§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on farm income levels for farmers in Crosby in the past five years. [160394]
§ Alun MichaelDue to the small number of farms in Crosby, there is no robust data available on farm incomes for farmers in Crosby over the last five years.
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§ Mr. WillsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the 20 largest payments made under the(a) Arable Area Payments Scheme, (b) Beef Special Premium Scheme, (c) Suckler Cow Premium Scheme, (d) Sheep Annual Premium Scheme, (e) Hill Farm Allowance Scheme, (f) Slaughter Premium Scheme, (g) Integrated Administration and Control System, (h) Dairy Premium Scheme, (i) Dairy Additional Payments Scheme and (j) Extensification Payment Scheme were in the most recent EU budget year for which figures are available. [156141]
§ Alun MichaelThe figures in the following table represent the total of the 20 largest payments made under the listed schemes. These are based on the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Year which runs from 16 October 2002 to 15 October 2003.
Scheme Value (£) Arable Area Payments 10,067,954.47 Beef Special Premium 819,631.12 Suckler Cow Premium 1,721,515.19 Sheep Annual Premium 1,438,796.95 Hill Farming Allowance 310,191.42 Slaughter Premium 600,375.50 Extensification Payment 915,768.43 Figures have not been provided for (g) Integrated Administration and Control System as this is an umbrella scheme which encompasses the individual schemes listed in the table; (h) Dairy Premium Scheme and (i) Dairy Additional Payments Scheme which are new schemes being introduced with effect from 2004.
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is bound by commercial confidentiality in its dealings with its customers, whether sole traders or farmers or corporations, breach of which by disclosing information relating to the affairs of individual traders or farmers or corporations would expose the RPA to the liability of legal proceedings in tort.
In relation to individual farmers or traders, information which is of a personal nature, such as individual payments to such persons, is personal data which is protected from voluntary disclosure under the Data Protection Act 1998. While the RPA can release global figures relating to payments, which do not identify individual persons, including corporations, it is unable to release individual figures without incurring the liabilities under the two principles.paFisheries
§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the maximum amounts of fish allowed to be caught daily in Welsh waters were in each year since 1997. [160910]
§ Mr. BradshawThere are no specific limits as to the amount of fish that can be taken in Welsh waters. For certain stocks total allowable catches are fixed annually by the EU but in relation to sea areas as defined by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas. These areas do not correspond with Welsh or other territorial waters.
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§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fisheries have been closed to protect stocks since 1997. [160874]
Fisheries Irish Sea Area closed each spring since 2000, through EU measures, to targeted fishing for cod in Spring as part of Irish Sea Cod Recovery Plan to protect spawning cod North Sea Area closed, through EU measures, to targeted fishing for cod in Spring 2001 as part of the North Sea Cod Recovery Plan to protect spawning cod Nursery Areas for bass 3 further areas in estuaries and around the coast of England and Wales closed, by the UK Government, to bass fishing to protect juveniles Clyde estuary Area closed, by the Scottish Executive, each spring since 2001 to demersal trawls to protect spawning cod. There are also longer standing fisheries closures such as the Mackerel, Pout and Herring boxes.
Fisheries Darwin Mounds A ban on bottom trawling introduced by the EU in 2003 at the UK's request to protect cold water coral Lundy Island A total fishing ban introduced by Devon Sea Fisheries Committee in 2003 to protect the Lundy Marine Nature Reserve Sandeel Box Area (the Wee Bankie) off the North-east coast of the UK where industrial fishing has been banned since 2000 by the EU to protect the food species of a range of predators including sea-birds The Wash A ban introduced by UK Government in 1998 on dredging for razor shells, trough shells and carpet shells to protect the Wash and North Norfolk candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) Fal and Helford Estuaries A ban introduced by UK Government in 2003 on dredging for scallops to protect the Fal and Helford cSAC
§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the tonnage of fish caught in UK territorial waters by fishing vessels registered in each EU member country was during the latest period for which figures are available. [161369]
§ Mr. BradshawThe arrangements for access to the coastal waters of the United Kingdom between 6 and 12 nautical miles are set out in Article 17 and Annex I of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy. Data on catches and landings made by UK vessels and vessels from other Member States is collected in relation to sea areas as defined by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas: this data includes, but does not separately identify, the quantities of fish taken from the United Kingdom's coastal waters.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the(a) operations and (b) efficiency of claimants' associations in respect of loss of fisheries in the fishing industry. [159678]
§ Mr. BradshawThis is not a matter I can comment on. It is up to individual associations to negotiate compensation for the possible loss of fisheries.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice and assistance on(a) financial and (b) legal issues is available to fishermen who wish to explore compensation opportunities for loss of fisheries. [159681]
§ Mr. BradshawAs one of the statutory regulators of marine works under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, the Department takes account,
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§ Mr. BradshawSince 1997 restrictions have been introduced in the following areas to close fisheries to protect stocks:
Legislation has also been introduced to restrict fishing in a number of areas for the protection of the wider marine environment:
among other things, the extent to which any proposed project is likely to affect the legitimate interests of other uses of the sea.
However, the Department does not offer advice or assistance on legal and financial issues with regard to seeking compensation from a licence applicant for any loss of fisheries.
§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fishing vessels were licensed in each year since 1997. [160873]
§ Mr. BradshawInformation is not readily available for 1997 but details on the number of vessels licensed by the UK Fisheries Departments since 1998 are given in the following table.
Vessel overall length 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Under 10 metres 5,041 5,053 4,925 4,810 4,805 4,699 4,738 Over 10 metres 2,320 2,149 2,034 1,958 1,912 1,691 1,570 Total 7,361 7,202 6,959 6,768 6,717 6,390 6,308