§ Mr. Roger WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what market research has been undertaken by(a) her Department and (b) Food from Britain since 1995 regarding the use of Foods from Britain by agricultural export companies; and if she will place a copy of those findings in the Library. [97869]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Department has not undertaken any market research since 1995 into the use of Food From Britain by agricultural export companies. In 2000 research into the usage and attitude of their clients and other exporters was undertaken on behalf of Food From Britain. This was updated in 2002. A copy of the executive summary of the survey will be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Roger WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many companies used the services, by type, of Food from Britain in each of the last 10 years; and how many of those companies were(a) small and medium-sized businesses and (b) less than five years old when they first contacted Food from Britain. [97870]
§ Mr. MorleyDuring the last 10 years the approximate total number of companies using Food From Britain is as shown below. Of these at least 50 per cent. were small and medium-sized businesses. Food From Britain does not hold information on the age of companies with which it deals.
Total number of companies using Food From Britain Year No. 1992/93 700 1993/94 1,200 1994/95 1,000 1995/96 1,000 1996/97 1,000 1997/98 1,100 1998/99 750 1999/2000 800 2000/01 800 2001/02 800
§ Mr. Roger WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George) of 16 January 2003,Official Report, column 728W, on agricultural exports, how much Food from Britain charges companies by size for use of their services. [97933]
444W
§ Mr. MorleyFood From Britain does not charge for services by size of the company. Fees are calculated according to a number of factors including complexity of the service offered and staff time. Membership of the Fast Track scheme, which gives access to a range of additional export services, is based on the export turnover of a company as follows:
Export Turnover(£) Fee(£) Nil—250 500 250–500 1,000 500–1 million 1,500 1–2million 2,000 2–5million 3,000 over 5million 4,500 Associate member 1,250
§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 16 January 2003,Official Report, column 728W, on agricultural exports, how many companies used services provided by her Department's (a) agricultural exports promotion service and (b) Food from Britain in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (i) size by annual turnover and (ii) whether they were charged for those services in each of the last 10 years. [98012]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 24 February 2003]: The information is as follows:
(a) The total number of companies using services provided by the agricultural exports promotion service (e.g. participation in fairs and missions) over the last 10 years was as shown in the following table. The vast majority were small and medium sized enterprises. The companies were not charged for any of the services provided.
Year Number of companies 1993–94 270 1994–95 230 1995–96 380 1996–97 190 1997–98 660 1998–99 400 1999–2000 190 2000–01 210 2001–02 360 2002–03 350 (b) The total number of companies using services provided by Food From Britain over the last 10 years was as shown in the following table. The information is not available broken down by the size of annual turnover of the companies, although more than 50 per cent. were small and medium sized enterprises. Companies will have been charged for most of the services provided.
445W
Year Number of companies 1992–93 700 1993–94 1,200 1994–95 1,000 1995–96 1,000
Year Number of companies 1996–97 1,000 1997–98 1,100 1998–99 750 1999–2000 800 2000–01 800 2001–02 800
§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2003,Official Report, column 728W, on agricultural exports, how much (a) revenue and (b) profit was raised through companies supported by Food from Britain in each of the last 10 years. [98013]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 24 February 2003]: The income (other than grant in aid) which Food From Britain generates from the activities it undertakes is shown in the Annual Report and Accounts. The Accounts are laid before Parliament each year and copies are placed in the Library. The income in each of the last 10 years is as shown in the following table. Food From Britain is a non-profit making organisation.
£ million Income 1992–93 1.5 1993–94 1.7 1994–95 1.6 1995–96 2.5 1996–97 4.1 1997–98 3.8 1998–99 4.0 1999–2000 3.7 2000–01 4.1 2001–02 4.6