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14 July 2009 : Column 212W—continued
Transport: Finance
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what funding (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have given to the Campaign for Better Transport in each of the last three years; and for what purpose. [286517]
Mr. Khan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 July 2009, Official Report, column 639W.
Transport: York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much local transport grant his Department has allocated to City of York Unitary Council in each year since its creation; and what criteria are used to determine the amount of grant allocated to each local authority. [285707]
Mr. Khan: The Department for Transport provides integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities to support capital investment in transport, which may be used for a range of purposes as the authorities see fit. Funding allocated to the City of York is as follows:
Details on the allocation of funding to local authorities can be found on the Department's website at:
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agricultural Shows
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to support (a) the Royal agricultural show, (b) the Lancashire show and (c) other agricultural shows. [283607]
Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA does not financially support agricultural shows but instead ensures that there is a departmental presence at a number of agricultural shows over the summer months.
At this year's Royal Show DEFRA has its own bespoke stand as well as a trailer, based in the livestock and agriculture area. The Secretary of State and other Ministers visited the show throughout its duration. The chief veterinary officer, deputy veterinary officer and director general for farming also attended.
The Lancashire show is not taking place in 2009. However DEFRA did attend the 2008 Show.
DEFRA Ministers or officials are attending an additional 13 other agricultural shows-a mix of regional and sector events-during June to September 2009. DEFRA has a bespoke trailer at the majority of these shows.
Agriculture: Regulation
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans there are to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers. [283613]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Our plans for reducing burdens on the farming industry and progress so far is set out in 'Better Regulation, Better Business' our Simplification Plan published in December 2008, which includes measures that contribute to reducing the administrative (red tape) burden on farmers by 25 per cent. by 2010.
Burdens on farmers can be reduced in many ways. These include matching regulatory requirements to business practice, and reducing duplication of effort, for example by co-ordinating inspections so that a single visit covers multiple activities. DEFRA is working in partnership with its agencies, especially RPA, to develop online transactional services of which Whole Farm Approach is the leading example. Fast and easy access to advice and guidance is also available online, via the farming theme on BusinessLink.
We are engaging farmers' representatives in identifying more things that might be done to reduce burdens, and responding to suggestions submitted via the 90-day portal, hosted on the BIS website at:
which allows anyone to submit their ideas for simplification.
Agriculture: Subsidies
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many payments under the single payment scheme in relation to farms in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley constituency were outstanding on the latest date for which figures are available. [285006]
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many payments under the single payment scheme in relation to farms in (a) Hemel Hempstead, (b) Dacorum and (c) Hertfordshire were outstanding on the latest date for which figures are available. [285244]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The rural payments agency does not record information on payments to farmers on a regional basis. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Animal Health Agency: Consultants
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Animal Health Agency spent on consultants in each of the last five years. [285537]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Animal Health employ a range of consultants such as project managers, systems implementation specialists, systems testers, business/requirements analysts, planning and delivery consultants, benefits realisation managers, change management and trainers (IT specialists).
The following table shows the amount that Animal Health spent on consultants in each of the last four years. Unfortunately, figures cannot be obtained for years prior to Animal Health being formed.
| Total spend on consultants( 1) (£ million) | |
| (1) Data were taken from Animal Health's published annual accounts. | |
Birds: Imports
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which countries outside the EU birds of species (a) listed and (b) not listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species have been imported into the UK in each of the last five years; and for what purposes they have been imported. [284512]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) database, which holds information on imports into the UK, does not distinguish between species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and species not so listed, and does not hold information on the purpose of imports.
Table 1 shows the data obtained from the TRACES database for all bird species (for non-EU imports).
Table 2 shows the data on CITES species held by the Wildlife Licensing and Registration Service in Animal Health (for non-EU imports).
Notes:
1. Only the commodity code (birds of prey/parrots/other birds) is recorded on TRACES rather than the full species name.
2. The TRACES system was not in operation prior to 2004.
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