Pilot Projects (Hansard, 26 February 1999)

§ Mr. Morley

The list of pilot projects instigated by MAFF since 1 May 1997 is as followsArable Stewardship Pilot Scheme— This project aims to help restore wildlife in arable farmland areas. Grants are available in two areas, East Anglia and West Midlands. This is a three-year pilot scheme, launched in January 1998. The Uplands Experiment—This project involves an integrated approach to a number of existing grant schemes including Countryside Stewardship rather than a new scheme and will be 495W available in two areas, Forest of Bowland in Lancashire and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. This is a 2 year pilot due to be launched on 1 March. "Operation Gangmaster"—This project seeks to clamp down on exploitative agricultural gangmasters: co-ordinated enforcement by up to 8 agencies of legislation relevant to casual and seasonal workers, in East Anglia/East Midland area. It began in the 1998 summer season. Flood and Coastal Defence Capital Programme—The Environment Agency, in liaison with MAFF, is undertaking a formal test of the market on two pilot Public Private Partnership (Private Finance Initiative) projects—at Pevensey Bay in Sussex and Broadland in Norfolk. Both schemes have been included on the HM Treasury list of "significant projects" and have been given "pathfinder status". Invitation to Negotiate documents were issued on Pevensey in September 1998 and Broadland in October 1998, and the Agency will continue negotiations with selected consortiums with a view to contracts being let in Autumn 1999. The wider application of this procurement approach to the flood and coastal defence programme will be examined in the light of experience gained from these two pilot projects. A pilot study in the UK is being conducted in preparation for a National Survey on the "Microbiological quality and Heat Processing of Cows Milk". A project on the development and testing of a manual designed to help farmers minimise waste was completed in February 1998. Areas covered were Cheshire, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Dyfed. A large-scale anonymous postal survey of British sheep farmers concerning the incidence of scrapie took place in November/December 1998 from which the data are presently being analysed. Two pilot studies preceded this survey:

(i)In February 1998, a pilot study of 20 farmers in England and Wales nominated by their veterinary surgeons was conducted to investigate whether a survey of sheep farmers could obtain a valid estimate of the incidence of sheep scrapie.
(ii)A pilot study conducted in May-June 1998 trialled questionnaires amongst 300 sheep farmers throughout Great Britain.

Economic Evaluation of Access Provisions in the MAFF Agri-Environment Schemes—England. Economic Evaluation of the Milk Quota System—England and Wales. Customer Satisfaction Survey of MAFF's Regional Service Centres—England. Economic Evaluation of Nitrate Sensitive Areas Scheme—England. Farmers' Attitudes to Arable Options in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme—England. EU Survey of Farmers' Attitudes to and Comprehension of the Agri-Environmental Programme—Northern England. Interim Evaluation of the PESCA Community Initiative—United Kingdom. Economic Evaluation of Stage IV Environmentally Sensitive Areas—All six Stage IV ESAs in England: Blackdown Hills; Cotswold Hills; Dartmoor; Essex Coast; Shropshire Hills; and Upper Thames tributaries. Pilot Study of Countryside Maintenance and Management—The South West: Cornwall; Devon; Somerset; and Dorset. Arable Land Management Initiative: Norfolk Pilot Study. Pilot Study of Livestock Marketing Channels and Marketing Practices—North of England. Earnings and Hours of Agricultural and Horticultural Workers—England and Wales. 496W Property and Pollution in Arable Agriculture—Arable farms in East Anglia. Estimating the Value of Environmental Features: Stage One—England. Economic Evaluation of Farm Animal Welfare Policy: Baseline Study and Framework Development—United Kingdom. Farmers' Irrigation Decisions and Attitudes to Risk under Conditions of Water Scarcity—England. Economic Evaluation of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme—England. Economic Evaluation of MAFF's Contract with ATB Landbase—Great Britain. Hedgerow Management: a Study of Farmers' and Contractors' Attitudes—England: Devon; Dorset; Somerset; Leicestershire; Northamptonshire; Nottinghamshire; Yorkshire. Economic Evaluation of the Sheep Annual Premium Scheme—United Kingdom.