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Leyland Truck Fleet
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many 4 tonne trucks his Department possesses; when he last purchased Leyland 4 tonne trucks; how many Leyland trucks were purchased at that date; what was the total cost of the order; how many of his Department's tonne trucks are due for a refit; what is the age of the trucks which are to be refitted; and who will carry out the refit of the trucks. [5546]
Mr. Arbuthnot [holding answer 13 December 1995]: The 4 tonne fleet size currently stands at about 11,300--Bedford MK, Bedford MJ and Leyland--vehicles. The Department last procured 4 tonne Leyland trucks in April 1995, and to date the Department has purchased some 4,200 vehicles at a cost of some £190 million. Following completion of the current pilot study of 60 vehicles to ascertain the scope and likely cost of refurbishment, it is planned to carry out a refurbishment programme on about 4,100 Bedford MJ vehicles during 1995-96 to 2002-03. There is no set age which determines when a vehicle will be refitted. Selection for refurbishment will be based on age, tempered by corrosion condition and mileage, targeting those vehicles that will offer the best value for money. The Department plans to carry out the work in-house through the Army Base Repair Organisation--ABRO--making use of its available capacity. All assembly repairs, other than minor repairs, required to support the programme will be supplied by commercial industry. The work-load forms part of the planned programme for the ABRO former district workshops, which is to be market tested, providing an opportunity to industry to bid for the work.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Sandown Bay
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has issued in respect of the possible effects of the proposed sewer outfall in Sandown bay on the adjoining and nearby fishing grounds and banks. [39780]
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Mr. Baldry: None. This Department has not yet been consulted about the changes that may be necessary to Sandown bay sewer outfall to comply with the provisions of the EU's urban waste water treatment directive.
Cattle Exports
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many bovine animals were exported in batches of fewer than 20 animals on the following export health certificates (a) EC57, (b) EC400, (c) EC935 and (d) EC2304 during (i) 1994, (ii) 1995 and (iii) 1996. [39848]
Mrs. Browning: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many bovine animals were exported on export health certificate EC56 during (a) 1994, (b) 1995 and (c) 1996. [39847]
Mrs. Browning: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Rendel: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many visits (i) he and (ii) his Ministers made to (a) the Newbury constituency and (b) other constituencies in the last 12 months. [39868]
Mr. Douglas Hogg: In the last 12 months I have made 19 constituency visits; none of these were to the Newbury constituency. My Ministers have made in 185 constituency visits during the same period; of these 1 was to the Newbury constituency.
BSE and Scrapie
Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress towards a live test for BSE; and what estimate he has made as to when such a test will be available. [39836]
Mrs. Browning: MAFF has an extensive ongoing research programme into the development of a test to detect BSE in live cattle, valued at £1.825 million this year. Details of this programme were given in the BSE eradication plan, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. It is not possible to estimate when such a test will be developed to a stage when it can be used satisfactorily in the field.
Mr. Ron Davis: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cattle subsequently confirmed with BSE were born in each year from the initial onset of the disease. [40310]
Mrs. Browning: As at 4 October the number of confirmed BSE cases, with known dates of birth, listed by year of birth was:
| Year of birth | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| 1974 | 1 |
| 1976 | 2 |
| 1977 | 10 |
| 1978 | 7 |
| 1979 | 40 |
| 1980 | 101 |
| 1981 | 260 |
| 1982 | 1,395 |
| 1983 | 4,480 |
| 1984 | 8,063 |
| 1985 | 11,039 |
| 1986 | 19,626 |
| 1987 | 36,515 |
| 1988 | 21,649 |
| 1989 | 11,543 |
| 1990 | 4,203 |
| 1991 | 2009 |
| 1992 | 270 |
| 1993 | 3 |
14 Oct 1996 : Column: 786
Mr. Williams: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many sheep since 1990 were confirmed as having scrapie (a) in Britain, (b) in France, (c) in Germany, (d) in Italy and (e) in total in the European Community. [39838]
Mrs. Browning: Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of sheep and goats which has been known for at least 250 years. The following list shows the number of cases of scrapie in Great Britain per annum up to 3 October 1996. Figures for 1990 to 1992 show the number of recorded cases confirmed at veterinary investigation centres. Between October 1990 and August 1992, payments were offered for cases when brain pools were being assembled for research purposes. Scrapie became a notifiable disease on 1 January 1993.
1990: 348
1991: 989
1992: 666
1993: 327
1994: 199
1995: 163
1996: 129
Mr. Williams: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many (a) sheep were confirmed as having scrapie and (b) cattle were confirmed as having BSE in each year since 1990 [39835]
Mrs. Browning: Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of sheep and goats which has been known for at least 250 years. The following list shows the number of cases of scrapie in Great Britain per annum up to 3 October 1996. Figures for 1990 to 1992 show the number of recorded cases confirmed at veterinary investigation centres. Between October 1990 and August 1992, payments were offered for cases when brain pools
14 Oct 1996 : Column: 787
were being assembled for research purposes. Scrapie became a notifiable disease on 1 January 1993. From this time onward, cases were confirmed either by histopathology at VICs or by examination of brain by electron microscopy.
Cases of scrapie since 1990 (Great Britain):
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was first identified in November 1986. The following list shows the number of confirmed cases of BSE in Great Britain up to 30 September 1996.
1990: 348
1991: 989
1992: 666
1993: 327
1994: 199
1995: 163
1996: 129
Cases of BSE since 1990 (Great Britain):
1990: 14,181
1991: 25,032
1992: 36,681
1993: 34,370
1994: 23,944
1995: 14,297
1996: 4,781
Roseclear
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into products with similar ingredients to Roseclear remaining on the market; and if he will make a statement. [36415]
Mrs. Browning: We are assessing whether other amateur use products may present similar risks to users as Roseclear. In the light of this, we may require the manufacturers to produce further safety studies.
Fishing Agreements
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies (a) he and (b) other Governments of the European Community have (i) commissioned and (ii) evaluated of the effect of fishing agreements made by third-world countries with the Community on the sustainability of their fish stocks and actual or potential effects on their own fishing and related interests. [39908]
Mr. Baldry: United Kingdom registered vessels do not normally fish under fisheries agreements between the European Union and developing countries.
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