§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will list the speeches which(a) she and (b) other Ministers from her Department have made to external organisations and businesses since 7 June 2001, in each case saying where the speech is publicly available; if she will place copies of speeches not available in the Library; and if she will make a statement; [56552]
(2) when she will answer the question of the hon. Member for Gordon, reference 56552, on departmental speeches. [64736]
§ Mr. MorleyAll DEFRA Ministers make a number of speeches every week and so it would be only at disproportionate cost that a fully comprehensive list could be assembled. However, a list has been placed in the Library of the House which shows the principal keynote speeches made by DEFRA Ministers since 7 June 2001. Some of these are available on the DEFRA website (as are other, more minor speeches) and, where possible, the others are available upon request although generally not in an 'as delivered' format.
§ Mr. WeirTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representation the Scottish Executive will have on delegations to meetings with the European Commission to discuss their proposals for reform of the CAP. [70436]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 17 July 2002]: In accordance with the Concordat on Co-ordination of European Policy Issues (Part IIB of Cm 4444) and a bilateral concordat, the role of Ministers and officials of the devolved Administrations in the CAP reform negotiations will be to support and advance the single UK negotiating line which they will have played a part in developing. How that role is best fulfilled will be a matter for discussion with the devolved Administrations, but it is expected that Scottish Executive representatives wi 11 form part of the UK delegation for appropriate EU meetings.
§ Mr. DavidTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's response is to the European Commission's proposals for the reform of the CAP, as referred to in the mid-term review. [69602]
§ Kali MountfordTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the EU Commission's proposals to reform the CAP. [69605]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Government welcome publication of the European Commission's proposals for reform of the CAP which will form a good basis for discussion. We believe that the general thrust of the proposals for further market reform, decoupling of direct payments from production, and reinforcement of the rural development regulation is the right one, although in a number of key areas the Government consider that the proposals do not go far enough and do not adequately respond to the challenges ahead.
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§ Ann McKechinTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on what progress she expects on the reform of the common agricultural policy; and what timetable she expects will be agreed for its reform. [71723]
§ Mr. MorleyOn 10 July the European Commission published a communication to the European Council and European Parliament on reform of the common agricultural policy. Having been discussed at the Agriculture Council on 15 July, we expect it to be discussed again at future Councils during the Danish presidency. We are still at a very early stage in these complex negotiations, and it is difficult to predict when agreement will be reached. However, it is expected that the Commission will not table legislative proposals until late October at the earliest. The Commission has proposed that any reform agreed will apply from 1 January 2004.
§ Mr. WeirTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on the incomes of hill farmers in(a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England of the proposed changes in the common agricultural policy announced by the European Commission; what representations she made to the European Commission relating to the CAP prior to their recommendations; what recent discussions she has had with the Scottish Executives on reform of the common agricultural policy; and what meetings she has al ranged with the European Commission to discuss their proposals for reform of the CAP. [70373]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 17 July 2002]: An assessment has yet to be made of the impact on the incomes of hill farmers in England of the changes outlined in the Commission's CAP reform communication. It would be for the devolved Administrations to make such an assessment for farmers in Scotland and Wales. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, met Commissioner Fischler before publication of the Commission's communication to discuss related issues, and she has met him again since publication to discuss the specific proposals. CAP reform has been a recurring agenda item for the regular meetings my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has with Ministers from the devolved Administrations prior to EU Agriculture Council meetings. The most recent such meeting took place in Brussels on 15 July, focusing on the Commission's communication. No further meetings have been arranged with the EU Commission at this stage.