§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the cost to the taxpayer of administering the Sea Fish Conservation Act 1992; how these costs are calculated; how many officials are involved in administration of the Act; and what was the 1992 manning level.
§ Mr. CurryThe estimated cost of enforcing days at sea and extending licensing to vessels of 10 m overall length and below is £1.5 million per year for the United Kingdom as a whole. Inspectorate manpower is being increased from 184 in 1992 to 233. There will be additional one-off costs associated with the sea fish licence tribunal which is being established to hear fishermen's appeals against their days at sea allocations, but it is not possible to indicate these with any precision, not least because much will depend upon the number of appeals.