The annual value of the Pillar 1 budget fluctuates with currency movements but the budget for the 2016 scheme year for the UK was circa £2.7bn. It is too early to calculate the equivalent value for the 2019/2020 scheme year.

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, have had no secondees from PwC, Deloitte, Accenture, McKinsey & Co, Ernst and Young or Bain & Company since July 2016.

Information regarding the stated country of origin of dogs entering GB for non-commercial reasons, supplied by the carriers, is presented in Annex A. We are currently working with carriers to ensure accuracy of all information collated.

Details of the country of origin of dogs entering GB for commercial reasons in 2016 can be extracted from the EU TRACES database, and is presented in Annex B.

The maximum penalties for animal welfare offences are kept under regular review. The Sentencing Council has very recently published revised magistrate’s court sentencing guidelines, including those in relation to animal welfare offences, which include dog fighting, with the aim of ensuring that the most serious cases of animal cruelty receive appropriately severe penalties within the available maximum penalty.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons already has a statutory examination for non-EU registrants whose examinations are not automatically recognised by the College. Applicants must reach level 7 of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) before applying to sit this exam. Government is currently reviewing the content of the EU Mutual Recognition Directive.

The 14 civil servants are employed in the following grades.

Grade

Number of staff

Grade 6

3

Grade 7

7

Senior Executive Officer

3

Higher Executive Officer

1

The Government encourages the highest standards of welfare at slaughter. The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter but respects the right of the Jewish and Muslim communities to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.

Official veterinarians (OVs) from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are present in all approved slaughterhouses in England and take a prompt, proportionate and risk based approach to enforcement action when animal welfare breaches are identified.

Defra works closely with the FSA to ensure that the welfare of animals is protected in all slaughterhouses. There is a wide ranging, systemic programme of animal welfare monitoring activity including strengthened verification of compliance through the establishment of welfare assurance teams; a welfare themed audit programme; targeted unannounced inspections; additional checks for non-compliant business operators; and improved education and instruction through an animal welfare publicity campaign in slaughterhouses.

Last month, the Government published its Next Steps document which set out proposals for modernising the licensing of the breeding and selling of dogs in England. The Government proposes that anyone breeding and selling three or more litters of dogs in a twelve month period will need a licence. The majority of responses to our earlier consultation supported this proposal which strikes the right balance between being reasonable to enforce, providing a proportionate response and helping to target regulatory effort on those breeders producing dogs on a commercial basis.

All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

The report on the comparison of the effect of the first two years of badger control in the first two areas is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-incidence-of-tb-in-cattle-in-licensed-badger-control-areas-in-2014-to-2015

Defra does not retain details centrally on the number of work placements in the Department and to identify the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Back in 2014, Porthleven was subjected to a series of storms that few will forget. Porthleven seemed to face the brunt of these storms that resulted in substantial damage not only to the harbour, but to the moored boats in the inner-harbour when the baulks that protected them gave-way, and allowed the seas to wreak havoc in the now unprotected inner-harbour.

In a stroke of genius, Julian Waring, who works for the Fishermen’s Mission, came up with the ideal of using the broken baulks to raise funds for the Mission. Artists and craft people both near and far turned the baulk wood into items that included paintings, drawings, benches, candle holders and other wonderful items. In total, over 160 pieces of work were made from the baulks.

The huge crowds gathered.

From this, Julian and his small committee put a plan in place to auction all this work off in one big charity auction. This auction took place this past Saturday on the harbour head. The auction was led by the excellent David Lay – David for near five-hours entertained the hundreds of people gathered in Porthleven CIC’s marquee with a bar and food by the Atlantic Inn and staging and lighting provided by Impact.

Back stage

It was amazing to be part of this auction and see how generous people were in not only having a bit of Porthleven history, but more importantly raising a staggering £40,315 from the 163 lots in the auction for the Fishermen’s Mission. The huge amount of money raised is still sinking in.

Julian and his committee have done an amazing job in pulling this off. They should be very proud of this work, as should Porthleven be proud of them. Whilst the committee deserve our praise, this fundraiser could not have been achieved without the generosity of all those artists and crafts people who turned a bit of wood in to art and gave their time for free. Thanks everyone else who was involved in doing their bit – like helping to set up the marquee and provide internet etc. Huge thanks must go to David Lay and his team for running the auction, especially the online part of it.

Saturday 18th of March 2017 will be one of those days long remembered in Porthleven for doing something great. A proud day for Porthleven, its residents and visitors.

Defra officials will be working with the Department for Exiting the EU to look at future policies for fisheries. We will continue to work closely with relevant industry and other key stakeholders to develop these new arrangements. As part of this work consideration will be given to support provided to the fisheries community.

The UK was allocated €243 million in the current programme for the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), with €45 million for enforcement, €52 million for data collection, €19 million for aquaculture and €127 million for other investments. The Government has guaranteed access to these funds up until the point we leave the EU.

The Government has guaranteed that the agricultural sector will receive the same level of funding that it would have received under Pillar 1 of the Common Agricultural Policy until the end of the Multi-Annual Financial Framework in 2020. No decisions have yet been taken about how that budget will be managed in the period between the UK leaving the EU and 2020.

The information requested on the total value of trade in fish and fish products (excluding fish oils, fish flour and meals) taken from the information collected by HM Revenue and Customs is given in the table below, for the ten years of 2006 to 2015 inclusive. Comparable data for trade in 2016 is not yet available.

Value of UK trade in fish and fish products (£million - exc. Fish oils and fish flour and meals)

Imports into the UK From:

Exports from the UK to:

EU

Non-EU

Total imports

EU

Non-EU

Total exports

2006

556.1

1365.5

1921.6

790.9

153.0

943.9

2007

621.7

1372.2

1993.9

805.8

176.3

982.0

2008

665.4

1544.6

2210.1

824.8

184.7

1009.4

2009

644.5

1532.7

2177.2

899.6

266.5

1166.1

2010

699.0

1555.7

2254.7

1010.8

335.0

1345.7

2011

802.9

1755.7

2558.6

1054.6

409.4

1463.9

2012

799.0

1771.0

2570.0

937.4

406.5

1343.9

2013

848.8

1908.2

2757.0

972.1

488.2

1460.3

2014

849.1

1888.7

2737.8

1014.2

552.0

1566.3

2015

842.6

1830.4

2673.0

921.1

416.3

1337.3

Porthleven Town Council is seeking a new town warden after Rod Barnes retired. Rod did an excellent job as Porthleven’s first town warden, but we need someone to fill those boots.

The role will undertake regular patrols of the Town in order to ensure it is a safe and clean environment. The town warden will assist visitors with information about the facilities within the Town. The warden will keep the streets litter and graffiti free, will deter anti-social behaviour and support enforcement officers as required. The warden will work with the
police to reduce crime and the fear of crime and work with the emergency services
and others to maintain a safe environment.

Main Objectives:
1. To patrol Porthleven to:
a) Ensure the Town is as clean, green and safe as possible.
b) Identify potential problems.
c) Get to know members of the community and respond to their enquiries and
problems.
d) Encourage responsible behaviour of people visiting the Porthleven.
2. To provide information to the public that will enable them to get the most from their visit to Porthleven. This will include giving directions, information about amenities, shops, food
outlets, licensed premises, car parking, public conveniences etc.
3. Assist with Town events, as directed by the Town Council.
4. To help keep the streets and roads clean and tidy through regular litter picking, weeding,
graffiti and fly posting control.
6. To carry out condition surveys of Council owned furniture, buildings and areas.
7. To undertake training to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for dog fouling / littering offences.
8. To ensure the Council Chamber / Offices are clean and presentable.
9. To complete any minor repairs / decorating as directed by Town Clerk.
10. To conduct daily checks on all public conveniences and report any issues to Town Clerk.
11. To liaise with the local Biffa Street Cleaning Team to ensure a clean and safe environment for both residents and visitors to Porthleven.
12. To liaise with the local Police Community Support Officer to report any problems within Porthleven.
13. To undertake any other duties appropriate which contribute to the general objective of the post.

The Town Warden will be expected to wear a uniform, provided by the Town Council, at all times when on duty and protective clothing when necessary and to:
a) Ensure safe working practices in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Health and Safety Executive.
b) Attend training courses and meetings when requested.
The job involves regular evening and weekend work.

The Town Council reserve the right to complete a Criminal Records Bureau check. No formal qualifications are required for this post although, good communication skills are necessary. A good geographical knowledge of Porthleven is also essential.

Any successful candidate for the role will be expected to work at least 20 hours per week and will be paid £9 per hour. It is a permanent position.

Anyone interested in the position will need to contact the Town Clerk for further details at porthleventc@tiscali.co.uk or 01326 573154 (please do not send a pm via facebook) Deadline for submission of completed applications Friday 24th March.

We will continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations as well as stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – seeking to benefit from shared learning in order to achieve our vision of building a world leading food and farming nation.

The views of the devolved nations will play an important part in helping shape our preparations for exit and achieving arrangements that work for all parts of the UK.