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26 Nov 2007 : Column 24W—continued
In addition, the M48 Severn Bridge and the M4 Second Severn Crossing both cross the English/Welsh border.
Waterloo Station
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the five platforms vacated by Eurostar at Waterloo station will be used for trains travelling to and from the South West. [166757]
Mr. Tom Harris [holding answer 21 November 2007]: Ownership of Waterloo International transfers to the Department at the end of March 2008 following Eurostar’s decommissioning of the facility as an international station. The Department is currently working closely with Network Rail and Stagecoach South West Trains (the train operating company) to finalise the design and costs associated with the partial conversion of Waterloo International potentially to accommodate some domestic passenger services. Works on site are expected to commence soon after the station transfers to the Department and will take several months to complete. Services are then expected to operate into and out of platform 20 of Waterloo International from the start of the timetable change date in December 2008.
Options for the medium to long-term use of all five platforms are being assessed by the Department and Network Rail as part of a wider strategy for the upgrade of Waterloo station.
West Coast Railway Line: Rolling Stock
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the new Virgin Pendolino carriages to be in use on the West Coast main line. [166729]
Mr. Tom Harris: Negotiations continue with Network Rail, Virgin Trains and Alstom to determine the optimal way of providing further increased capacity on the west coast main line. I hope to be able to make a further announcement during the early part of the new year.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Lancashire
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers are awaiting payment under the single payment scheme for the (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 payments in (i) Ribble Valley and (ii) Lancashire. [166121]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 19 November 2007]: There are currently 11 outstanding cases for SPS 2005.
For SPS 2006 there are 352 claims where processing is not yet complete. 179 of these have received partial payments and RPA is continuing to process these claims to provide top up payments where applicable. Payment is yet to be made on the other 173. Many of these are complex cases involving probate, business partnership changes and domestic issues. It is likely that work on these outstanding claims will reveal some may not be eligible for payment. Where it is confirmed that payments are due, these will be made as soon as possible.
The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.
Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value is of outstanding single payment scheme payments for the (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 payments in (i) Ribble Valley and (ii) Lancashire. [166122]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 19 November 2007]: The value of the outstanding single payment scheme payments for 2005 is £74,566, for 2006 it is approximately £1.7 million once the processing of these claims is complete. These figures exclude any corrections arising from the review of SPS Entitlements Statements currently taking place.
The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.
Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.
Agriculture: Subsidies
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers are awaiting payment under the single payment scheme for (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 payments. [165383]
Jonathan Shaw: There are currently 11 outstanding cases for SPS 2005.
For SPS 2006 there are 352 claims where processing is not yet complete. 179 of these have received partial payments and RPA is continuing to process these claims to provide top up payments where applicable. Payment is yet to be made on the other 173. Many of these are complex cases involving probate, business partnership changes and domestic issues. It is likely that work on these outstanding claims will reveal some may not be eligible for payment. Where it is confirmed that payments are due, these will be made as soon as possible.
The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value is of outstanding single payment scheme payments in relation to (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007. [165384]
Jonathan Shaw: The value of the outstanding single payment scheme payments for 2005 is £74,566 and for 2006 it is approximately £1.7 million once the processing of these claims is complete. These figures exclude any corrections arising from the review of SPS entitlements statements currently taking place.
The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.
Animal Feed: Prices
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the likely average price of feed for the livestock sector in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [165506]
Jonathan Shaw: The price of feed for the livestock sector is largely determined by world prices for cereals, oilseeds and other commodities. Recent price increases have been driven by a combination of factors, some of which are shorter term and introduce volatility into the market (e.g. adverse weather leading to lower production) and others of which are longer term trends (e.g. increasing use of cereals and oilseeds for food, feed and fuel uses). Current high prices, combined with policy changes such as the removal of the set-aside requirement for the 2008 harvest, will undoubtedly stimulate production and lead to a moderation of prices, but it may take a number of years to rebuild stocks to levels that markets are comfortable with. A fuller assessment can be found in our recent report “Implications of rising agricultural commodity prices” which can be found at:
http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/monthly%20brief/Annex%201%20Food%20and%20farming %20brief%20-%20impact%20of%20high%20commodity %20prices.pdf
Projecting future commodity prices and hence the price of feed for the livestock sector is uncertain. A number of international organisations produce projections, including the OECD and the EU Commission, the latest of which are given as follows. However, it should be noted that these were compiled before the recent price increases.
OECD/FAO agricultural outlook 2007 to 2016
EU Commission Prospects for agricultural markets and income 2007-2014
Animal Health
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what representations his Department has received from local councils on the funding of their budgets for animal health; [166483]
(2) what changes are planned to the level of funding of local authority health teams; and if he will make a statement; [166484]
(3) what funding his Department has provided to local authority animal health teams in each year since 2001; and what the projected expenditure is for 2007-08. [166485]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 20 November 2007]: I have received a number of representations from local authorities about the direct funding available from DEFRA to supplement the resources available to them under the Revenue Support Grant for work on animal health and welfare. The funding paid to local authorities under these arrangements, which started in 2002-03, has been as follows:
| Expenditure (£ million) | |
Local authorities submit bids annually to their local Divisional veterinary managers (DVMs), who are asked to certify that the proposed expenditure is eligible for funding. The bids are sent forward to a central point in DEFRA for authorisation.
For 2007-08, DEFRA received bids worth £9.77 million in total. This compares with an available budget of £8.5 million, which reflects a degree of underspending in previous years. DEFRA has issued allocations within the limits of the funding available. Authorities claiming up to £11,000 will receive the full amount of their bids. Other authorities have been told that their bids will be reduced by up to 12 per cent.
DEFRA is working with the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) to improve the framework agreement governing this work and to ensure that the limited resources available are used to best effect.
Animal Welfare: Codes of Practice
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) on what basis individuals were invited to be members of the working group drawing up the Code of Practice resulting from the Animal Welfare Act 2006; [165429]
(2) which organisation each member of the working group drawing up the Code of Practice resulting from the Animal Welfare Act 2006 represents; [165430]
(3) which bodies or individuals have been commissioned to provide research to assist the Working Group drawing up the code of practice resulting from the Animal Welfare Act 2006. [165857]
Jonathan Shaw: During the passage of the Animal Welfare Bill, an undertaking was given to produce three codes of practice on companion animals (dogs, cats and primates) and one on the breeding and rearing of game birds. Working groups on all four subjects are now well established.
The hon. Member does not identify which code of practice he is referring to, but those invited on to the working groups have a particular interest or expertise on the subject of the code. They represent relevant interest groups including welfare, specialists in a particular field (such as dog or cat behaviour), industry (where there are implications for that sector) and specialist private interest groups. The meetings are chaired by a DEFRA official.
It is essential that those involved with drawing up codes of practice are able to work constructively with others who may hold differing views.
Only one organisation, The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (formerly The Game Conservancy Trust) has been commissioned by DEFRA to undertake research. The research is in relation to game birds and is studying the effects of the application of bits and spectacles.
The results of this work are expected early in 2008 and will assist debate on the use of bits and spectacles as management tools for aggression reduction in game birds.
Avian Influenza: Suffolk
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what records he has of imports of (a) live birds and (b) poultry meat from (i) the Czech Republic and (ii) Germany to the area now covered by the avian influenza protection and surveillance zones within the last six weeks; and if he will make a statement. [165922]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 19 November 2007]: Figures from the EU-wide computer system used to record imports of animals and their products, known as TRACES, show that no live birds were imported within the last six weeks from Germany or the Czech Republic to the area now covered by the avian influenza protection and surveillance zones.
TRACES does not record intra-EU movements of meat and there are currently no records for poultrymeat movements for this period.
A full epidemiological investigation is under way and all avenues into the origin of the outbreak of avian influenza near Diss are being investigated.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the biosecurity arrangements in place at Redgrave Park Farm; and if he will make a statement. [165923]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 19 November 2007]: Following the first report of a suspected disease outbreak at Redgrave Park Farm on 11 November, Animal Health staff made an assessment of biosecurity at these premises for disease control purposes, to ensure that all necessary biosecurity control measures were in place. Part of the ongoing epidemiological investigation is to ascertain links between premises in the area and assess the risk of possible transmission of disease. Such work routinely includes the movement of vehicles, people and commodities. It is too early to comment further at this stage. The results of the epidemiological investigation will be published in due course.
Beaches: EU Law
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the percentage of bathing waters which will be classified as (a) poor, (b) sufficient, (c) good and (d) excellent by 2015; and if he will make a statement. [166741]
Mr. Woolas:
The Environment Agency has used its bathing water quality monitoring data from 2003 to 2006 to assess the compliance rate that might be expected in England under the revised Bathing Water Directive (see following table). These predictions are made on the assumption that no further action is taken to improve bathing water quality between now and when the first classifications under the revised Bathing
Water Directive are expected to be made at the end of the 2015 bathing season. However, measures will continue to be taken in the catchments of some bathing waters to ensure they comply with the requirements of both the current and revised Bathing Water Directives.
The following table shows the percentage of bathing waters expected to be classified as (a) poor, (b) sufficient, (c) good and (d) excellent by 2015.
| Classification | Percentage of bathing waters |
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to business of implementing Directive 2006/7/EC on the management of bathing water quality to (a) sufficient, (b) good and (c) excellent status; and if he will make a statement. [166742]
Mr. Woolas: DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government have recently launched a public consultation, including a partial impact assessment which sets out the costs associated with the implementation of the revised Bathing Water Directive (rBWD) in England and Wales. The Government are seeking views on three possible implementation scenarios. Scenarios 1A and 1B simply aim to meet the minimum requirements of the rBWD, with all bathing waters achieving at least the ‘sufficient’ classification by 2015 (Scenario 1B makes use of a prediction and discounting system) and Scenario 2 explores the costs of going beyond the minimum rBWD requirements by aiming to increase the number of ‘excellent’ bathing waters in England and Wales. The estimated cost to business (e.g. water companies, farmers and other parties) associated with each scenario is as follows:
| Cost (£ million) | ||
| Scenario | Annual | Total (PV) (25 years) |
| (1 )Includes scenario 1A costs | ||
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