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Pesticide Ban
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will issue a ban on Alar, Tecnazene, Maneb, Mancozeb and Zineb.
Mr. Maclean : No. These substances are under review by the advisory committee on pesticide whose recommendations to Ministers are based on scientific evidence. The evidence to date does not indicate that approval for these substances should be withdrawn.
Food Standards
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will launch a survey on the standard of potatoes, lettuces, blackcurrants, tomatoes, apples and pears.
Mr. Curry : I have at present no plans to do so.
Parents for Safe Food
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met representatives from Parents for Safe Food.
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Mr. Maclean : I have not met representatives from Parents for Safe Food but officials from my Department specialising in pesticides met a representative from PSF on 18 October 1989.
Habitat Sites
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made with incentives to farmers and woodland managers to maintain and enhance important habitat sites of wildlife value.
Mr. Curry : My Department has introduced a number of grant schemes that provide incentives for the protection of existing, or creation of new, wildlife habitats.
The introduction of the environmentally sensitive area schemes in 1987 was designed to conserve and enhance landscape and wildlife interests in areas vulnerable to changes in farming practices. The farm woodland scheme, introduced last year, has as one of its objectives the enhancement of the landscape and the creation of new wildlife habitats. The farm and conservation grant scheme (introduced in February this year) places particular emphasis on conservation and the needs of the environment. As far as woodlands are concerned, it is a requirement of the Forestry Commission's woodland grant scheme that proper account should be taken of the needs of nature conservation. In this connection, the commission will shortly be publishing comprehensive guidelines on the nature conservation aspects of woodland management.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps were taken when the drainage system at Shirley Pool/Rushy Moor site of special scientific interest near Doncaster was installed to avoid damage to the site and habitat ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : Proposals were submitted to my Department by the Dun drainage commissioners in 1981 to improve the land drainage within the catchments of the Thistle Goit and Haywood pumping stations. These included works to deepen the drains running through the Shirley Pool/Rushy Moor SSSI. In order to retain the marshland and wet woodland habitats within the site, the proposals were revised by agreement with the Nature Conservancy Council and my Department, to divert the
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main flow to deepened channels outside the SSSI. Drainage work within the Shirley Pool SSSI was thereby avoided.Lead Contamination
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many farms in England and Wales placed under restriction following the recent contamination by lead of foodstuffs were subsequently shown not to have contaminated milk or meat products ; if he will estimate the financial loss involved to producers ; whether he intends introducing a compensation scheme ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what is his estimate of the total financial loss so far incurred by milk producers subject to restrictions, following suspected use of lead- contaminated imported feedstuffs.
Mr. Maclean : A total of 2,069 farms in England and Wales have at some time been subject to restrictions. Of these, 367 were able to be released in the light of further information from feed suppliers. As at 29.11.89, 1,052 dairy farms have been released from milk restrictions as a result of the milk testing programme and arrangements are now in hand to allow the orderly release of animals from slaughter and movement restrictions subject to a number of further checks, including blood testing of some animals. Reliable information on the costs to the industry are not available and there is no provision under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 for the payment of compensation.
Food Advisory Committees
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the legislation and relevant sections under which he has power to set up advisory committees on food.
Mr. Maclean : There is none. Successive Governments have maintained advisory committees on food matters without the need for legislation.
East Anglia
Mr. Paice : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from East Anglian farmers since 1 August on the state of agriculture in East Anglia.
Mr. Gummer : I frequently meet East Anglian farmers, both in my constituency and elsewhere, and receive numerous representations from them on agricultural matters. I have also discussed in detail these problems with hon. Members concerned--particularly with my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridgeshire, South-East (Mr. Paice).
Global Warming
Mr. Paice : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken to assess the impact of global warming on British agriculture ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : My Department is aiming to fund research to identify the sensitivity of key sectors of British agriculture to variations in climate so that when regional
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climate change forecasts become available, an assessment of the impact can be made. In addition my Department is involved in research to monitor sea level trends and last year about half of the budget for river and coastal engineering research was spent on projects designed to provide a better understanding of the coastal environment and add to the knowledge needed for improving coastal defences.Isle of Man
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what fishing limits around the Isle of Man have been agreed for the period commencing 1 January 1990.
Mr. Curry : The present three-mile limit around the Isle of Man will apply on 1 January 1990. Consideration, including in relation to fishing, on how the provisions for a 12 mile territorial sea around the Isle of Man contained in the Territorial Sea Act 1987 might be implemented is in hand.
Animal Exports
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce a system of licensing for carriers of live animals intended for export ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : I do not intend to introduce licensing since this would add little to existing controls related to unnecessary suffering. Such a system would almost certainly contravene the Treaty of Rome.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under what provision he launched his recent investigation into the death of beagles being exported for research purposes in the pharmaceutical industry ; if he has yet concluded his investigation ; what action he proposes to take ; and what powers he has to regulate such trade.
Mr. Maclean : The investigation has now concluded. Charges are being considered under the Transit of Animals (General) Order 1973, as amended in 1988, and the Protection of Animals Act 1911. Under section 39 of the Animal Health Act 1981 Ministers may by order provide for regulating the export of animals from Great Britain in the interests of animal welfare.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the numbers and species of live animals being exported from the United Kingdom for use in research projects ; and, in respect of both species and numbers, what is the importing country.
Mr. Maclean : The numbers of animals exported for research purposes are not collected centrally.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the number of slaughter animals exported live by species, to each of the member states of the European Economic Community during 1988 and the current year to date.
Mr. Maclean : Animals inspected and certified as fit for transportation prior to export from Great Britain were as follows :
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2. During the period 1 January to 30 September 1989
For immediate slaughter For further fattening
Destination |Cattle |Sheep |Cattle |Calves |Sheep |Pigs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium/Luxembourg |48 |13,460 |- |50 |- |-
Holland |- |145 |10 |77,156 |- |-
Italy |35 |8,713 |199 |- |-
France |173 |93,237 |956 |114,563 |132,474 |24
West Germany |18 |10,188 |280 |28 |- |-
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
TOTAL EEC |274 |125,743 |1,445 |191,797 |132,474 |24
2. During the period 1 January to 30 September 1989
For immediate slaughter For further fattening
Destination |Cattle |Sheep |Cattle |Calves |Sheep |Pigs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium/Luxembourg |48 |13,460 |- |50 |- |-
Holland |- |145 |10 |77,156 |- |-
Italy |35 |8,713 |199 |- |-
France |173 |93,237 |956 |114,563 |132,474 |24
West Germany |18 |10,188 |280 |28 |- |-
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
TOTAL EEC |274 |125,743 |1,445 |191,797 |132,474 |24
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the number of slaughter animals, exported live, by species, to each non European Economic Community country during 1988 and the current year to date.
Mr. Maclean : Farm livestock for slaughter are not licensed for export to countries outside the EEC.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the total number of animals of each species exported from the United Kingdom in 1988 and 1989 to date for the purposes of (a) slaughter, (b) fattening, and (c) breeding.
Mr. Maclean : Statistics for the United Kingdom do not distinguish between animals for fattening and those for immediate slaughter. The information is as follows :
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|Breeding|Other |Total
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. During 1988
Cattle |7,690 |259,101 |266,791
Sheep |11,310 |497,603 |508,913
Pigs |11,311 |47,692 |59,003
2. January-September 1989
Cattle |4,906 |198,824 |203,730
Sheep |8,752 |318,820 |327,572
Pigs |11,946 |66,775 |78,721
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what powers he has to regulate the export of live puppies ; and what information he has concerning the numbers and destination of such exports by country of import during 1988 and 1989 to date.
Mr. Maclean : Powers exist in the Animal Health Act 1981 to regulate by order the export of animals from Great Britain in the interests of animal welfare. I have no information on the numbers of exported puppies.
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