HC Deb 21 November 1985 vol 87 cc298-300W

Research and development spending by the Agriculture Development and Advisory Service—ADAS—will be reduced by some £4 million in 1986–87. This is in line with earlier decisions to reduce Government expenditure on agricultural research and development.

This will be achieved by rationalising the organisation of ADAS's R & D and concentrating work on fewer sites. This approach is intended to maintain ADAS's capability to respond to advice on the longer term priorities for R & D which the priorities board is considering, and to respond to the needs of industry as expressed through the financial contributions which the Government consider the industry should make towards the cost of R & D from which it benefits. It has been endorsed by the priorities board.

As part of these economies the Agricultural Science Service laboratories at Shardlow hall, Derby; Llanishen, Cardiff; and Bangor; and the Department of the Central Veterinary Laboratory located as Lasswade, Edinburgh, will close from April 1, 1986. The arrangements for maintaining the essential services needed in the areas concerned in future will be announced later.

About 200 ADAS and support staff are employed at these laboratories. Some of these staff can be redeployed, and a number of job losses can be achieved by natural wastage, but the total cannot be achieved without some redundancies. The staff are being informed, and their staff associations consulted as appropriate on the implementation of these decisions. It is not possible at this stage to state the number or location of redundancies which will be necessary.

Mr. John

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the statutory services provided by the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service, stating in each case (a) the annual cost of statutory work, (b) the revenue currently yielded by existing charges, (c)

Agriculture Service Agricultural Science Service Land and Water Service State Veterinary Service Central Units Total Front line advisers
1 April 1979 1,798 1155½ 788 1,669½ 52 5,463 1,601
1 April 1980 1,789 l,190½ 789½ 1,655 25 5,449 1,641
1 April 1981 l,753½ 1,168 771½ 1,585 22 5,300 1,721
1 April 1982 l,647½ 1,165 704½ 1,519½ 21 5,057½ 1,501
1 April 1983 1,639 1,131 638½ 1,468½ 12 4,889 1,439
1 April 1984 1,631 1,137½ 587 1,448 10 4,813½ 1,395
1 April 1985 1,619 1,141½ 593 1,422 11 4,786½ 1,409

Notes:

1. Part-time staff are counted as a half.

2. The former land service and land drainage service were amalgamated in 1981.

3. "Front line advisers" has been interpretated as meaning ADAS staff in regular direct contact with the farming and horticulture industry. Figures are therefore based on totals of regional and divisional staff of the agricultural service and the land and water service whose duties are primarily advisory. Back-up advice, including laboratory analytical and diagnostic services, is also provided by the agricultural science service and, through veterinary practitioners, by the state veterinary service, whose staff are not included in the figures given above.

Mr. John

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many advisers employed in the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service are specialists in (a) conservation and (b) the diversification of farm businesses.

Mr. Jopling

There is no group of ADAS officers classified as conservation specialists, but a large number are engaged in advisory, research or other work with an important and very varied environmental content. There are seven full-time specialist advisers in socio-economics (which includes the diversification of farm businesses) and, again, many other ADAS officers devote part of their time to this work.

Mr. John

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the number of visits made by Agricultural Development and Advisory Service advisers to farms each year and the proportion of such visits which arise from (a) statutory functions, (b) advisory functions and (c) research and development; and what was the proportion of such visits which were initiated by the farmer concerned.

whether he intends to seek to increase existing charges or introduce new charges in respect of that service and (d) what additional revenue he expects to result from the extension of charges.

Mr. Jopling

As regards the range of statutory functions of my Department which are performed wholly or partly by ADAS, and the cost and revenue of those functions, I would refer the hon. Member to the report "Ministerial Information in MAFF (MINIM) 1985", copies of which are now in the Library of the House. The areas of statutory work for which I intend to introduce charges or increase charges were detailed in my written reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham (Mr. Couchman) on 7 November, which, together with the proposed charges for advisory services, are expected to yield additional revenue of about £11 million in 1987–88.

Mr. John

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the total number of staff in the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service, the number in each of the four constituent services and the number engaged in front-line advisory work in each year since 1979.

Mr. Jopling

The numbers of staff in each Service were as follows:

Mr. Jopling

I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. The following table sets out for the last two years the ADAS resources in man years consumed by statutory, advisory and research and development functions.

Man years
Statutory Advisory Research and Development
1983–84 1,766 1,444 1,597
1984–85 1,716 1,479 1,648