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6 Mar 2009 : Column 1870W—continued
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Subsidies
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many warning letters were sent to farmers by the Rural Payments Agency for cross-compliance breaches under the (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 Single Payment Scheme. [260138]
Jane Kennedy: The number of warning letters sent to farmers by the Rural Payments Agency for breaches of cross compliance in the three years is as follows:
| Single payment scheme year | Number of letters issued |
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been paid in agri-monetary compensation in the county of Hertfordshire since 9 January 2002. [261189]
Jane Kennedy: Unfortunately the data required to provide payment information for earlier years are not held in a form that is easily accessible, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Animal Welfare: Charities
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animal welfare charities based in the UK have received funds from the public purse in each of the last five years; and how much was awarded to each. [258287]
Jane Kennedy:
It is not general Government policy to provide funding to animal welfare charities. However, DEFRA had a signed agreement to provide funding of £75,000 to the Companion Animal Welfare Council via the Welfare Fund for Companion Animals. The agreement was for the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2008. The
money was allocated in three annual payments of £25,000 each in the three consecutive financial years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08. This covers England only, and not the devolved Administrations.
Animal Welfare: Trapping
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes have been made to (a) regulations and (b) guidelines on the operation of animal snares over the last five years. [260374]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 4 March 2009]: The Animal Welfare Act 2006 came into force in England on 6 April 2007. This Act contains strong protection for animals under the control of man to help prevent unnecessary suffering, and covers any animal held in a snare.
Following an informal consultation on snares and traps and their use carried out in 2003, DEFRA convened an Independent Snares Working Group chaired by the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. In October 2005 we published the working group’s report together with the DEFRA Snares Action Plan and the DEFRA Code of Good Practice on the use of Snares in Fox and Rabbit Control in England.
The DEFRA Code of Good Practice provides guidance on responsible use of snares.
Badgers: Wales
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he last discussed policy on badger culling with representatives of the Welsh Assembly Government. [259990]
Jane Kennedy:
The Secretary of State last discussed bovine tuberculosis (TB) and badger culling with Elin
Jones, the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Rural Affairs, in November 2008 when they met at the EU Agriculture Council.
Although responsibility for bovine TB is fully devolved the disease is a high priority for Governments in England and Wales. Officials in DEFRA are in regular contact with those in the Welsh Assembly Government on matters related to the disease and its control.
Beef: Exports
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to which countries beef reared in the UK may be exported; and how much was exported to each such country in each of the last 10 years. [259494]
Jane Kennedy: In theory the UK can export beef to any country in that the EU-imposed worldwide ban on UK beef exports was lifted in May 2006. In practice re-establishing markets for UK beef in third countries has been difficult due to continued fears over BSE and the need to negotiate market access on a country by country basis. We are working with industry to identify key third country markets so that negotiating resources can be targeted effectively. Other EU countries face similar barriers in trying to export their beef to many third countries.
According to HMRC statistics the UK has exported beef to 103 countries in the last ten calendar years (1999-2008). Countries with imports in excess of £1 million over this period are detailed in table 1 and table 2 as follows. During the period March 1996 to May 2006, UK exports were restricted to small quantities of UK beef exported under the strict criteria in the Data-Based Export Scheme (DBES) and to foreign origin beef re-exported under the Export Approved (XAP) Scheme. It is not possible to identify only beef reared in the UK from the HMRC statistics although non-UK reared beef will only form a small proportion of UK exports after May 2006.
| Table 1: Value of UK exports of beef, 1999-2008( 1) | ||||||||||
| £000 | ||||||||||
| Country | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008( 2) |
| (1) Includes bone in bovine, boneless bovine, edible offal and prepared/preserved bovine meat products. (2) 2008 data are subject to amendments | ||||||||||
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