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Beef (Germany)

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what justification the Germans have given for banning the sale of British beef to non-EU countries. [32183]

Mrs. Browning: The Germans have not banned the sale of British beef to third countries. The decision to prohibit exports of British beef was taken by the Commission in Commission decision 96/239 of 27 March 1996.

Set-aside

Mrs. Golding: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to encourage the replacement of set-aside with an environment-friendly arable extensification policy. [36650]

Mr. Baldry: Set-aside is a requirement of the European Community legislation governing the support arrangements for producers of arable crops. While it remains so, the UK will continue to apply management conditions to set-aside land at national level designed to help maximise its environmental benefits. At the same time, the countryside stewardship scheme includes provisions intended to enhance the conservation value of arable field margins and the Department is in discussion with interested parties on further means of enhancing the conservation value of arable land generally.

Mrs. Golding: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure that land previously subject to the environmental conditions attached to set-aside land will be subject to the same conditions when it returns to cultivation. [36651]

Mr. Baldry: Most of the environmental conditions that apply to the management of set-aside land would not be relevant in the context of cultivated land. However, during the set-aside period, farmers are required not to damage or destroy certain features on or adjacent to their set-aside land. The Government aim to lay regulations protecting important hedges, including those on agricultural land, by the end of the year.

Rabies

Mr. Gale: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will arrange for veterinary surgeons to have unimpeded access to the inactivated rabies vaccines already approved by his Department for animals in their care; [36878]

Mrs. Browning: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend for Beaconsfield (Mr. Smith) on 29 February, Official Report, column 710.

Mr. Gale: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his assessment of the risks of European bat lyssavirus infection in the United Kingdom. [36880]

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Mrs. Browning: More than 1,880 bats belonging to 23 species from all parts of Great Britain have been screened for rabies since 1986 with negative results. The recent case of European bat lyssavirus 2--EBL 2--found in a bat in Sussex is the first time that rabies virus has been isolated from a bat in this country.

Mr. Gale: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if European lyssavirus type 2 is a notifiable disease in the United Kingdom. [36882]

Mrs. Browning: Yes.

Mr. Gale: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many scientifically proven cases of rabies confirmed by isolation of the rabies virus have occurred in animals in the United Kingdom over the last 25 years; in what species; and in what years they occurred. [36884]

Mrs. Browning: European bat lyssavirus 2 was isolated on 6 June 1996 from a bat found in Sussex. This is the only occasion in the last 25 years on which rabies has been confirmed by isolation of virus.

Mr. Gale: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the comparative risks of infection from European bat lyssavirus and urban and sylvatic rabies virus; and if he will list his sources of information and the methodology used to reach his conclusions. [36881]

Mrs. Browning: No such comparative assessment has been made or is considered necessary while this country remains free from rabies except for the one isolated case of European bat lyssavirus in an insectivorous bat in Sussex. In this particular case, the risk of dissemination of disease to terrestrial wildlife was considered, on the basis of the circumstances of the case, to be very small.

Mr. Gale: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take following the recent diagnosis of rabies in a Daubenton's bat; and if he will make a statement. [36883]

Mrs. Browning: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to the hon. Member for Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant) on 11 June 1996, Official Report, column 139, and to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 18 June, Official Report, column 441. These outline the action already taken.

The restrictions on the premises on which the bat had been held will remain in place until they pose no risk of dissemination of rabies. We have asked all members of the Sussex bat group to help us ensure that any dead or sick bats found in Sussex are sent for testing at the Central Veterinary Laboratory as part of our continuing British survey for rabies in bats. Bat groups throughout Britain are being contacted to ask for their continuing support in providing bat carcases for such testing.

Beef Ban

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to get the beef ban lifted in the European Union. [31645]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 17 June 1996]: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made a statement to the House on 24 June 1996, Official Report,

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columns 21-24, about the outcome of the European Council in Florence. He informed the House that the bovine spongiform encephalopathy eradication plan had secured unanimous approval in Florence and that a framework of measures for lifting the wider ban on beef exports had also been agreed.

Sheep Exports

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the total number of live sheep exported from Dover port on 3 June on the Cap Afrique was recorded on the accompanying export health certificate with individual identification as required by the Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 1996. [35668]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 11 July 1996]: Five consignments of sheep were exported from Dover on the Cap Afrique on 3 June 1996. Each consignment was accompanied by a health certificate recording the number of animals in that consignment and the individual identification numbers of each animal. Not all the animal identification numbers were in compliance with the requirements of the Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 1996--SAGRIMO. However, we are satisfied that the identification numbers provided would enable the sheep to be traced back to the farm of origin as required by the EC directive. Steps have been taken to ensure that all sheep and goats exported in future are identified in accordance with SAGRIMO.

Slaughter Programme (Competitive Tendering)

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what steps he has taken to ensure that the economic advantages of competitive tendering, as set out in the Public Services Contracts Regulations 1993, have been effectively pursued in the allocations to abattoirs of cattle under the 30-month slaughter programme; [37030]

Mr. Boswell [holding answer 12 July 1996]: The requirements of Council directive 92/50/EEC as implemented by the Public Services Contracts Regulations 1993 have only limited application to the procurement of slaughtering services. Competitive tendering for allocations to abattoirs of cattle under the 30-month slaughter scheme was precluded by a number of factors including time constraints, the interrelationships between the sectors of the industry and, in particular, the limitation on rendering capacity. Allocations were granted to abattoirs according to criteria which have been announced by the Government which were: a traditional large-scale trade in cows and heavy steers; logistical consideration such as geographical spread and proximity to renderers; committed to accepting casualty animals; currently operating and with EC approved status; and the ability to process at least 100 animals a day on days specified for participation.

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Correspondence

Mr. Wareing: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to reply to the letters of 24 April and 28 May from the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby, in respect of a constituency case.[37091]

Mr. Boswell [holding answer 12 July 1996]: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary replied to these letters on 11 July 1996.


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