§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much has been spent to date on the prior options review of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency; and from which budget these sums were paid. [10122]
158W
§ Mr. BoswellThe report of the review of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency was produced between March and June 1996 by officials from this Department, assisted by an independent member of the review team. The cost of the review amounted to about £20,000 and was met by the Department.
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much has been spent to date on the prior options review of Horticulture Research International; and from which budget these sums were paid. [10066]
§ Mr. BoswellThe report of the review on Horticulture Research International was produced between October 1995 and March 1996 by officials from this Department, assisted by an independent member of the review team. The cost of the review amounted to about £17,000 and was met by the Department.
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much has been spent to date on converting the Directorate of Fisheries Research into a next steps agency; and from which budget these sums were paid. [10070]
§ Mr. BoswellThe costs of converting the Directorate of Fisheries Research to an Agency, which will be named CEFAS—the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science—have so far amounted to £373,000, all of which has been met by the Department. This total includes the costs of the prior options review conducted in 1995–96; additional temporary posts and consultancy work to provide for direct set-up costs within 1996–97; and the work of the agency steering group activities involved in overseeing preparations.
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much has been spent to date on the prior options review of the Central Science Laboratory; and from which budget these sums were paid. [10054]
§ Mr. BoswellThe report of the review on the Central Science Laboratory was produced between October 1995 and March 1996 by officials from this Department, assisted by an independent member of the review team and an external accountant. A further study linked to the review was conducted by external consultants between August and October 1996. The total cost including official costs was about £130,000. All these costs were met by the Ministry.
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food how much has been spent to date on preparing for the privatisation of ADAS; and from which budget these sums were paid. [10062]
§ Mr. BoswellThe cost of preparing for the privatisation of ADAS, excluding internal costs in ADAS itself and in MAFF and the Welsh Office, has been £422,713, excluding VAT, to date. The sums are being paid out of a budget specifically established for this purpose.
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many(a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees include employees of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency as representatives of United Kingdom interests; and how many of these employees are leading the United Kingdom team on their committee; [10124]
159W(2) how many (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees include employees of Horticulture Research International as representatives of United Kingdom interests; and how many of these employees are leading the United Kingdom team on their committee; [10068]
(3) how many (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees include employees of the Directorate of Fisheries Research as representatives of United Kingdom interests; and how many of these employees are leading the United Kingdom team on their committee; [10072]
(4) how many (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees include employees of the Central Science Laboratory as representatives of United Kingdom interests; and how many of these employees are leading the United Kingdom team on their committee; [10055]
(5) how many (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees include employees of ADAS as representatives of United Kingdom interests; and how many of these employees are leading the United Kingdom team on their committee. [10063]
§ Mr. BoswellThe numbers of employees from the relevant establishments who represent UK interests in each category of committee are as follows:
Organisation United Kingdom committees European committees International committees ADAS 81 14 17 CSL 65 37(12) 28(10) DFR 42(6) 6(2) 95(55) HRI 15 10 19(1) VLA 14 15(5) 7(3) The figures in brackets indicate the numbers of staff leading UK teams, as appropriate.
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many(a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees are chaired by employees of ADAS; [10064]
(2) how many (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees are chaired by employees of the Central Science Laboratory; [10056]
(3) how many(a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) internationial committees are chaired by employees of Veterinary Laboratories Agency; [10125]
(4) how many (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) internationial committees are chaired by employees of Horticulture Research International; [10069]
(5) how many (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees are chaired by employees of Directorate of Fisheries Research [10073]
§ Mr. BoswellThe numbers of employees from the relevant establishments who chair committees in each category are as follows:160W
Organisation United Kingdom committees European committees International committees ADAS 4 2 1 CSL 5 6 5 DFR 6 1 14 HRI 2 4 7 VLA 0 1 2
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the future costs of the prior options review of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency; and from which budget these sums will be paid. [10123]
§ Mr. BoswellThe review itself has been completed. Any implementation costs will depend on decisions which have not yet been taken.
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the future costs of the prior options review of Horticulture Research International; and from which budget these sums will be paid. [10067]
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the future costs of converting the Directorate of Fisheries Research into a next steps agency; and from which budget these sums will be paid. [10071]
§ Mr. BoswellIn my answer earlier today I gave the costs which will be incurred up to the launch of the CEFAS agency. Thereafter, any further costs will be contained within the ongoing running costs of the agency, as part of its day-to-day operation.
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the future costs of the prior options review of the Central Science Laboratory; and from which budget these sums will be paid. [10057]
§ Mr. BoswellMy right hon. Friend announced the outcome of the prior options review of the Central Science Laboratory on 9 December. It is not possible at present to estimate future implementation costs.
§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the future costs of privatising ADAS; and from which budget these sums will be paid. [10065]
§ Mr. BoswellThe future cost of privatisation of ADAS, excluding internal MAFF costs, is estimated to be £930,000 excluding VAT. The sums will be paid out of a budget specifically established for this purpose.