§ Mr. CabornTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what functions his Department carries out at the regional level; where the regional offices are located in each of the regions; what staff are employed and at what grades; what proportion of his Department's budget is spent in each of the regions; and what geographical boundaries determine his Department's regions.
§ Mr. CurryThe Department has a three-tier structure of regional, divisional and area offices. The geographical extent of the five regions and the location of the regional offices are as follows:
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Region Regional Office Area, by county South Western Bristol Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Isles of Stilly. South Eastern Reading Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, East and West Sussex, parts of the Greater London area.
Region Regional Office Area, by county Eastern Cambridge Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Suffolk, parts of the Greater London area. Midlands and Western Wolverhampton Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester, West Midlands Metropolitan County, Hereford and Worcester. Northern Leeds Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Humberside, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, North, South and West Yorkshire. A wide range of functions are carried out at the regional level. These include the administration of a number of grants and subsidy schemes, the provision of scientific, professional and technical advice (both free and charged), the conduct of research and development, the statutory control of animal diseases, the provision of a veterinary laboratory diagnostic service, meat hygiene and consumer protection work and safeguarding animal welfare.
As at 1 March 1990, the total number of staff of all grades stationed in each region was:
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Region Administrative ADAS FCS RDS SVS South Western 469 264 12 250 South Eastern 275.5 212 101 Eastern 427 298 110.5 213 Northern 438 239 92.5 Midlands and Western 533.5 326 91 165.5 TOTAL 2,143 1,339 407 628.5 ADAS: Agricultural Development and Advisory Service. FCS: Farm and Countryside Service. RDS: Research and Development Service. SVS: State Veterinary Service. These figures do not include staff at the central veterinary and science laboratories, staff engaged on fisheries work and outstationed headquarters staff. Nor do they include the 345 ADAS officers stationed in Scotland and Wales.
I regret that a detailed breakdown of the regional staff by grade and an analysis of the Department's budget by region are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate expense.