The number of prosecutions in respect of non-compliant dogs and puppies entering England and Wales are set out below.

Year

Number of Prosecutions *

2012

7

2013

5

2014

5

2015

4

2016

5

*It is not possible to know from the returns where these non-compliances were identified (e.g. at Dover or Eurotunnel or elsewhere - including by air).

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) does not gather, collate or hold this data for Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Defra invests a significant amount in agricultural and environmental research to underpin policy development and implementation. Much of this is relevant to the development of future policy in the context of EU exit.

However, research specifically to inform agricultural and environmental policy once the UK leaves the EU, which is distinct from the department’s on-going research programmes, has not been commissioned in the last 6 months.

As we prepare to leave the EU, we are looking at removing the rules that are unnecessarily burdensome, focusing instead on what works best for the UK. We want to free our farmers to grow more, sell more and export more British food, whilst upholding our high standards for the environment and animal health and welfare.

The Secretary of State announced on 4 January that we will be looking to remove such rules, including the three crop rule at the earliest opportunity once we have left the EU.

The table below shows the total and per capita male and female pay bill in 2015-16. Pay bill includes base salary, allowances, employer pension contributions and National Insurance costs.

Pay bill

Male

Female

Total

£52,522,528

£46,130,760

Per Capita

£47,190

£45,315

Pay bill figures for men and women in each department can vary significantly based on representation at different grades and how many staff in the Department are in full or part time work.

A more meaningful way of considering existing pay disparities amongst men and women would be to look at each department’s gender pay gap. The Civil Service has been publishing mean and median gender pay gaps for each department since 2008 as part of the annual release of Civil Service Statistics by the Office for National Statistics. The latest gender pay gap data (published in October last year) can be found on the Office for National Statistics website.

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

.

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.

After the excitement of the Shipyard application being live and open for comment; brace yourself for another one. This time it is a re-submission of thee timber shelters and kiosks in the location of what is being named at Harbour Head Terrace.

The official planning application number is PA17/00847. The documents can be found HERE.

The plan for Harbour Head Terrace

In the Design, Access and Heritage statement it says:

“At the centre of the proposals is the desire to enhance the communal enjoyment of the Harbour Head, the harbour itself, and the popular views of the harbour and notable buildings. The proposals offer an appropriate and sustainable use of the Harbour Head Terrace for the long-term benefit of the local community and wider area. The Heritage Impact Assessment produced for the purposes of the application outline the conservation principles which are to:

• Improve views of the inner and outer harbour by providing an appropriate public space;
• Enhance the communal and aesthetic heritage value of the Harbour Head; • Bring sustainable new uses to the existing Harbour Head.
• Enhance the Harbour Character Area identified within the Conservation Area.”

It goes on to say:

“Alongside this, there are clear objectives regarding benefits to the local economy which are to:

• Promote permeability, activity in the local and wider area;
• Promote local arts, crafts and trades to exhibit and trade in the local area;
• Support local events, markets, concerts, and festivals;
• Promote regeneration in the local and wider area.”

All the document information can be read HERE. You can also make comment online, or like the Shipyard application at one of the applicants consultation events, If you cannot make either of those events, you can officially comment to Cornwall Council and/or Porthleven TC.

The proposed design of the sheds

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.

Drum-roll….

The planning application for the new building located in what is commonly known as the Shipyard is now live after it has been validated and has an official planning reference number. I am sure this application will be of interest to those near and far; as it is quite a fundamental change to what is currently located in the Shipyard.

The planning reference number is PA17/00573 and all the detail on the application can be found HERE.

There has been a pre-application on this proposal and Cornwall Council gave advice and whilst “there is support in principle from a planning perspective for development within this area of the Shipyard”. However, the Council’s advice raised a number of issues that needed to addressed

• There is potential conflict in views from the harbour towards the town between the building proposed and the Grade II* Methodist Chapel.
• The loss of the historic wall to the West of the site to facilitate access by service and good vehicles has potential to result in the loss of significant element of historic fabric”
• The site lies within Flood Zone 3” The proposed finish floor level of the ground floor is raised to 7.00m which is similar to the adjacent building to the west.

In the Design, Access and Heritage Statement (Click HERE), it says these concerns have been addressed.

My advice would be for everyone to read the planning documents, attend the public consultation arranged by the applicant, and take part in the official public consultation (which is live now) making your views know to both Cornwall Council and Porthleven Town Council.

The building elevations

Layout of the Shipyard Building

Three-years ago, Porthleven was hit by a series of storms that did serious damage to the harbour infrastructure, including smashing the baulks that protect the inner-harbour. The loss of the baulks resulted in boats being at the mercy of the raging sea and several were sunk on their moorings (blog posts HERE).

Roll-on almost three-years to the day, Porthleven was again hit by ‘Storm’ Doris, which whilst not the same intensity as previous storms, it was still powerful with huge swells and waves hitting the coastline. Damage was limited, but one of the baulks that protect the inner-harbour was split.

However, this weekend was the start of a series of fund-raisers for The Fishermen’s Mission. In a stroke of genius, the smashed baulks from three-years ago, are being painted, carved, printed etc. by various local and nationally celebrated artists and craft persons. These pieces of work, will be auctioned at a special event on the 18th March. More details can be found on Facebook HERE and on the Fishermen’s Mission site HERE.

The first fund-raiser was an evening of entertainment by the Cornish comic Kernow King. He entertained over 150 people in Porthleven’s Public Hall. In an amazing token of generosity, Kernow King waved his fee, and therefore, over £1000 was raised from this one event alone.

Getting ready for Kernow King

One of the artists work being projected onto the Bickford-Smith Institute