Farming (Hansard, 15 October 2001)

§ David Maclean
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in(a) England and (b) Cumbria do no other farming activity except letting out their grass. [5258]

§ Mr. Morley
The information is not available.
The annual June census asks farmers only to account for land that they actively farm themselves.

§ David Maclean
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals she has to assist farmers whose only business is letting out their grass. [5257]
1078W

§ Mr. Morley
My officials are in touch with the Arthur Rank Foundation and with industry bodies about the work of the ARF's National Fodder Bureau and Government match funding for this charitable work. These discussions have included consideration of the prices and availability of fodder and grazing across the country.

§ Hugh Robertson
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to represent non-farming and conservation interests on her Department's Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food. [6002]

§ Mr. Morley
Appointments to the independent Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, announced on 9 August, have been made by the Prime Minister. Members have been appointed in a personal capacity, not as representatives of particular groups, and reflect a wide range of interests, knowledge and expertise extending beyond farming and conservation.
Full details of membership are on the Commission's website www.cabinet office.gov.uk/farming.

§ Mr. Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to reduce the level of bureaucracy for farmers. [6246]

§ Mr. Morley
We are very conscious of the need to reduce bureaucracy. While some regulation is unavoidable if the Government are to safeguard public and animal health, environmental matters or public funds, the aim is to keep regulation to a minimum. A major programme of work to streamline processes has been under way for the last 18 months since my right hon. Friend the former Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food asked the industry to identify particular problem areas. In Europe, too, we continue to seek greater simplification of regulations affecting farmers.
Money has been saved in direct costs to industry as well as time saved in paperwork—for example, by implementing a simplified procedure for granting "own-use" approvals for imports of pesticides with a reduced fee, by streamlining intervention procedures and by better co-ordinated cattle inspections. We continue to implement the remaining recommendations from the Red Tape Reviews and the Better Regulation Task Force report on Environmental Regulation and Farmers.
In addition, in common with other regulatory departments, we are preparing a Departmental Regulatory Reform Action Plan.