HC Deb 30 July 1982 vol 28 c727W
Mr. McNamara

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on his aid proposals for the fishing industry and particularly the freezer fleet sailing from Hull.

Mr. Peter Walker

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave him on 22 July.—[Vol. 28, c.546.]

Period Number of cases considered by ADHACS and advice sent to housing authority Number of cases where ADHAC advised agricultural need was established Number of cases of immediate need
1977 718 659 248
1978 733 651 209
1979 806 712 206

Period Number of cases considered by ADHACS and advice sent to housing authority Number of cases where ADHAC advised agricultural need was established Indication of urgency of need
Immediate Within a set period Other
1 January to 30 June 1980 363 314 82 207 25
1 July 1980 to 31 December 1980 264 225 52 152 21
1 January to 30 June 1981 279 239 57 164 18
1 July to 31 December 1981 534 459 113 310 36
1 January to 30 June 1982 296 210 47 152 11

Mr. Myles

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what decisions have been made about extending for a further year the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund scheme for grant-aiding the building and modernisation of fishing vessels and marine fish farms.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

We expect that a proposal to extend the FEOGA scheme for grant aiding the building, purchase or modernisation of fishing vessels and projects for the development of marine fish farming will be discussed at the next meeting of the Fisheries Council which is due to be held in September.

In the meantime, the Commission has agreed that it will accept and acknowledge any applications for aid under the proposed scheme for 1982 on a contingency basis. This decision, which was made at our request, is important to potential applicants who may be waiting to take delivery of vessels or to begin on vessel improvement or marine aquaculture projects since, once their application has been acknowledged by the Commission, they will be able to go ahead without prejudicing their eligibility for FEOGA aid under the proposed scheme. Had we not pressed this matter they would have had no option but to wait until the scheme had been approved if they wished to protect their ability to apply for the grant.

No decisions on aid claims can, of course, be made until the Council approves the proposed scheme.