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Abattoir Waste Spreading (Bradford)
Mr. Madden: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he took upon receipt of a letter, dated March 29 from the chair of the public health and protection sub-committee of Bradford council, concerning abattoir waste spreading to land; if he will place a copy of the letter and his reply in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [26236]
Mrs. Browning: I must apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member. A reply to the letter has been sent explaining the position and offering a meeting with MAFF's divisional veterinary manager at Leeds. A copy of the letter and the reply have been placed in the Library.
Shingle Dredging (Isle of Wight)
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the hon. Member may expect a substantive answer to his question of 2 July on the difference in millimetres in the size of shingle available commercially from Hurst Spit and the shingle to be taken from the Shingles bank. [36856]
Mr. Boswell: I replied to my hon. Friends's question on 9 July 1996, Official Report, column 165.
Mr. Field: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies he has made of the effect of dredging shingle from Shingles bank on the southern west coast of the Isle of Wight. [36028]
Mr. Boswell: In contributing to the Government view on applications for dredging licences, the Ministry does not commission separate studies on the potential impact of dredging on the neighbouring coastline but does take account of independent studies. In the case of Shingles bank the study was undertaken by Wimpey Environmental Ltd. and it was re-appraised by HR Wallingford Ltd. A copy of the report can be viewed by arrangement at the New Forest district council's town hall in Avenue road, Lymington, Hampshire.
Fat Consumption
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average percentage, for each nation of the United Kingdom, of food energy derived from (a) fat and (b) saturated fatty acids for each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement. [36047]
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Mrs. Browning: Data on the food energy derived from fat and saturated fatty acids in England, Scotland and Wales for the years 1979 to 1994 is given in the table. Equivalent data for 1995 will be published in November this year.
| Total fat | Saturated fatty acids | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Scotland | Wales | England | Scotland | Wales | England |
| 1979 | 41.2 | 42.3 | 42.6 | 18.7 | 19.1 | 19.1 |
| 1980 | 40.8 | 42.8 | 42.8 | 18.1 | 19.4 | 18.9 |
| 1981 | 41.5 | 41.1 | 42.3 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 18.5 |
| 1982 | 41.3 | 42.4 | 43.2 | 17.6 | 18.8 | 18.4 |
| 1983 | 42.3 | 42.7 | 42.6 | 18.8 | 19.0 | 18.6 |
| 1984 | 41.5 | 41.3 | 42.4 | 18.1 | 18.2 | 18.3 |
| 1985 | 42.0 | 42.4 | 42.7 | 18.3 | 18.3 | 18.1 |
| 1986 | 42.0 | 42.3 | 42.7 | 17.7 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| 1987 | 41.4 | 42.3 | 42.3 | 17.2 | 17.3 | 17.3 |
| 1988 | 41.5 | 41.9 | 42.1 | 17.4 | 17.3 | 17.2 |
| 1989 | 41.1 | 41.5 | 42.0 | 17.1 | 17.0 | 17.1 |
| 1990 | 40.5 | 42.2 | 41.7 | 16.4 | 16.8 | 16.6 |
| 1991 | 40.6 | 41.4 | 41.7 | 16.2 | 16.8 | 16.4 |
| 1992 | 41.5 | 41.0 | 41.7 | 16.5 | 16.0 | 16.3 |
| 1993 | 42.3 | 40.5 | 41.2 | 16.7 | 16.2 | 16.0 |
| 1994 | 41.0 | 40.2 | 40.4 | 16.0 | 15.6 | 15.6 |
Source:
"National Food Survey".
Organic Farming
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much money has been received by farmers in the form of organic aid since August 1994; and if he will make a statement. [36227]
Mr. Boswell: A total of £363,976 has been paid under the organic aid scheme in England for the period August 1994 to May 1996. Separate schemes operate in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Efforts to encourage greater uptake for the scheme continue. For example, we launched the new organic conversion information service on 27 June which provides free technical and other advice to prospective organic farmers.
Tamper-proof Seals
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will require tamper-proof seals to be used on processed foods, drinks and other items intended for human consumption [36238]
Mrs. Browning: I have no plans to introduce additional legislation on tamper-proof seals. Existing food safety law requires manufactures and suppliers of processed food products to take all reasonable precautions to ensure food safety and to protect the interests of the consumer. Additional legislation would do no more than gold-plate the existing provisions. Furthermore, I believe that food manufacturers are best placed to take appropriate
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measures to protect the integrity of their products, and applaud the steps already taken by many manufacturers to supply their products in tamper-proof containers.
Beef Industry
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his calculation of the amount of moneys required by the beef industry from his Department in the current financial year; and if he will make a statement. [24323]
Mrs. Browning [holding answer 18 April 1996]: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Mr. Banks) on 27 June 1996, Official Report, column 234.
Mr. Marlow: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those areas where the Government are entitled to pay compensation within the beef and ancillary industries compatible with EU law. [23999]
Mrs. Browning [holding answer 2 April 1996]: National compensation measures must conform with the requirements of articles 92 and 93 of the treaty of Rome, which prohibits aids which distort or threaten to distort competition. All national measures must be notified to the Commission which has the power to decide on the compatibility of the aid with the treaty. The Commission has approved the following emergency market support measures necessitated by the present circumstances of the UK beef market: financial assistance to the rendering and slaughtering industries, supplementary compensation on steers and heifers; and compensation for bulls aged between 24 and 30 months in Northern Ireland.
Other measures to support the market in beef include:
premiums payable on beef cows and other male animals under the suckler cow and beef special premium schemes;
beef offered for sale into intervention when average market prices in the EU fall below 84 per cent. of the intervention price and where, in an individual member state, the average market price falls below 80 per cent. of the intervention price;
premiums payable on male dairy calves taken out of production by the age of 10 days; and
subject to upper limits, compensation paid in respect of UK animals aged over 30 months which are currently unable to be sold into the human food chain.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Noise Prosecutions
10. Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many successful prosecutions for noise have been brought in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [35390]
Mr. Moss: The total number of successful prosecutions for noise pollution in Northern Ireland for each of the years 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1995-96 was three, eight and two respectively.
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Irish Republic (Security and Co-operation)
11. Sir Ivan Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the relationship of his Department with Irish Ministers on security and co-operation. [35393]
15. Dr. Goodson-Wickes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on his relations with the Irish Government in respect of security and co-operation. [35397]
Sir John Wheeler: I and my colleagues regularly discuss security issues and security co-operation with Irish Ministers. Both Governments are committed to ensuring the effectiveness of security co-operation between our two Governments and between our respective security forces, and will vigorously pursue improvements to those arrangements.
Extradition Arrangements
12. Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the current extradition arrangements between the Republic and the north of Ireland. [35394]
Sir John Wheeler: I am pleased to say that the current extradition agreements between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland work well. In the past 12 months we have co-operated to ensure the successful extradition of four individuals to Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland and another four in the opposite direction. I believe this is a good record.
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