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12 Jun 2006 : Column 890W—continued
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were employed in (a) dairy farming, (b) beef farming, (c) sheep farming, (d) arable farming, (e) mixed farming and (f) other forms of farming in Gloucestershire in (i) 1980, (ii) 1990, (iii) 2000 and (iv) 2005. [74502]
Barry Gardiner: The number of employees on holdings by farm type in Gloucestershire are as follows:
| Farm type | 1990 | 2000 | 2005 |
The number of farmers, partners, directors and spouses (if working on the holding) on holdings by farm type in Gloucestershire are as follows:
| Farm type | 1990 | 2000 | 2005 |
| Source: June Agricultural Survey | |||
Flood Defences
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of London’s flood defences in protecting South East London. [75821]
Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency is the main operating authority for flood risk management in England. The tidal defences that currently protect South East London and most of the Thames Estuary are of a very high standard, and an estimated £200 million will be spent on their maintenance and operation until 2021. The Agency is also developing a long-term management plan for the Thames Estuary to tackle flood risks until 2100.
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the evidential basis was for the recent alterations to the published flood risk maps for Willington, Derbyshire; what representations the Environment Agency received from (a) owners of the former Willington power station site and (b) their representatives prior to the changes being made; what account was taken of (i) the Trent Fluvial Strategy studies and (ii) planning proposals for the area when the changes were being prepared; and whether the changes have been reflected in the system for the communication to village residents of risk to their properties. [75970]
Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency had discussions with consultants acting on behalf of the developer about Willington power station from June 2004 until February 2006. The consultants were required to address flood risk issues in a comprehensive Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) of the site.
The findings of the consultants’ FRA work were in line with the recommendations of the Trent Fluvial Strategy, which was published by the Environment Agency in March 2005.
The FRA was submitted as part of the outline planning application and was considered during our assessment of the proposals. The FRA considered all sources of risk to the site in question.
The changes have been reflected in the way in which the Environment Agency have communicated with the residents of Willington over risk to their properties.
Funding
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding has been allocated to Gloucestershire in each of the last five years for re-training of farmers; and what proportion of the funding came from funds allocated for foot and mouth recovery. [75042]
Mr. Bradshaw: The principal mechanism for funding the re-training of farmers is the Vocational Training Scheme (VTS), set up as part of the England Rural Development Programme and administered by DEFRA’s Rural Development Service. Under this scheme, applications are accepted from either training organisers, or eligible individuals.
A small amount of funding (£6,713 in 2005 and 2006) has been awarded to individual Gloucestershire farmers, for training in plumbing, LGV driving and technical farming skills. However, the vast majority of VTS funding has been awarded to projects that operate on a wider geographical area, either focusing on general business skills, diversification opportunities, or skills development related to specific farming activities, in order to maximise returns.
Examples of the training available to Gloucestershire farmers are shown in the following table:
Vocational Training Scheme funds are separate from those allocated for foot and mouth recovery.
Fungaflor Formulation Application
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department will reach a decision on the Fungaflor formulation application; and if he will make a statement. [73577]
Ian Pearson: The Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) is responsible for authorising uses of pesticide products.
PSD received an application, for the product Fungaflor in 2002. However, this application was rejected because it did not contain sufficient information to allow PSD to conduct a risk assessment demonstrating an acceptable risk to humans and the environment.
Since that application a new company has taken on ownership of the product Fungaflor. This company submitted a new application to PSD on 1 June 2006. This has now been considered and PSD issued an approval for Fungaflor on 6 June.
Health and Safety
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how he plans to implement the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals legislation; and if he will take steps to ensure that there is no removal of the current legislative protection for the health and safety of the UK work force as a consequence of the implementation of that legislation; [75058]
(2) what consultation he plans to undertake with the Health and Safety Executive on the (a) implementation and (b) administration of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals regulations. [75059]
Ian Pearson: We are currently discussing the implementation of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) legislation and a range of related issues with the agencies involved in the regulation of chemicals and with the devolved Administrations. The Health and Safety Executive is fully involved in this process and continues to work closely with Defra, in particular providing support on areas that are relevant to occupational health. REACH will not affect existing health and safety legislation.
One of the more important implementation aspects will be the appointment of a UK competent authority for REACH later this year. The competent authority will work closely with existing enforcement bodies, including the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency.
Live Fish
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) volume of and (b) income derived from trade in live fish was in each year since 2000 between the UK and (i) Northern Ireland, (ii) Guernsey, (iii) Spain, (iv) Italy, (v) Sweden and (vi) Denmark. [75872]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 8 June 2006]: Information is not available on the value of trade in live fish between the mainland parts of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and Guernsey. Information on the value of trade between the UK and the other countries requested is given in the table.
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