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24 Feb 2009 : Column 558W—continued
Huw Irranca-Davies
[holding answer 23 February 2009]: Under EU legislation (Article 8 of Council Regulation (EC) no. 73/2009) giving effect to the CAP Health Check agreement, ceilings are set for the amount of
direct payments, net of modulation, that may be granted each year by member states. The ceiling for the UK for 2009 scheme payments is €3.3731 billion. The sterling equivalent will be determined by the last exchange rate set at the end of September 2009, but using the 2008 exchange rate (€1=£0.79030) it would be £2.6658 billion. No decisions have been taken to date on regional breakdowns.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many single farm payments which erroneously omitted (a) protein crop premium, (b) aid for energy crops and (c) nut aid were made in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008. [257585]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 23 February 2009]: 974 Single Payment scheme (SPS) claimants received an SPS payment that initially omitted a protein crop premium, aid for energy crops or a nut aid payment in 2008. These cases were all fully validated at the point of payment but required additional action to enable the omitted payments to be made.
The number of claims attributed to each omitted payment type are as follows:
| Payment type | Number of claims |
The figures include claims for which a combination of the three premium payment types were initially omitted.
All of these cases have now been reviewed and top-up payments made in all cases where underpayments have been identified.
The Rural Payments Agency is not aware of any similar issues resulting in the erroneous omission of protein crop premium, aid for energy crops or a nut aid payments for the 2007 scheme year.
Agriculture: Vocational Guidance
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government has taken to encourage young people into agricultural careers. [256932]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 23 February 2009]: Fresh Start, an industry-led initiative supported by Government, helps train new entrants to the farming industry. There are 24 Fresh Start Academies, with more in the pipeline, focusing on developing business skills for new farmers.
We are working with the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs to provide training opportunities that enable members to learn an array of new skills to become successful farmers.
Government supported the Year of Food and Farming in 2007-08 and are supporting the legacy campaign, Think Food and Farming. These schemes have helped children and young people learn about growing food, what happens on a farm, what life is like in the countryside and what the countryside can offer in terms of employment. Through agri-environmental schemes farmers receive
approximately £1 million per year to provide educational visits to their farms from schools and other interest groups.
From this September the new Diploma in Environmental and Land-based studies will be available to 14 to 19-year-olds to help them develop an understanding of these industries.
Agriculture: Waste Disposal
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on research into on-farm anaerobic digestion techniques in each of the last six years. [257426]
Jane Kennedy: DEFRA has spent £380,000 over the last six years on research into anaerobic digestion that addressed on-farm techniques, and their impacts on the environment and on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Angling
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated size of the recreational fishing catch of each species was in the latest period for which information is available. [256986]
Huw Irranca-Davies: In 2007, anglers reported the capture of 19,884 salmon and 29,398 sea trout from rivers in England and Wales; many of these fish were released alive. There is no current requirement to report recreational catches for other freshwater or marine species, so it is not possible to estimate these reliably.
From 2009, under EU regulation 199/2008 relating to data collection, the UK will be required to sample recreational catches of cod and eels in the North sea and bass and eels in western waters. Some estimate of the recreational catches of these species will therefore be possible for these areas in the future.
Birds of Prey: Genetics
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2008, Official Report, column 34W, on birds of prey: genetics, in which scientific journal the final report on DNA profiling of birds of prey completed in November 2006 was published. [257286]
Huw Irranca-Davies [holding answer 23 February 2009]: An article based on the report and subsequent work was recently published in ‘Forensic Science International: Genetics—An international journal dedicated to the application of genetics in the administration of justice’. The report can be found on the DEFRA website.
Bovine Tuberculosis: Deer
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on research for a vaccine for tuberculosis in deer in each of the last five years. [257427]
Jane Kennedy: No money has been spent on TB vaccine development for deer in the last five years. The vaccine research programme is currently focused on developing TB vaccines for cattle and badgers.
Common Agricultural Policy
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the (a) maximum, (b) minimum and (c) average value of claims made in England under the Common Agricultural Policy were in 2007; [257432]
(2) what the (a) maximum, (b) minimum and (c) average value was of claims made in England under the Common Agricultural Policy in 2008. [257433]
Jane Kennedy: The 2007 scheme year value of payments made under the Common Agricultural Policy are:
| £ | |
This information relates to the European financial year 2008, which is 16 October 2007 to 15 October 2008.
Unfortunately the data required to provide payment information for earlier years is not held in a form that is easily accessible and it could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Buildings
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) display energy certificates and (b) advisory reports for public buildings issued in respect of each property occupied by (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies. [256046]
Huw Irranca-Davies: My Department will place in the Library a copy of the display energy certificates and their associated advisory reports in respect of each property occupied by my Department and its agencies.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many expert advisers, excluding special advisers, have been commissioned by his Department since June 2007; and on which topics they have advised. [254744]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Department does not have a central list and to compile a list as requested would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Impact Assessments
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many equalities impact assessments his Department has undertaken in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of such assessments. [255074]
Huw Irranca-Davies: In total we have published 37 completed equality impact assessments on our internet and intranet websites (25 of which were published in 2008). These are predominantly in relation to employment and organisational change as these were areas highlighted for priority action. Since the EqIA is integrated into our policy making process, it is not possible to estimate any additional cost.
Departmental Plants
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on (a) pot plants and (b) flowers in each of the last three years. [254876]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The total sum spent by DEFRA on internal and external planting for each of the three years are as follows:
| £ | |
These costs include internal and external planting. The nature of provision through the current FM contractor makes it difficult to separate internal planting from the overall costs. The costs also include provision of cut flowers on a weekly basis to Nobel House and 55 Whitehall.
Dogs
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government has taken to support research into (a) canine and (b) feline illnesses. [256931]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 23 February 2009]: In 2008-09 DEFRA has begun to co-fund (£2,500 p.a.) a consortium led by the University of Liverpool that will ultimately combine veterinary practice data from computerised clinical records and reports from some private veterinary laboratories to give a nationwide overview of diseases in companion animals. Although only recently initiated, this project is already piloting voluntary reporting from private veterinary laboratories, and plans to soon conduct real time surveillance of clinical conditions at veterinary practices using a particular suppliers software package.
The Department also supports ongoing research with a total of approximately £1.4 million committed to the following projects:
Antimicrobial use and carriage of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli and staphylococci in dogs and horses in the community: molecular mechanisms of resistance and risk to humans.
The epidemiology of Campylobacter infection in dogs in context of the risk of infection to humans.
Incidence of, risk factors for, histological features of and protein expression patterns in injection site sarcomas in cats.
The clinical treatment of pet dogs and antibiotic resistance in commensal and potentially pathogenic bacteria.
Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 14 October 2008, Official Report, column 1049W, on domestic waste: waste disposal, if he will place in the Library a copy of the report on (a) Project REDUCE, (b) Understanding Household Waste Prevention Behaviour and (c) Establishing the Behaviour Change Evidence Base. [252717]
Jane Kennedy: The following projects have been completed and the reports published via the DEFRA website:
(WR0112) Understanding Household Waste Behaviour—University of Paisley
(WR0504) Establishing the Behaviour Change Evidence Base to Inform Community-based Waste Prevention and Recycling—Brook Lyndhurst
Output from the project (WR0105) Project REDUCE Monitoring and Evaluation: Developing Tools to Measure Waste Prevention—has been incorporated into the review study referred to in the response to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) on 14 October 2008, Official Report, column 1050W, on Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal, and will be published later in 2009.
Electronic Tagging: Sheep
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the cost to farmers of the electronic tagging of sheep in line with EC proposals. [256674]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 23 February 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire) on 11 February 2009, Official Report, columns 2030-31W.
Flood Control
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many flood warnings have been issued by the Environment Agency in each county of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years. [256351]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table shows the number of flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency in each of its regions from 2006. The warnings are defined as either flood watches, flood warnings or severe flood warnings dependent upon the likelihood of flooding occurring.
| Environment Agency region | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Total |
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