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Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what experiments his Department had carried out on the foot and mouth virus before the current outbreak; and what assessment he has made of the possibility of contamination of the national (a) herd and (b) flock as a result of such...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

11 May 2001

Reference

368 c469W;368 c470W; 158249

House

House of Commons

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will list the date of each EU meeting he has attended at which the future of the British livestock industry was discussed; what EU (a) draft and (b) other (i) plans, (ii) proposals and (iii) discussion papers relating to...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

2 April 2001

For answer on

11 May 2001

Answered on

11 May 2001

Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the date of each EU meeting he has attended at which the future of the British livestock industry was discussed; what EU (a) draft and (b) other (i) plans, (ii) proposals and (iii) discussion papers relating to (1) the future of the British livestock industry and (2) an arable-only option for English farming he has been informed of; and if he will make a statement. [157047] Ms Quin: [holding answer 5 April 2001]: Between July 1998 and April 2001, the Minister and/or I attended 17 meetings of the EU Agriculture Council at which matters affecting he British livestock industry were discussed. In addition, the Minister has attended six informal meetings of the Agriculture Council and I have attended one. These are a forum for discussion on the future direction of EU agri-food policy, based on a Presidency paper. The dates of these meetings, both formal and informal, are set out at Annex A. The outcome of each Council is formally reported to the House. The most significant set of proposals to date has been the Agenda 2000 proposals on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. First discussed at the Agriculture Council in March 1998, these were refined and finalised in March 1999. The package included reductions to the level of market support to the arable, beef and dairy regimes, and the establishment of a single, integrated legal framework for farm-related rural development and agri-environment measures (the Rural Development Regulation). Other proposals likely to impact on the livestock industry are: Commission proposal (April 2000) to amend Common Organisation of Market in pigmeat to permit member states to set producer-financed funds to help stabilise incomes; Commission proposal (December 2000) to introduce a three-year pilot "Small Farmers' Scheme" simplifying the subsidy system for farmers receiving CAP payments under specified schemes of less than 1,000 euros per year, and Commission seven-point plan (January 2001) to tackle the difficulties faced by the beef regime in the light of BSE. All proposals for EU legislation are subject to ministerial and parliamentary scrutiny before they are adopted. The Government are not aware of any proposals for an arable-only future for the British farming industry. Annex A: Meetings attended by Minister at which matters affecting British livestock industry were discussed _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Date of meeting Forum 20-22 September 1998 Informal Agriculture Council--Austrian Presidency paper: Farming in harmony with nature, agricultural perspectives for rural areas 28 September 1998 Agriculture Council 19-20 October 1998 Agriculture Council 23-24 November 1998 Agriculture Council 14-15 December 1998 Agriculture Council 18-19 January 1999 Agriculture Council 22-23 February 1999 Agriculture Council 4-5 and 9-11 March 1999 Agriculture Council 31 May-1 June 1999 Informal Agriculture Council--German Presidency paper: Sustainable rural development agricultural structure policy for rural areas 19 July 1999 Agriculture Council 13-14 September 1999 Informal Agriculture Council--Finnish Presidency paper: Agriculture and the new WTO round of negotiations 15-16 November 1999 Agriculture Council 14-15 December 1999 Agriculture Council 24 January 2000 Agriculture Council 20-21 March 2000 Agriculture Council 17-18 April 2000 Agriculture Council 29-30 May 2000 Informal Agriculture Council--Portuguese Presidency paper: Quality in diversity: a challenge for EU agriculture 19 June 2000 Agriculture Council 17 July 2000 Agriculture Council 21 November 2000 Agriculture Council 4 December 2000 Agriculture Council 19-20 December 2000 Agriculture Council 29 January 2001 Agriculture Council 26-27 February 2001 Agriculture Council 19-20 March 2001 Agriculture Council 24-25 April 2001 Agriculture Council _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Date

11 May 2001

Reference

368 c489-90W;368 c490-1W; 157047

House

House of Commons

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if the pigswill used at Burnside Farm, Heddon-on-the-Wall, was treated and used by a neighbouring farmer; what the basis was of his Department's statement that two named dealers were the main source of spread of foot and mouth disease; on what...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

10 May 2001

Reference

368 c290W; 158244;158251;158245

House

House of Commons

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what his assessment is of the impact on the spread of foot and mouth of the time which passed between the implementation of the export ban and the UK movement ban. (Holding answer 23 April 2001).

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

10 May 2001

Reference

368 c291W;368 c290-1W; 158250

House

House of Commons

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, when it was decided to make a landfill site at Fosterville, Newton Abbot, available for the burial of carcasses of animals slaughtered in connection with the control of foot and mouth disease; what category of carcasses (a) have been buried at...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

3 April 2001

For answer on

10 May 2001

Answered on

10 May 2001

Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when it was decided to make a landfill site at Fosterville, Newton Abbot, available for the burial of carcases of animals slaughtered in connection with the control of foot and mouth disease; what category of carcases (a) have been buried at the site to date and (b) may be buried there in the future; how many carcases and what species of animal can be buried at Fosterville; how many carcases are to be buried at the site; if it is his policy to allow carcases from infected areas to be buried in uninfected areas; if he will list the burial sites that have been approved where carcases from infected areas are buried in uninfected areas; what (i) advice and (ii) representations he has received about the burial of carcases from infected areas in uninfected areas; and if he will make a statement. [157320] Ms Quin: [holding answer 9 April 2001]: The landfill site at Fosterville, Newton Abbot was made available from 30 March 2001 to accept uninfected carcases from the livestock welfare disposal scheme. Carcases from animals taken for disease control purposes rather than under the welfare scheme are not being sent to Fosterville. As of 23 April 2001 the site had accepted 34,540 carcases from the scheme. The site can accept approximately 200 tonnes of carcases per day. It is anticipated that use of Fosterville is likely to continue until the scheme is no longer necessary. MAFF does not approve individual movements of livestock carcases under the livestock welfare disposal scheme. The Intervention Board is responsible for administering this scheme and directs carcases to disposal sites in order to maximise the use of available resources such as abattoirs and disposal sites at any one time, taking account of policy guidelines. As far as possible, the objective of the authorities responsible for the disposal arrangements is to ensure that carcases are not transported from a higher risk area to a lower risk area. However factors such as the location of abattoirs and landfill sites mean this is not possible in all circumstances. We recognise that this is a matter of general concern, and has been raised a number of times. Veterinary advice is that the risk of spreading the disease through transporting welfare carcases from infected areas to non-infected areas is low when proper protocols are followed on veterinary inspection before slaughter, transportation and disposal.

Date

10 May 2001

Reference

368 c288-9W; 157320

House

House of Commons

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what his assessment is of the reasons for which the confirmed cases of foot and mouth are disproportionately concentrated in Dumfries and Galloway, Cumbria and Devon; and if he will make a statement. - (Holding answer 23 April 2001).

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

10 May 2001

Reference

368 c290W; 158253

House

House of Commons

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what reports he has received about the results of the virology tests taken from livestock which were slaughtered upon suspicion by the French authorities, on the farm of M. Nozin, of Hameau le Fayed, St Nicholas de Bliquetuit, France; when the...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

9 May 2001

Reference

368 c236W; 158252

House

House of Commons

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if a flock of sheep from Abermarle Barracks, Heddon-on-the-Wall, was slaughtered and buried prior to the outbreak at Burnside Farm. - (Holding answer 23 April 2001).

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

9 May 2001

Reference

368 c235W; 158254

House

House of Commons

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what reports he has received about the impact on safety of the grades of steel used in railway tracks since 1997; and if he will make a statement. - (Holding answer 23 April 2001).

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

24 April 2001

Reference

158248; 367 c206W

House

House of Commons

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what arrangements his Department makes for conducting emergency planning exercises in relation to the possible outbreak of infectious diseases amongst animals; if such exercises (a) involve liaising with the (i) police and (ii) the armed forces; and are conducted periodically; by...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

9 April 2001

Reference

155927; 366 c473-4W

House

House of Commons

"SOS SOUTH WEST" CAMPAIGN: FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE AND THE ECONOMY IN THE SOUTH WEST

That this House commends The Western Morning News, The Express and Echo, The Herald Express and The Evening Herald for their SOS South West Campaign with its plea to the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of the South West; notes that Devon and Cornwall is a region in...

Primary sponsor

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Type

Early day motions

Date

5 April 2001

Reference

554; 554A1; 554A2

House

House of Commons

Treasury;Office for National Statistics

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the rate of compliance is with the Annual Business Inquiry Financial Questionnaire circulated by the Office for National Statistics; and what penalties exist for non-compliance. - Includes text of letter from Len Cook of National Statistics.

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Treasury

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

2 April 2001

Reference

155749; 366 c52W

House

House of Commons

Treasury;Office for National Statistics

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the amount of time businesses are required to take providing data for the Office for National Statistics; and if he will examine ways of reducing it. - Includes text of letter from Len Cook of National Statistics...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Treasury

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

22 March 2001

For answer on

2 April 2001

Answered on

2 April 2001

Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the amount of time businesses are required to take providing data for the Office for National Statistics; and if he will examine ways of reducing it. [155750] Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply. Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Patrick Nicholls, dated 2 April 2001: As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the amount of time businesses are required to take providing data for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and if this can be reduced (155750). The ONS is extremely conscious of its responsibility to reduce the costs to business of complying with its surveys. Minimising the burden on suppliers of data is one of the ONS's key aims. The ONS produces an Annual Compliance Plan which charts the compliance costs by inquiry. This contains details of compliance-reducing initiatives that are either being undertaken, or are in the pipeline, the compliance target for the current year and the profile of compliance costs over a four year timescale. A copy of the Compliance Plan for 1999-2000 is available in the House of Commons Library. Regular reviews of surveys are carried out to examine wither there is a continuing need for them. Long term plans for bringing down compliance costs include greater use of administrative data, collecting data over the internet, developing commercial accounting software to include a statistics module and sharing the burden more equally among medium size firms.

Date

2 April 2001

Reference

155750; 366 c51W

House

House of Commons

Lord Chancellors Dept

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what the average time is before (a) all types of appeals and (b) appeals relating to war pension disability orders are heard by appeal tribunals; and if he will make a statement; if he will make a statement on the ability of...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Lord Chancellor's Department

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

22 March 2001

For answer on

29 March 2001

Answered on

29 March 2001

Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what the average time is before (a) all types of appeals and (b) appeals relating to war pension disability orders are heard by appeal tribunals; and if she will make a statement; [155890] (2) if she will make a statement on the ability of the War Pension Appeal procedure to deal efficiently and effectively with the cases of ex-service personnel. [155892] Jane Kennedy: Appeals to the Pensions Appeal Tribunal currently all relate to war pensions entitlement and disability assessments. The average waiting time between the receipt of an appeal by the Pensions Appeal Tribunals and hearing is currently 82 weeks. Provisions in The Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000, which came into force in England and Wales on 9 April 2001, will enable appeals to be listed for hearing more quickly and allow for appeals to be dealt with efficiently and effectively. The introduction of a six month time limit will mean that the information available to the tribunal to determine the appeal will be more timely. At present there is no time limit for appealing a decision of the War Pensions Agency and in some cases the tribunal have to decide appeals where the decision has been made many years before. Additionally the tribunal will, from 9 April 2001, be required to consider only those factors pertaining at the time the decision was made. Under the existing rules the tribunal also have to take into account any changes that may have occurred between the decision being made and the date of the hearing. In practice this has meant that the tribunal often had to obtain new evidence which was not considered by the War Pensions Agency in making their decision. These provisions, along with operational improvements including additional sitting capacity, will help to reduce the waiting times.

Legislation

Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000

Date

29 March 2001

Reference

365 c785-6W; 155890;155892

House

House of Commons

Lord Chancellors Dept

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, when he expects the Appeals Service to hear the complaint of Mr P. R. Manifield.

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Lord Chancellor's Department

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

29 March 2001

Reference

155891; 365 c784-5W

House

House of Commons

Dept of Social Security;Appeals Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what has been the average clearance time for appeals against benefit assessments in each of the last four years; how many appeals were made during the last 12 months against benefit assessments; and how many of these appeals are outstanding; if...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Department of Social Security

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

22 March 2001

For answer on

29 March 2001

Answered on

29 March 2001

Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what has been the average clearance time for appeals against benefit assessments in each of the last four years; [155885] (2) how many appeals were made during the last 12 months against benefit assessments; and how many of these appeals are outstanding; [155886] (3) if he will set out the strategy implemented by the Appeals Service in order to reduce waiting times for all appellants; and what assessment he has made of its success; [155887] (4) how many appeals were heard by the Appeals Service in (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to April 2000; and how many of the appeals in each of these years were successful; [155888] (5) how many appeals were lodged with the Appeals Service following refusal of benefit in (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to April 2000. [155889] Angela Eagle: The administration of appeals is a matter for Neil Ward, Chief Executive of the Appeals Service. He will write to the hon. Member. Letter from Neil Ward to Mr. Patrick Nicholls, dated 29 March 2001: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions. You asked: 1) What has been the average clearance time for appeals against benefit assessments in each of the last four years (PQ983). 2) How many appeals were made during the last 12 months against benefit assessments; and how many of these appeals are outstanding (PQ984). 3) What strategy was implemented by the Appeals Service in order to reduce waiting times for all appellants; and what assessment has been made of its success (PQ985). 4) How many appeals were heard by the Appeals Service in (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to April 2000; and how many of the appeals in each of these years were successful (PQ986). 5) How many appeals were lodged with the Appeals Service following refusal of benefit in (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to April 2000 (PQ987). I am unable to provide all the information in the form you have requested it. However the information that is available is as follows: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Appeals received Average clearance time Number of appeals heard Number of appeals found for appeals from and decided in appellant's favour lodgement at first tier agency In weeks 1 May 1997 to 30 April 1998 300,389 25.2 158,838{1} 50,466{1} 1 May 1998 to 30 April 1999 316,395 30.3 282,535 98,516 1 May 1999 to 30 April 2000 247,294 31.4 207,724 75,810 1 May 2000 to 30 September 108,879 28.8 70,564 28,668 2000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Figures include appeals not held on the GAPS system for the period 1 July 1997 to 31 December 1997. Notes: 1. Information taken from 100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System (GAPS). 2. The table covers appeals from all sources. It is not possible to distinguish appeals against benefit assessments. 3. Figures may change as later data becomes available. Since taking up post as Chief Executive in 1999, initially of the Independent Tribunal Service and now of the Appeals Service, I have been fully committed to improving the services that we offer to appellants and others who use or rely upon our services. I have set about this systematically, in three ways: (i) The backlog of oldest cases I inherited has been tackled and largely cleared. At the end of February 1999, over half-- some 77,000 appeals--of our outstanding appeals load were over six months old and many of them considerably older. Priority was given to clearing these appeals on the basis that all appeals were--and still are--dealt with on the basis of "First In, First Out", with staff and tribunal members alike seeing wherever possible to clear the oldest cases first. Of that original 77,000 just over 800 remain and these are almost entirely appeals awaiting decisions from higher courts on lead cases, the outcome of which will have a direct bearing on the outstanding appeals. (ii) At the same time and for newer appeals, we have sought to reduce both the waiting times that appellants have to wait to have their appeal heard and, where cases are adjourned by tribunals, the length of time they remain outstanding. These measures are now reflected in the targets the Secretary of State has set for the Appeals Service Agency and performance will be reported in the Agency's Annual Report. Currently, the national average waiting time for appellants is 13.7 weeks and some 23 per cent. of our outstanding appeals are over six months old, of which 7,600 appeals cannot proceed until lead cases with higher counts are decided. The current number of appeals outstanding and sitting with the Appeals Service is some 77,600. This progress reflects improvements in delivery of our services in all regions although the extent of the gains varies. Particular attention is now being paid to reducing variations in performance aimed at bringing performance everywhere up to the standards of the best of our offices and we have strengthened our direct service delivery teams accordingly. (iii) To secure these gains, the Appeals Service has had to become a learning organisation. We have secured Investors in People accreditation and place great importance on practical training programmes designed to improve service delivery. We use the European Foundation for Quality Management's Excellence Model to identify internally areas for improvement; we have run customer and staff surveys to tell us where those who use or operate our services believe improvements can best be made; and we make use of direct feedback from individual appellants, their representatives, Members of Parliament or the Ombudsman. Improvements are being made and will continue to be so. I hope this information is helpful.

Date

29 March 2001

Reference

365 c775-6W; 155885;155886;155887;155888;155889

House

House of Commons

Dept of Health

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action he has taken to reduce the suicide rates in young males.

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Department of Health

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

20 March 2001

Reference

365 c139W; 153974

House

House of Commons

Prime Minister

To ask the Prime Minister, what assessment Her Majesty's Government has made of the overall economic consequences to areas where foot and mouth disease has been discovered; if he will identify the consequential losses that flow from the disease with a view to proposing a package of financial measures to...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Prime Minister

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

19 March 2001

Reference

365 c10W; 153975

House

House of Commons

Prime Minister

To ask the Prime Minister, if he will set out the (a) terms of reference and (b) membership and (c) programme of the task force set up to consider the impact of foot and mouth disease on rural areas; when the task force is to report; if he will publish...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Prime Minister

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

13 March 2001

For answer on

16 March 2001

Answered on

16 March 2001

Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Prime Minister if he will set out the (a) terms of reference and (b) membership and (c) programme of the taskforce set up to consider the impact of foot and mouth disease on rural areas; when the taskforce is to report; if he will publish the findings of the taskforce; and if he will make a statement. [154212] The Prime Minister: I have asked my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment to chair a taskforce with the following terms of reference: To consider the implications of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease for the rural economy, both immediately and in the longer term and to report to the Prime Minster on appropriate measures. In particular to: (a) identify the problems that the FMD outbreak is causing for the wider rural economy; (b) draw up specific guidance for public and businesses in accordance with veterinary advice; (c) identify any initiatives--e.g. from the Rural White Paper-- whose implementation might be brought forward to help those caught up in the crisis; (d) identify potential new actions which would help to kick-start the rural economy again once the outbreak had been eradicated. The taskforce include representatives (including Ministers) of the following organisations: Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions Department of Trade and Industry Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Department of Culture, Media and Sport Treasury No. 10 English Tourism Council Countryside Agency British Hospitality Association National Trust Federation of Small Businesses National Farmers Union Country Landowners Association South West Regional Development Agency Newcastle University Local Government Association National Federation of Women's Institutes The Rural Group of the Bishops of the Church of England Countryside Alliance Scottish Executive The Wales Office Northern Ireland Executive Forestry Commission. The first meeting of the taskforce took place on Wednesday, 14 March and it will meet again early next week. I have asked for the specific guidance to the public and businesses on access to the countryside to be prepared by the weekend, and for a report on immediate initiatives to help those caught up in the crisis as soon as possible next week. The taskforce will meet regularly.

Date

16 March 2001

Reference

364 c753-4W; 154212

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what estimate he has made of the number of A level students working to fund their studies; what assessment he has made of the effects that this has had on their results; and if he will make a statement. -...

Asked by

Patrick Nicholls (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

12 March 2001

Reference

364 c445W; 152095

House

House of Commons

Librarians' tools

Type

House

Session

Year

Department

Member

Primary member

Answering member

Legislative stage

Legislation

Subject

Publisher