Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many contracts signed by her Department with suppliers of services or consultants include a clause providing that if the contract is abrogated by the Government, the provider or consultant will be compensated for lost income since 2010.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The standard terms and conditions used by core Defra do not include compensation clauses in the event of termination of the contract. Reviewing all contracts signed since 2010 to identify possible exceptions to our standard terms would entail disproportionate costs.
Since January 2011, as part of the Government’s transparency programme, details of contracts worth over £10,000 are published online on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder).
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason seafood manufacturers are precluded from applying for regional structural aid; and for what alternative funding they can apply.
Answered by George Eustice
Seafood manufacturers are precluded from applying for regional structural aid through the provisions set out in the European Commission’s state aid rules for the fisheries sector which apply to businesses involved in the processing of fish and fisheries products, as well as to the catching sector. The Commission views this as necessary to avoid distortion of the market and to ensure consistency with the objectives of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy. However, support is available to small and medium-sized seafood manufacturers via the European Fisheries Fund, and its successor, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
Any application for alternative funding would need to be considered on a case-by-case basis subject to the specific request.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to publish the report of the inquiry into the wrongful selling of horsemeat; and what the reasons are for the time taken to publish that report.
Answered by George Eustice
Following the horsemeat fraud incident the Government commissioned Professor Chris Elliott, of Queen’s University Belfast, to carry out an independent review into the Integrity and Assurance of Food Supply Networks. This was not an inquiry into the horsemeat fraud itself but a much wider review of the issues which impact on consumer confidence in the authenticity of their food.
Professor Elliott’s Review was published on 4 September 2014 and sets out a systems approach to improve the food supply chain. The integrity of our food and empowering consumers to make informed choices are central to this Government’s vision of a competitive, resilient and growing UK food and farming sector. This is an important issue and it is only right that upon her appointment on 15 July 2014 the Secretary of State gave Professor Elliott’s final report the time and consideration it deserved before its publication. The report was published when Parliament returned after recess.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has for implementation of the EU ban on fish discards; and what representations she has received on the sale or disposal of fish discarded before that ban comes into effect.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK secured a landing obligation as part of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy which entered into force on the 1 January 2014. The landing obligation comes into force in a phased timetable starting with pelagic fisheries on 1 January 2015 and extending to other fisheries from 2016.
Detailed preparatory work is underway with the fishing industry, European Union Member States and other stakeholders about how we can best implement these changes in practice. This includes supporting the industry in reducing discards ahead of the discard ban coming into effect, including through our successful catch quota scheme.