HC Deb 20 November 2003 vol 413 cc1203-4W
Gregory Barker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the potential effects of climate change on British agriculture. [137270]

Mr. Bradshaw

Since 1987 MAFF and now Defra has commissioned over £6 million of ongoing research focused on (i) identifying the impacts of potential climate change on UK agriculture; and (ii) helping farmers to develop adaptation strategies to manage the impacts of climate change. A report which summarises this research was published in early 2003 and is available on UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) website: http://www.ukcip.org.uk/Agriculture/agriculture.htm.

Furthermore, in 2000 we commissioned a report 'Climate Change and Agriculture in the UK' aimed at raising awareness of climate change within the farming community. Where sufficient evidence was available, this report summarised possible adaptation strategies to cope with expected changes; where the knowledge base was less robust, the report set out the potential impacts on UK agriculture. This report is available on the Defra website: http://defraweb/environ/climate/climatechange/index.htm

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will increase climate change agreement targets for companies not involved in the EU Emissions Trading scheme. [139148]

Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the(a) standard, (b) upper level, (c) lower level and (d) average payment made for bovine TB compensation was for (i) commercial dairy cattle and (ii) pedigree dairy cattle in (A) England and (B) Wales for each of the last five years for which figures are available. [136410]

Mr. Bradshaw

As compensation for bovine tuberculosis (TB) is based on individual valuations of cattle to be slaughtered for disease control reasons, information in the format requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The number of cattle slaughtered and overall expenditure on compensation for cattle slaughtered under TB control measures in England and in Wales, for the financial years 1998–99 to 2002–03, is given in the attached table:

Mr. Bradshaw

The EU Emissions Trading Scheme will come into force on 1 January 2005. Operators in the Climate Change Agreements within sectors covered by the scheme will be given the opportunity to apply to opt out of the first phase of the scheme between 2005 and 2007. Those operators exercising this opt out will be subject, along with all other operators not covered by the EU ETS, to the provisions of the Climate Change Agreements for a review of targets in 2004 and 2008 to ensure that they continue to represent the potential for cost effective energy savings taking account of any changes in technical or market conditions.