Defra’s office cleaners are provided through a facilities management contract and are paid the following hourly rates as a minimum:-

• Outside of London boroughs £8.25 rising to £8.45 from April 2017

• Within London boroughs - £9.40 rising to £9.75 from April 2017

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The Producer Support Estimate (PSE) is a statistic produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as part of its annual report “Monitoring and Evaluation of Agricultural Policies”. The PSE represents policy transfers to agricultural producers, measured at the farm gate and expressed as a share of gross farm receipts. Within the PSE the EU is treated as a single country; there are no figures for individual sectors or individual Member States.

In the OECD’s most recent report the PSE for the EU for 2013-15 was 19% (measured as a percentage of gross farm receipts) or €84.6bn.

The Government is committed to supporting Fairtrade around the world. Over the last six years, the Department for International Development (DfID) has provided £18 million to Fairtrade International to support their work and strengthen the global Fairtrade system. This includes Fairtrade producer and worker organisations that are the drivers of inclusive economic, environmental and social development in their communities around the world. DfID continues to actively engage with Fairtrade on a variety of projects and campaigns, such as the forthcoming Fairtrade Fortnight from 27 February to 12 March.

Our immediate and robust actions include:

• An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone which was put in place on 6 December and covers all of England. The Prevention Zone requires the compulsory housing of all poultry and captive birds or, where this is not possible, separation from wild birds. This will expire on 28th February and announcements on next steps will be made in due course;
• A ban on poultry gatherings to guard against spread;
• Enhanced wild bird surveillance around wetland areas by key partners;
• The clear expectation in widely available guidance that all keepers must exercise the highest biosecurity standards.

All measures are being kept under constant review.

Upon confirmation of disease, a 10 km Surveillance Zone and an inner Protection Zone of 3 km are put in place around each infected premises. The Protection and Surveillance Zones impose movement restrictions on poultry and other potentially contaminated material.

Susceptible animals on the infected premises are humanely culled and their carcasses and any other contaminated products of animal origin are then safely disposed of.

We will begin the process by consulting on our emerging vision and the strategic priorities for the future of the industries, through the form of a food, farming and fishing green paper which will be published in due course.

We will seek to agree a UK approach to the negotiations and ensure we get the best possible deal for the whole of the UK. We have committed to carefully considering any proposals the devolved administrations put forward. Defra Ministers have visited each of the devolved administrations to meet with Ministers and stakeholders.

The current workstreams within Defra’s EU Exit Programme are: EU Negotiations; Trade; Devolution; Repeal Bill, Future Agriculture and Land Use, Fisheries; Environment, and Animal and Plant Health. As the EU Exit Programme progresses, the workstreams may change as they are dynamic and under regular review. The workstreams in our EU Exit Programme are carrying out detailed analysis of the implications and opportunities presented by EU Exit.

Across the eight work streams, the Department’s EU Exit Programme is carrying out detailed analysis of the implications and opportunities presented by EU Exit. This work will support the Prime Minister’s 12 negotiating objectives and the achievement of our vision to unlock the potential of farming and fisheries as well as ensuring that we leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

It is our intention to shortly publish our 25 Year Food, Farming and Fishing, and Environment Green Papers, initiating a debate with all of Defra’s sectors and stakeholders, along with the wider public, to shape plans that will deliver genuine and lasting change for food, farming, fishing and the environment once we are outside the EU.

Defra is committed to developing a 25 year food and farming plan, which will set out a new vision for UK food and farming outside of the EU. It will be published in due course.

Civil servants have to have the ability to work flexibly across government sites where there is a business need to do so. The issuing of all passes is controlled by the local Departmental Security teams. Passes can also be issued to contractors or secondees based within Government premises on a case by case basis in regards to specific business needs. Numbers of passes issued directly to non-civil servants for access to departmental buildings will fluctuate over the course of a year.

Defra is planning to publish two Green Papers, one on our 25 year plan for the environment, and one on our 25 year plan for food, farming and fisheries. The Department is considering options for legislative and non-legislative measures to achieve a smooth and orderly exit from the EU, including through the Great Repeal Bill. We will confirm plans in due course.

The commercial data was extracted from the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) and the pet data was taken from APHA’s system for recording pets entering the UK, based on information provided by pet checkers.

In some cases imports are recorded on TRACES as “Canis familiaris / Felis catus”, so APHA are unable to distinguish between cat or dog imports. These are included on the table in row “Mixed cats/dogs”.

Pets

Commercial

Dogs

275,876

34,017

Cats

24,145

2,572

Ferrets

129

0

Mixed cats/dogs

N/A

327

The Office for National Statistics publish annually the highest and median salary for each Civil Service organisation as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found on the Office for National Statistics website:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexb

Earning levels for the lowest paid employees are not publically available.

EU funding for the promotion of agricultural products is available to all member states and will continue to be available until the UK’s exit from the European Union.

We are determined to get the best deal for Britain, including for our food and farming industry which generates over £110 billion a year for our economy.

We will need to consider our longer-term approach to funding as part of a future domestic agricultural policy and we will ensure we consult with stakeholders in relation to any future scheme for the UK.

According to the latest HMRC trade data, the provisional value of UK exports of food & drink to the EU for the 12 month period December 2015 to November 2016 was £11.8 billion.

Approximately 50% (£5.9 billion) of these exports were raw or lightly-processed goods related to the agricultural sector. The remaining 50% of exports were highly-processed goods related to the food & drink manufacturing sector.

Agricultural trade data is not available for the geographic detail requested in parts (a) and (b).

The numbers of cases of avian influenza confirmed in domestic flocks in England and Wales, by year and month in the last 24 months up to and including 31/01/2017, are shown in the table below. In addition the numbers of positive cases found in wild birds in England and Wales are shown.

Year

Month

Cases in Domestic Flocks

Cases in Wild Birds

2015

January

1

2015

July

1

2016

August

1

2016

December

1

7

2017

January

7

10

The Government has taken swift action to limit the spread of avian influenza, with restrictions around affected premises and wider measures in place across the country. These measures included increasing the sensitivity of the surveillance that is undertaken around wetland areas by key partners due to the increased prevalence of H5N8 in Europe.

To reduce the risk of bird flu spreading from bird to bird there is currently a requirement for all poultry keepers, even those who just keep a few birds as pets, to take all practicable and appropriate steps to keep their birds housed or otherwise separate from wild birds. There is also a ban on poultry gatherings.

Bird flu is also transmitted via the environment, for example in wild bird droppings, and it is vital that keepers practice strict biosecurity.

The numbers of cases of avian influenza confirmed in domestic flocks in England and Wales, by year and month in the last 24 months up to and including 31/01/2017, are shown in the table below. In addition the numbers of positive cases found in wild birds in England and Wales are shown.

Year

Month

Cases in Domestic Flocks

Cases in Wild Birds

2015

January

1

2015

July

1

2016

August

1

2016

December

1

7

2017

January

7

10

The Government has taken swift action to limit the spread of avian influenza, with restrictions around affected premises and wider measures in place across the country. These measures included increasing the sensitivity of the surveillance that is undertaken around wetland areas by key partners due to the increased prevalence of H5N8 in Europe.

To reduce the risk of bird flu spreading from bird to bird there is currently a requirement for all poultry keepers, even those who just keep a few birds as pets, to take all practicable and appropriate steps to keep their birds housed or otherwise separate from wild birds. There is also a ban on poultry gatherings.

Bird flu is also transmitted via the environment, for example in wild bird droppings, and it is vital that keepers practice strict biosecurity.

At a recent meeting of the EU Standing Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products on 20 January, the UK presented the view that withdrawal of these products may have a significant negative impact on pig production.

The scientific basis for recommendation of withdrawal of the products is to be re-examined by the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use. This process is expected to take two months.

We will continue to engage with UK stakeholders and the Commission to ensure that the wider context of the impact of a withdrawal is fully considered, and to achieve the best outcome for all stakeholders, balancing availability of medicines with the need to manage all associated risks.

Defra officials have been undertaking a thorough analysis of the agri-food industry, including the wine industry. We have also been speaking directly to wine producers and trade organisations, to understand what they need from us so they can continue to thrive after we leave the EU.

There is no record of discussions with representatives of the agricultural or retail sectors to discuss the decline in oilseed rape harvests specifically. Defra continues to support the improvement of oilseed rape through its Oilseed Rape Genetic Improvement Network (OREGIN). This network is dedicated to the development of new pre-breeding material with key resilience traits such as resistance to fungal pathogens, improved nutrient uptake efficiency, rooting and establishment as well as improved quality traits