packaging waste and (c) for the adaptation to technical and scientific progress of the directive on the protection of the environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present at each meeting; what (i) technical and (ii) financial issues were raised by the UK Government expert at each meeting; what recommendations the committee produced during that period; what actions were (A) proposed and (B) taken by (1) the EU and (2) the UK Government as a result of the committee's recommendations; and if she will make a statement. [193396]
Mr. Morley: During the Greek Presidency, which took place between January to June 2003, the technical adaptation committee (TAC) on waste met twice in Brussels on 15 January and 7 May. On 15 January, the committee voted to adopt a commission decision establishing component and material coding standards for vehicles pursuant to directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles. This subsequently appeared in the Official Journal on 28 February 2003, and was transposed in the UK by the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations 2003 (S.I.2003/2635).
No decisions were taken at the TAC meeting on 7 May, but there was preliminary discussion on a common system for demonstrating compliance with the recovery and recycling targets in the ELV directive.
The packaging and packaging waste committee met once during the Greek Presidency, on 29 January 2003, in Brussels. The committee's role is to exchange information on and progress harmonisation of related issues including data reporting by member states to the commission and marking of packaging.
The committee in relation to the Recycling to Agricultural Land Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC) did not meet during the Greek Presidency. Command Paper 6097 "Developments in the European Union, January to June 2003, the Greek Presidency" was laid before Parliament in January 2004 and is available at www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers, and gives further information on progress during the Greek Presidency.
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