| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
10 Mar 2005 : Column 1921W—continued
Correspondence
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes dated 9 December 2004 with regard to Mr. and Mrs. K. Carding of Kingsbridge. [219813]
Alun Michael: The Department has no record of receiving any letter dated 9 December 2004 from the hon. Member. If he will send me a copy, I will ensure that he receives a speedy response.
EU Committees
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the EC-New Zealand Joint Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement. [214314]
Mr. Bradshaw: The EC-New Zealand Joint Management Committee met on 1–2 June 2004 in Brussels, during the Irish presidency. The UK was represented by a senior veterinarian from Defra.
The UK supports veterinary equivalence agreements with third countries as a way of strengthening relationships, exchanging information on animal health issues and developing trade opportunities between the EU and the country concerned.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the EC-Canada Joint Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement. [214315]
Mr. Bradshaw: The EC-Canada Joint Management Committee met on 15–17 July 2003 in Apeldoora, Netherlands, during the Italian presidency, and on 17–18 February 2004 in Quebec, Canada, during the Irish presidency. On each occasion the UK was represented by a senior veterinarian from Defra.
The UK supports veterinary equivalence agreements with third countries as a way of strengthening relationships, exchanging information on animal health issues and developing trade opportunities between the EU and the country concerned.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (Habitat) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement. [217817]
Mr. Bradshaw:
The Committee on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (the Habitats Committee) met a total of three times during the Italian, Irish and Dutch presidencies, on 14 October 2003, 24 March 2004 and 19 October 2004. Each meeting took place in Brussels.
10 Mar 2005 : Column 1922W
UK representation at the October 2003 meeting consisted of two officials from my Department, one official from the Scottish Executive and a scientific expert from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). At the March 2004 meeting representation was one official from my Department, a scientific expert from the JNCC, plus one official from each of the devolved administrations. At the October 2004 meeting the UK Representation was two officials from the Department, a scientific expert from the JNCC and one official from the Department of Environment (Northern Ireland).
Farm Subsidies
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the 20 largest farms or farm companies were in each county in England in each of the last three years; and how much subsidy was received by each in each of the last three years. [218487]
Alun Michael: The release of Common Agricultural Policy scheme payments details is currently under discussion and is also the subject of a number of requests under the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations. A decision on how to respond to questions of this nature will be made shortly. I will write to the hon. Member to inform him of our decision.
Fisheries
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent evidence she has found of pair trawlers fishing in the offshore sea bass fishery. [203879]
Mr. Bradshaw: Prior to the recent introduction of UK legislation to prohibit pelagic pair trawling for bass within the 12 nautical mile zone of the south-west coast of England, UK vessels had been involved in this fishery early in the current season, both inside and outside the 12 mile zone.
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what plans she has to monitor the pair trawl sea bass fishery in the south west; [219807]
(2) what recent reports she has received from observers in the south-west approaches monitoring the pair trawl sea bass fishery. [219866]
Mr. Bradshaw: As in previous years, Defra-funded observers have been placed on UK vessels pair trawling for bass in the south-west. This work is now undertaken to comply with the EU bycatch regulation, Council Regulation (EC) No. 812/2004,and so is now a requirement for other member states with vessels in this fishery. The pair trawl fishery for bass usually takes place between November/December and April. Results from the observations will be made available after the fishing season has closed, allowing time for collation and analysis of the data.
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the European Commission regarding the pair trawl sea bass fishery. [219867]
10 Mar 2005 : Column 1923W
Mr. Bradshaw: On 27 January the UK made a request to the European Commission for the UK prohibition on pair trawling within 12 miles of the south-west coast to be extended to vessels from other member states with historic rights of access to the six to 12 mile zone. On 21 February the Commission rejected the UK request. I am currently considering the Commission's response and our next steps, building on the Commission's commitment to find an effective solution to the bycatch problem in the south-west.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much (a) Government and (b) EU aid was paid to the UK fishing industry in each of the last eight years for which figures are available. [218108]
Mr. Bradshaw: The total amount of Government aid and EU aid paid by Fisheries Departments in the UK to the fishing industry in each of the last eight years is as follows:
| UK aid | EU aid | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 17.1 | 14.3 |
| 1998–99 | 5.9 | 9.8 |
| 1999–2000 | 3.5 | 11.0 |
| 2000–01 | 2.1 | 5.6 |
| 2001–02 | 4.3 | 7.6 |
| 2002–03 | 24.2 | 20.7 |
| 2003–04 | 42.5 | 15.0 |
| 2004–05 | 10.7 | 8.7 |
| Total | 110.6 | 92.9 |
In addition to this the Government supports the fishing industry and its communities through other schemes.
10 Mar 2005 : Column 1924W
Flood Defences
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how much has been spent by the Government on flood management and defence in each year since 1997; and how much was spent on (a) preventative measures and (b) repairs and restoration for damage caused by flooding incidents in each year; [218637]
(2) how much has been spent by the Government on coastal protection in each year since 1997. [218639]
Margaret Beckett: Defra has overall policy responsibility for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England. Prior to April 2004 Government funding of flood risk management took the form of capital grants from Defra for improvement projects and support from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to local authorities towards the levies they paid to the Environment Agency and Internal Drainage Boards. Since April 2004 Defra has funded the great majority of the flood defence work of the Environment Agency.
Grant aid was not available from Defra for repairs and restoration for damage caused by flooding incidents. However, following the severe flooding in 2000, exceptional funding of £9 million in 2000–01 and £7 million in 2001–02 was paid to the Environment Agency in support of emergency response and repairs to defence infrastructure following flood damage.
Total funding and grant to the operating authorities is set out in the following table. The latter includes Supplementary Credit Approval (SCA) (replaced by Supported Capital Expenditure (Revenue) from April 2004) for local authorities to fund the balance of their costs after grant.
(2) Total figure across Government, including significant support from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to local authorities to support their levies to the Environment Agency and internal drainage boards and their own spend on flood and coastal erosion risk management. Also Defra contributions to Environment Agency national initiatives such as for the National Flood and Coastal Defence Database, public awareness campaigns, development of catchment flood management plans etc.
(3) Flood risk improvement projects (including flood warning) and related studies, tidal and coastal as well as inland. Actual investment would have been significantly higher as Defra grant formed only about 60 per cent. of the investment, the balance being made up from local authority levy funding for the Environment Agency.
(4) Coastal erosion improvement projects and related studies; many of these provide protection against flooding from the sea as well as erosion.
(5) Figures for grant reflect outturn of demand by operating authorities within allocation, not necessarily original provision. The original grant allocation for 1997–98 was increased significantly in year by redistribution of funds from elsewhere in the Department.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |