§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the staffing levels are in each of his Department's(a) regional offices in England and Wales and (b) offices in (i) Bristol, (ii) Exeter and (iii) Plymouth. [127730]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 26 June 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) of 9 June 2000, Official Report, column 427W.
This sets out the number of substantive staff on a full-time equivalent basis at each of the MAFF Regional Services Centres, on 1 May 2000, including the offices at Bristol and Exeter. There are currently seven staff based at the Ministry's District Fisheries Office at Plymouth.
§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much time officials in each of his Department's regional offices have spent in meetings with farmers in each of the last five years. [127731]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 26 June 2000]: The information in the form requested is unavailable. However, in 1999, farmers made some 79,000 visits to the nine MAFF Regional Service Centres, the equivalent of around 5 per cent. of the total estimated farmer contacts with the RSCs.