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Sports (Insurance)

Mr. Derek Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what assessment she has made of the impact of civil actions for damages, against members of voluntary and community operated amateur sports clubs with particular reference to the cost of insurance cover; [33094]

(2) what assessment she has made of the impact of civil actions for damages against individuals engaged in competitive sports at an amateur level with particular reference to the cost of insurance cover; [33093]

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(3) what assessment she has made of the financial liability that may be faced by sports clubs, sports officials and individuals engaged in competitive sport where actions for damages are raised against them in the courts.[33092]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 17 June 1996]: None. However, I would expect all those involved in sport to ensure that their insurance is in order.

Council of Europe Meetings

Mr. Terry Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to the answer on 22 May, Official Report, columns 299-300, if he will make it his policy to keep a separate record of attendance by Ministers and officials of her Department at meetings of, or organised by, the Council of Europe, and if she will make a statement. [33027]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 17 June 1996]: In future, attendance by Ministers and officials of my Department at meetings of, or organised by, the Council of Europe will be recorded separately.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Specified Bovine Offals

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the (a) recorded and (b) calculated level of specified bovine offal in each year since 1989. [26432]

Mrs Browning: Before the introduction of the Specified Bovine Offal Order 1995, all SBOs had to be dealt with in accordance with the Bovine Offal (Prohibition) Regulations 1989, as amended. Enforcement of these regulations lay with the local authorities up until 1 April 1995, when the Meat Hygiene Service took over this responsibility in premises licensed under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995. The bovine offal regulations required all consignments of SBO to be accompanied by a movement permit, detailing amongst other things the quantity being moved. Once the SBO had reached its intended destination, the completed permit had to be returned to the originating local authority, which then had to keep it for a period of two years. No central records were kept.

Since the introduction of the Specified Bovine Offal Order in August 1995, which was replaced by the Specified Bovine Material Order 1996 in March, movement permits for SBO are no longer required, in view of tighter controls which have been introduced on approval and record keeping. Persons consigning SBO to an approved premises are required to keep a record of all consigned SBO material for a period of two years. The programme of state veterinary service audits of records kept under the legislation has not yet been running for a full year, so annual data from this source are not yet available. Our best estimates based on returns from the rendering industry show that just over 78,000 tonnes of SBM was handled by it in the 12 months to March 1996. In addition, a small amount will have been destroyed by incineration.

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It is not possible to calculate an exact figure for the weight of SBM that would be generated by the slaughter of a given number of animals. This is because the weight generated per animal is dependent on the dressing procedures in the slaughterhouse concerned. The effects of, for example, whether the guts are sent off full or empty, or whether head meat was removed, when that was permitted, can result in a weight of SBM generated per animal that can vary by a factor of two or more. Based on date extrapolated from the MLC kill figures for the period August 1995 to March 1996, the figure of 78,000 tonnes above lies well within the range of the maximum of about 130,000 tonnes and the minimum of about 57,000 tonnes of SBM that we would expect to have been produced.

Live Animal Exports

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many dealers are registered as engaging in intra-Community trade; and in what form information on that registration is held. [30717]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 4 June 1996]: The Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) Regulations 1995 provide for notices to be served on a dealer engaging in intra-Community trade requiring him or her to be registered with the Ministry. Registered dealers are required to keep records of deliveries of animals and their subsequent destination. As at June 1 1996, 95 dealers in Great Britain were registered. Registers of dealers are maintained by divisional veterinary managers.

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what response he has received from the authorities in the Netherlands following his inquiry about those authorities permitting British sheep to travel from premises in the Netherlands direct to Greece in contravention of EU directive 91/628. [32474]

Mrs. Browning: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Glanford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 17 June 1996.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the value on 2 June of the foodstuffs known to be contaminated by BSE whose possession he proposes should be made a criminal offence. [31610]

Mrs. Browning: It is not correct to assume that all mammalian meat and bone meal contains the BSE agent but to address the possible risk, the feeding to all livestock of feed incorporating it has been prohibited since 4 April. This has the effect of removing any risk of recycling the disease through its accidental inclusion in cattle rations.

It is difficult to identify any legitimate use for such material remaining on farms, at feed mills and at feed merchants. Rather than having any value, it represents a storage and future disposal cost for the holder. On 10 June, we announced a feed recall scheme which will provide for its collection and disposal free of charge.

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Mr. Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if (a) farmers and (b) others holding BSE-contaminated foodstuffs are to be compensated; and if they will be required to state if they have fed the meal to bovines. [31618]

Mrs. Browning: It would be wrong to presume that all mammalian meat and bonemeal is infectious or contains the BSE agent. No compensation will be paid to farmers or others holding animal feed incorporating MBM. Farmed animal feed containing MBM is being collected and disposed of free of charge under the free recall scheme, announced on 10 June.

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the amount and location of contaminated feedstuff suspected of carrying the BSE agent. [31609]

Mrs. Browning: It has been estimated that 5,000 to 15,000 tonnes of pig and poultry feed incorporating mammalian meat and bone meal may be awaiting collection and disposal at feed mills and at feed merchants. It is impossible to estimate how much, if any, of this feed harbours the BSE agent and so poses a risk of recycling the disease if it were fed to cattle, which would be an illegal act. The recall scheme will target all feedingstuffs containing MBM.

The amount of this material remaining on farms after its feeding to all farmed animals became illegal on 4 April is thought to be relatively small.

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what factors underlay his proposal to EU Agriculture Ministers to make possession of BSE-contaminated feedstuff a criminal offence; and for what reasons this policy was not introduced earlier. [31759]

Mrs. Browning: The proposed offence to which the question refers would be for farmed animal feed containing mammalian meat and bone meal or for MBM itself to be present on farms, at feed mills or feed merchants, since some MBM may harbour the BSE agent and so pose a risk of recycling the disease if it, illegally, found its way into cattle rations.

As feed incorporating mammalian meat and bone meal now has no legitimate use on farms and as any residual stocks in the non-ruminant farmed animal feed chain present a possible source of cross-contamination to cattle rations, it is best that it is removed. Making its possession illegal from 1 August, together with a Government-funded recall scheme, will encourage early removal.

Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date the Government were first informed of BSE-related contaminated feed being fed to cattle. [31249]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 4 June 1996]: Early epidemiological investigations carried out in 1987 and 1988 showed that the only common facts in herds with confirmed cases of BSE was the use of concentrated animal feed containing, in particular, concentrate containing meat and bone meal. As a result of these findings, the ruminant protein feed ban was introduced in July 1988.

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Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what procedures he has evaluated to identify whether animal feed contains the infective agent responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. [31631]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 10 June 1996]: The ELISA test is currently being used to ensure that animal feed does not contain mammalian protein. Bioassay tests on feed to test for infectivity are possible but the sensitivity of the test at present is such that it is extremely unlikely that infectivity could be detected.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many samples of commercial feed have been found to be contaminated with a BSE agent. [31632]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 10 June 1994]: No attempt has been made to detect infectivity in commercial feed. Bioassay tests on feed to test for infectivity are possible but the sensitivity of the test at present is such that it is extremely unlikely that infectivity could be detected.

Testing has however been carried out to detect the presence of mammalian protein in animal feed. This is not synonymous with infection, but its presence would be in contravention of past and current prohibitions.

Of 928 samples of feedingstuffs tested in February and March, eight were positive for the presence of ovine or porcine protein. None showed any evidence of bovine protein. In April, samples taken following an incident at a poultry mill and investigations into the supplier, led to the disclosure of four further positive samples. Again no bovine protein was isolated.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what quantity of material from rendering plants, potentially contaminated with BSE has been disposed of by (a) burial in landfill sites and (b) spreading on open ground. [31634]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 10 June 1996]: All BSE suspect cases are incinerated. Council regulation 716/96 requires that cattle in the over-30 month scheme be incinerated or processed at rendering plants and destroyed. A number of options for the disposal of meat and bonemeal produced at plants are under active consideration and in all cases full weight will be given to protecting the environment. The options include incineration, use as fuel in power generation and eventual landfill.

Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what opinion surveys he has conducted relating to the impact of failures by animal feed mills, rendering plants and abattoirs fully to implement BSE-related regulations on public confidence in beef products. [32308]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 17 June 1996]: None.

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