§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to encourage biofuel production; what total oilseed production output was in each of the last 20 years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [25195]
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§ Mr. MorleyFigures for UK harvested production of oilseeds are as follows:
Thousand tonnes 1984 924 1985 897 1986 966 1987 1,323 1988 1,033 1989 946 1990 1,207 1991 1,283 1992 1,213 1993 1,084 1994 1,243 1995 1,234 1996 1,415 1997 1,527 1998 1,566 1999 1,737 2000 1,157 2001 11,138 1Provisional Following the Green Fuels Challenge my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that a new duty rate for biodiesel, set at 20p per litre below the rate for Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel, is to be introduced in Budget 2002. This Department also supports solid biomass crops through the Energy Crops Scheme, part of the England Rural Development programme. This Department has recently commissioned a six-month study, on behalf of the Government-Industry Forum on non-food uses of crops, to provide an independent, comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of the comparative energy, environmental and socio-economic costs and benefits of biodiesel production in the UK. The study will compare results with those for other relevant green fuels and relevant energy saving measures.