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1 July 2008 : Column 766W—continued

Mr. Woolas: A number of pesticides used for carrot fly control were withdrawn from use in the United Kingdom either for commercial reasons or following a
1 July 2008 : Column 767W
review of anticholinesterase active substances. The substances concerned were subsequently withdrawn in the European Community following a review under Council Directive 91/414/EEC. Manufacturers of these substances may resubmit applications for approval if they wish to do so, for consideration in accordance with criteria for protection of health and the environment set out in EC and national legislation.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what methods of controlling carrot fly are available to amateur gardeners. [214434]

Mr. Woolas: No insecticides are authorised for amateur use specifically for carrot fly control. Gardeners may use any insecticide authorised for amateur use on edible crops, but their effectiveness may be limited. Effective means of physical control include using covers or barrier fences, avoiding sowing during the time of peak flight activity of carrot fly, and harvesting early to avoid damage from later generations.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has undertaken on a less environmentally damaging alternative to the pesticide dieldrin to treat carrot fly. [214435]

Mr. Woolas: Use of dieldrin for the control of carrot fly was prohibited in 1979.

As part of PSD’s alternative crop protection technologies research programme, a project is currently underway to investigate the control of soil-dwelling horticultural pests such as carrot fly using the staphylinid beetle Atheta coriaria. This work aims to build on existing knowledge to further develop this native beetle as a biological control agent.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the ban on the use of pesticides under the EU Council Directive 79/117 on the incidence of carrot fly. [214436]

Mr. Woolas: Use of HCH and dieldrin for control of carrot fly was prohibited in 1979 under Council Directive 79/117/EEC. Alternative pesticides were available at that time and the directive is not expected to have affected the incidence of carrot fly.

Cattle: Imports

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many imported cattle were accompanied by inadequate paperwork when arriving at a UK port in each of the last three years. [212797]

Jonathan Shaw: Cattle imported from third countries must enter the UK (and the Community) through a border inspection post (BIP). Individual BIPs hold their own information regarding statistics surrounding import figures relating to inadequate paperwork.

Animal Health has been responsible for this area of work since December 2007. In the time from December 2007 to May 2008, Animal Health has received 12
1 July 2008 : Column 768W
non-compliance reports relating to cattle. Collective figures for such reports, prior to this time, are not available centrally.

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live cattle were imported into the UK in each of the last three years. [212798]

Jonathan Shaw: The following table gives the number of live cattle recorded as imported into the UK in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Please note these figures are obtained using VAT records and will exclude some EU trade for businesses which are below the VAT threshold. As a result, actual trade levels may be higher than those given.

Live cattle

Number

2005

5,455

2006

8,261

2007

10,013

Note:
2007 data are subject to amendments.
Sources:
HM Revenue and Customs
Data prepared by Trade statistics, Agricultural Statistics and Analysis, DEFRA

Central Science Laboratory: Standards

Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made towards meeting the Central Science Laboratory performance targets for 2007-08, broken down by target. [212902]

Jonathan Shaw: For information on progress made by the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) towards the 2007-08 performance targets, please see the CSL annual report and accounts for 2007-08, published on 18 June 2008. This is available on the CSL website at:

Commission for Rural Communities

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the planned budget for the Commission for Rural Communities is for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2010-11. [214809]

Jonathan Shaw: The Commission for Rural Communities grant in aid from DEFRA is £6.4 million for 2008-09. Final decisions on DEFRA budgets (and the funding it gives to its sponsored bodies and Executive Agencies) for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been made. We expect to make an announcement on 2009-10 budgets by 31 August and on 2010-11 in the spring of 2009.

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people are employed by the Commission for Rural Communities; and how many are expected to be employed by it in each of the next three years. [214810]


1 July 2008 : Column 769W

Jonathan Shaw: The Commission for Rural Communities currently employs 58.9 full-time equivalents. Decisions on future staff numbers are for the Commission's management.

Departmental Accountancy

Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's (a) chart of accounts and (b) resource account codes and usage descriptions for the current financial year. [210990]

Jonathan Shaw: I have arranged for placement in the Library a copy of the chart of accounts for 2008-09 which reflects the Department's revised budget framework for the current year. This shows the budget relationships and account codes that are being used following the restructuring of the Department along programme and project lines and does not reflect the 2007-08 structure, or that for future years. The chart shows the relationship between parent codes (used for preparing resource accounts) and children codes (used for more detailed management purposes). Each code has a brief description that describes its use.

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value of the property held by (a) his Department and (b) associated public bodies was at the most recent date for which figures are available. [212876]

Jonathan Shaw: The value of property held by DEFRA and the principal associated public bodies is:


1 July 2008 : Column 770W

Value (£) Valuation date

(a) DEFRA

541,249,000

March 2008

(b) Associated bodies

Environmental Agency

2,276,329,000

March 2008

Natural England (National Nature Reserves)

4,280,000

March 2006

Natural England (Office Estate)

1,593,000

March 2008


Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how frequently his Department restates the asset values of its building estate. [213400]

Jonathan Shaw: The departmental property assets are revalued every five years in accordance with accountancy practices. In addition, an annual review of asset values is undertaken and any change in value is restated within the central departmental accounts.

Departmental Public Participation

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 May 2008, Official Report, columns 1327-28W, on departmental public participation, how much each (a) survey, (b) questionnaire and (c) other service cost; and how many members of the public participated in each activity. [207327]

Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA conducts regular detailed research amongst both the general public and selected target groups to inform its policy and communication planning and evaluation. The following table records the surveys, questionnaires and other services conducted by third parties which received funding from DEFRA and which sought opinion, and which were provided in completed and agreed form during the financial year 2007-08.


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1 July 2008 : Column 772W

1 July 2008 : Column 773W

1 July 2008 : Column 774W
Company which conducted it Title of report Cost of report to DEFRA (£) Number of participants Notes/(£)

Cognition Market Intelligence

VMD Customer Feedback Survey

14,025

52

Pharmaceutical companies, farmers, slaughterhouses and retailers

Continental Research

Business Attitudes to Resource Efficiency

8,250

254

Businesses

Entec UK Ltd.

Understanding the barriers to flood resilience

43,622

1,131

Businesses and public

Ipsos MORI

Attitudes to use of organic waste on agricultural land

48,855

500

Farmers

University of Reading

Survey into farmers attitudes toward a TB cattle vaccine

8,250

287

Farmers

British Market Research Bureau

Public awareness of personal food imports

4,995

2,000

British Market Research Bureau

Public Attitudes Towards Farmers

13,585

1,717

Creative Research

Rabies Restrictions Review Consumer Workshops

33,907

68-72

GFK

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restrictions of Chemicals (REACH) Awareness Raising Campaign tracking research

27,750

800

Businesses

IFF Research

Illegal Foods Campaign Tracking 06-07

37,500

600

Kate Willis

Fallen Stock Sheep Farmers Research

34,775

58-66

Farmers

Marketing Synergie International

Illegal Food Imports Creative Development

23,315

48-60

Research Works

Creative testing of the filler—Personal food imports Filler testing

13,500

c. 42

Centre for Sustainable Energy

Distributional Impacts of Personal Carbon Trading

26,000

0

Used existing data from English House Condition Survey and UK Expenditure and Food Survey

Opinion Leader and Enviros Consulting

Personal Carbon Trading: Public Acceptability

50,000

92

2CV

Natural Environment Message Testing Research

63,250

77

British Market Research Bureau

Chewing Gum Action Group Campaign evaluation

0

1,923

Cost funded by industry: 55,150

British Market Research Bureau

Omnibus research into Awareness of Endangered Species Trade

0

1,717

Included as part of ‘Public Attitudes Towards Farmers’ Omnibus fee

Edcomms

Natural Environment Communications Desk Research

41,200

12

Stakeholders were interviewed as part of scoping stage otherwise this was a desk report

CML Market Research

Food Campaign—Message Research

29,756

78

University of Exeter

Contemporary livestock farming and watercourse pollution: a citizen's jury approach

19,740

15

The whole contract cost, of which the jury was included

MVA consultancy, commissioned by Consumer Council for Water on behalf of the Water Saving Group

Campaigns to make a difference: Research into identifying water saving messages

10,000

90

Figure includes VAT. Is fraction of total cost of 33,672.22 (including VAT), funded by the Water Saving Group

Social Research and Consultancy

Consumer attitudes to water efficiency of bathroom fittings: analysis of quantitative research

5,165

1,088

ICM

Climate Change Tracking Wave 6. Omnibus survey covering public knowledge and attitudes to climate change

31,161

3,129

ICM

Climate Change Tracking Wave 5. Omnibus survey covering public knowledge and attitudes to climate change

31,436

3,113

British Market Research Bureau

ACT ON CO2 climate change campaign, post tracking

72,775

1,030

Opinion Leader Research

Citizen summit on climate change

164,957

152-174

Brook Lyndhurst

Public Understanding of Sustainable Energy Use in the Home

72,335

114

Ipsos MORI

Public Understanding of Sustainable Finance and Investment

54,150

c. 100

Opinion Leader Research

Public Understanding of Sustainable Consumption of Food

42,450

c. 100

Scott Wilson

Public Understanding of Sustainable Transport

77,100

100

University of Surrey

Public Understanding of Sustainable Leisure and Tourism

69,812

108

Navigator

Waste Infrastructure Research.

58,550

c. 154

British Market Research Bureau

Survey of public attitudes and behaviour in relation to the environment

372,000

5,279

University of Gloucestershire, CCRI and MLURI

Understanding and influencing positive behaviour change in farmers and rural land managers

120,000

78

Farmers and rural land-managers

Jigsaw Research

Defra: Engaging The Business Community in Environmental Issues

60,815

73

Businesses

Ipsos MORI

Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) Research

53,500

c. 360

Schools and local authorities


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