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Ministerial Expenses
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the running costs of Ministers' private offices in her Department have been in each year since 1997. [191385]
Alun Michael: The running costs of Ministers' private offices since Defra was formed in June 2001 are:
| Financial year | Amount (£) |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 (part year) | 943,101 |
| 2002–03 | 1,194,162 |
| 2003–04 | 1,064,083 |
These figures incorporate the staff and administration costs incurred, by financial year.
New Forest
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether back-up grazing land belonging to commoners of the New Forest is defined as land used for horses for the purposes of the single farm payment scheme; and if she will make a statement. [194672]
Alun Michael: Any land held by commoners outside the area of the common, whether grazing horses or not, is potentially eligible for the single payment, subject to the conditions that generally apply.
Refrigerators
Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of new sales of domestic refrigerators did not rely on hydrofluorocarbon technology in the last year for which figures are available; and what plans she has to phase out the use of this technology in domestic refrigeration. [194118]
Mr. Morley: Hydrofluorocarbon technology in domestic refrigerators has already largely been phased out in the EU.
All major UK manufacturers of domestic refrigerators now use hydrocarbon based refrigerants. A small amount of imported domestic refrigeration equipment uses hydrofluorocarbons.
Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the purpose is of the study on commercial refrigeration commissioned by her Department; [194125]
(2) whether her Department's study on commercial refrigeration is related to her objective of ensuring that the UK reduces its emissions of global warming gases. [194126]
Mr. Morley:
This study is part of a larger piece of work intended to update data relevant to projections of emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases. The study will review the relevant section of an earlier Defra commissioned report by AEA Technology.
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The work will review the calculation methodology used in the emissions model, the activity and emission factors used, and the baseline assumptions concerning future market trends and developments (e.g. uptake of alternative fluids). The assumptions required for the emissions model will be clearly defined, and an estimate of uncertainties provided where possible. Industry and other stakeholders will be contacted during this task, and their views reported.
Regulation (Compliance Cost)
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the aggregate cost of compliance with her Department's regulations was in the last year for which figures are available. [196559]
Alun Michael: All proposals which impact on business, charities or the voluntary sector require a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) which includes details of the costs, benefits and risks of the proposal. RIAs are subject to public consultation and copies of final RIAs are available from the House Libraries and on departmental websites.
Rural Development
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will break down by programme the budget set by her Department for public expenditure on land management and rural development, including the Entry Level Scheme, other England rural development programme schemes and other schemes for financial years (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06. [196652]
Alun Michael: The budget profile and breakdown for the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) in 2004–05 are shown in the following table. This is the full resource-based budget and relates specifically to the anticipated value of payments to be made to beneficiaries.
The agri-environment schemes are the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS), the Environmentally Sensitive Areas scheme (ESA) and the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS). The Entry Level Stewardship budget of £2.0 million shown below relates to the ongoing pilot agreements only.
Defra has not yet concluded its formal business planning process for the 2005–06 financial year. Figures will be provided as soon as that process is complete. Subject to European Commission approval, a new agri-environment scheme called Environmental Stewardship (ES) will be launched in England in 2005 to replace the three existing schemes (CSS, ESA, OFS). Environmental Stewardship will consist of three separate elements: Entry Level Stewardship (ELS), Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS) and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS).
Agri-environment schemes are budgeted a year in arrears, which means that the expenditure reflects agreements signed in the previous year. Current planning assumptions about the expected rate of uptake to the Entry Level element of Environmental
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Stewardship suggest that by 2006–07 expenditure will be in the region of £132 million and will rise further thereafter.
In addition to the England Rural Development Programme budgets shown, Rural Development funding of £21.2 million in 2004–05 and £19.3 million in 2005–06 is also available under the Objective 1 Programme. This funding stream is directed to beneficiaries in the three, geographically defined Objective 1 areas in England: Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Merseyside and South Yorkshire.
Set-aside
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been paid out under set aside in each county in England in 2003–04; and if she will make a statement. [194815]
Alun Michael: The amounts paid out under set aside in each county in England for Arable Area Aid claims submitted in 2003 are set out in the following table. The figures for Arable Area Aid claims submitted in 2004 are not yet available as the payment window has not yet closed.
Note:
All values are before Modulation
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