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22 Oct 2007 : Column 81W—continued
Domestic Wastes: Waste Disposal
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library copies of the (a) 2005 and (b) 2007 editions of the guidance produced by Waste Resources Action Programme on alternate weekly collections of household rubbish. [158409]
Joan Ruddock: The Waste and Resources Action Programme’s 2005 guidance on alternative weekly collections of waste was withdrawn while it was being updated. A new version was published in July 2007. I have arranged for this to be placed in the Library of the House.
I have asked the Waste and Resources Action Programme to write directly to the hon. Member to provide him with a copy of the out-of-date 2005 edition of the guidance.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that Natural England has sufficient resources to cope with the re-negotiation of environmentally sensitive area agreements as part of the new EU regional development plans. [159327]
Jonathan Shaw: Arrangements for operating agri-environment schemes, including the Environmentally Sensitive Areas scheme, are the responsibility of Natural England.
The Secretary of State announced on 29 March 2007, Official Report, column 131WS, that the overall budget for the Rural Development Programme for England covering the period 2007 to 2013 will be £3.9 billion. The proportion of that budget which will be devoted to agri-environment schemes, which includes Environmentally Sensitive Areas agreements, is expected to be about £2.9 billion. This represents an increase of £1.3 billion over the funding that was available, for agri-environment schemes, in the 2000 to 2006 period under the England Rural Development Programme.
Farmers: Animal Welfare
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to farmers of the cost sharing mechanism for animal health and welfare announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement on the comprehensive spending review. [158541]
Jonathan Shaw: As no conclusions have yet been reached on a cost sharing mechanism for animal health and welfare, no estimate of the element falling to farmers has been possible. We aim to consult further on principles and possible options before the end of the year.
Iain Anderson's 2002 report on the handling of the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) recommended that the tax payer should not be expected to foot the bill (approximately £3 billion that time) for compensating farmers as a result of an animal disease outbreak. Cost sharing and responsibility sharing need to be taken together to realise the considerable benefits they offer to both the industry and the Government. A cost sharing mechanism, when combined with responsibility sharing, should result in greater efficiencies, reduced risks, better decisions and more effective contingencies for risks. Therefore, it should reduce the overall costs which would also be more equitably shared between the Government and the industry, in line with Iain Anderson's 2002 recommendations.
Fish
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the 40 tonnes of Area VII anglerfish swapped away from the under 10 metres pool has been swapped for. [159135]
Jonathan Shaw: The 40 tonnes of Area VII anglerfish was the 2007 element of a cross-year swap that Fisheries Administrations undertook in 2006 with the South Western Fish Producers’ Organisation (FPO). It gained 40 tonnes of Channel plaice quota for the 10 metre and under fleet, ensuring that the inshore fishery was not closed prematurely as a result of heavy landings. Annual uptake of anglerfish during previous years had suggested that the 10 metre and under pool allocation would not be taken in full during 2007. In 2007, the Marine and Fisheries Agency have acquired some 33 tonnes of additional VII anglerfish quota for the 10 metre and under pool allocation.
Fisheries
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the size of the domestic fishing industry in each European Economic Area country. [159607]
Jonathan Shaw: Information on the size of the fleet and landings of sea fish (including shellfish) for each European Union member state is readily available only for 2005 and is in the following table. Figures on the size of the fleet for 2006 are published in “Sea Fisheries Statistics 2006” and a copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
| European Union fishing industry 2005( 1) | ||||
| Number of vessels( 2) | Engine Power kW( 2) | Gross Tonnage( 2) | Catch (Thousand tonnes) | |
| (1) Data for other member states provided by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, of the United Nations (FAO) and Eurostat. (2) As at 31 December 2005. (3) Includes islands. | ||||
Fisheries: Manpower
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time fishermen there are in each European Economic Area country. [159605]
Jonathan Shaw: In 2006, there were 12,934 fishermen in the United Kingdom. Of these, 10,358 were regular fishermen and 2,576 were part-time.
A recent European Commission study concluded that concepts and definitions relating to employment in the fishing industry were not harmonised across member states, and the availability of such data across the EU is not uniform making it impossible to carry out meaningful comparisons across the EU. As such, similar figures for other member states are not available.
Fisheries: White Fish
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department’s assessment is of the optimum minimum landing size for sea bass required to promote the creation of a robust stock structure and stimulate the development of recreational sea fishery. [158055]
Jonathan Shaw: Scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea suggests that sea bass is fished sustainably under current management measures which include a minimum landing size (MLS) of 36 cm.
The regulatory impact assessment, produced as part of proposals to increase the MLS for bass in England, set out the impact of the measures on bass stocks, and the associated costs and benefits for recreational sea anglers and commercial fishermen. This was published on 10 August 2006.
I will make an announcement shortly, on whether I will introduce an increased MLS for bass.
Fishing Vessels
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) under-10 metre and (b) over-10 metre fishing vessels there are in each European Economic Area country. [159606]
Jonathan Shaw: As at 31 December 2006 there were 5,203 vessels of 10 metres in length and under in the UK fishing fleet (including islands), and 1,555 vessels over 10 metres. UK fishing vessels of 10 metres in length and under are subject to specific rules in the management of fish quotas. This distinction does not apply across the rest of Europe and as such figures are not readily available on this basis. However, they are available for the number of European Union vessels above and below 12 metres in length, and this information is given in the table.
| Number of vessels in the European Union fishing fleet by vessel length, 31 December 2006 | |||
| Overall length | |||
| Under 12m | 12m or more | Total | |
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