§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the grain store at Clifton, York, was cleared of grain; for how long it remained empty; what is stored there currently, indicating the nature of the material and tonnage stored; what proportion of the total capacity is currently in use; whether the store has been, or is being, considered for storing bovine material resulting from the cattle cull; and how much per annum the store costs his Department to run(a) when empty and (b) currently. [21108]
§ Mr. BaldryBefore the current cereals intervention purchasing period which commenced on 1 November 1996, the store was cleared of barley on 31 January 1996.
731WThe store remained empty for a period of ten and a half months until mid-December 1996 when 738 tonnes of rye was allocated to the store. This tonnage has now been sold but is still awaiting collection by the purchaser. A further 190 tonnes of rye has been allocated to the store, and should be delivered before the end of March 1997.
In addition to the rye, two of the eight sheds with a storage capacity of 20,000 tonnes have been sub-let to a private contractor for the storage of sugar beet nuts. The store has a total wheat capacity of 82,350 tonnes, comprising eight sheds totalling 79,500 tonnes and 32 bins totalling 28,250 tonnes.
The store is not being considered for storing bovine material resulting from the cattle cull.
The running costs of the store, when empty, is approximately £386,600 per annum, including store management fees, opportunity rent and contribution in lieu of rates. The additional running costs for actual storage are variable depending on time of intake and discharge and volume in store; these costs are calculated on the basis of £0.80 per tonne for intake, £0.70 per tonne for discharge and £0.022 per tonne per day for storage.
§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food where is the grain store nearest to York which is being used to store bovine material resulting from the cattle cull. [21107]
§ Mr. BaldryThe nearest grain store to York used for bovine material from the cattle cull is the Government-owned store at Hemswell Cliff, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, converted last year to store frozen product from the over-30-month-scheme.