§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what resources her Department is devoting to enforcement of the Weeds Act 1959 in the current financial year. [38497]
§ Mr. MorleyThis Department will investigate complaints about the spread of injurious weeds covered by the Weeds Act 1959 to farmed land or land used for the keeping of horses as part of a diversified farm 219W business. Where the complaint is valid the occupier of the land will be asked to take action to remove the weeds. In most cases the occupier will co-operate and act promptly to remove the weed. However in a small number of cases, following discussion with the parties involved, the occupier will persistently refuse to take action. If this is the case we will arrange for the weeds to be cleared and will recover the cost from the occupier of the land.
When following up a complaint we may arrange for an inspector from the Rural Payments Agency to visit the holding to identify the weed concerned and the level of infestation. If necessary a follow-up visit may also be carried out to ensure the weeds have been removed. Technical staff from the Department's Rural Development Service will oversee clearance work arranged by DEFRA.
In the current financial year all work involving farm visits has been severely constrained by the foot and mouth outbreak. As a result only some one and a half staff years were devoted to this work over the period from April to December 2001.