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Tree Planting

Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to continue with initiatives encouraging tree planting in England. [3120]

Mr. Boswell: We shall continue to encourage tree planting in England. As stated in our recent White paper "Rural England--A Nation Committed to a Living Countryside", we would like to see the area of woodland doubled over the next 50 years, subject to the necessary changes in the common agricultural policy.

Beef Consumption

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 6 November, Official Report, column 583, on the use of beef in processed food, if he will set out the arrangement for the removal authorised by the regulation, and the basis of the legal requirement to destroy beef held in intervention prior to 29 March. [4495]

Mrs. Browning: Beef held in intervention store on 27 March 1996 has been identified and, in accordance with regulation (EC) 1757/96, is being held separately from beef purchased after 27 March. Incineration will take place as soon as sufficient capacity can be identified. In any event, destruction must be completed by 31 March 1997. Article 23 of Council regulation (EEC) 805/68 provides the legal base for this destruction. None of the beef purchased before 27 March will be released for human consumption.

BSE

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 6 November, Official Report, column 581, for what reasons 24.9 per cent. of the BSE cases reported between January and March were not subsequently confirmed; what changes in the procedure used have been introduced since then; and what percentage of reported cases were subsequently conformed. [4494]

Mrs. Browning: The hon. Member for Wakefield who is familiar with the way BSE statistics are compiled will of course be aware that the figure given for BSE reported cases necessarily includes cases which recover are alternatively diagnosed and which are still under restriction.

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As at 18 November for the period January to March 1996, 4,065 BSE suspect cases were reported in the United Kingdom. Of this figure 2,969 or 73 per cent. cases have been confirmed and 764 or 19 per cent. have proved negative. The difference is accounted for by inconclusive results, alternative diagnosis, animals which have recovered, animals still under restriction and pending results.

For 1993 to 1995, BSE was confirmed in approximately 83 per cent. of the suspects compulsorily slaughtered--average figure for 1993 to 1995. Details of the 1996 confirmation rate will be provided in the November progress report, a copy of which should be placed in the Library of the House in December. This will include details provided in previous reports which indicate seasonal and age related variations in diagnostic rate. The period in question represents the period of each year when diagnostic rate is lowest.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Wakefield of 6 November, Official Report, columns 581-82, on experiments on BSE infectivity, what assessment he has made of the susceptibility of the mice challenged with BSE, relative to the susceptibility of other animals to comparable diseases. [4496]

Mrs. Browning: It is accepted among specialists in this field that there is a likely 3 log difference in sensitivity between the mouse model used for bioassay and assay directly in calves. A specific experiment intended to quantify that difference is still in progress, and while final interpretation is therefore not possible the evidence so far does appear to support the assumption of a 3 log difference.

The same experiment also highlights the compromises that have to be made by using laboratory models in that mouse assays provide results sooner than cattle assays when testing tissues which contain low levels of infectivity, if any at all. Cattle inoculated intracerebrally with pooled lymph nodes or spleen are still clinically healthy 45 months later, but a negative end point will take a further 39 months to achieve. Mouse models currently in use are capable of detecting scrapie in sheep tissues outside the central nervous system. Furthermore, BSE transmits more effectively from central nervous tissue to mice than do known strains of scrapie. It therefore seems logical that the failure to produce a spongiform encephalopathy in mice by the inoculation of bovine tissue indicates at the very least that the level of infectivity in the source tissue is extremely low, and lower than seen with scrapie. It is not simply a reflection of an inefficient model.

Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research

Mr. Ingram: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the current level of support for the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research and that for each of the last 10 years, at current prices. [4730]

Mr. Boswell: The Institute of Grassland and Environment Research was not established until 1989. Using the gross domestic product deflator-- 1995-96 = 100--as provided by the Treasury, payments

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made to the institute by the Ministry, at constant prices, in respect of research and development projects are as follows:

£000
1990-9110.8
1991-928.1
1992-937.7
1993-947.8
1994-957.6
1995-967.4
1996-97(3)6.7

(3) Estimate only.

Mr. Ingram: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what plans he has to alter the current level of support for the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research; and if he will make a statement; [4732]

Mr. Boswell: The Ministry funds research to support its policies, and regularly appraises its research programme and the funding arrangements it has with contractors to ensure policy needs are met.

Final figures on Ministry funding at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research for 1997-98 and beyond are not yet available, but it is apparent that the level is likely to be reduced. IGER has been made aware that certain projects coming to the end of their contracts in March 1997 will not be renewed. These decisions follow full and detailed review and represent re-prioritisation of the programme. Some of the funding released will be redirected to other priorities but some will go to open competition in the same area, thereby providing opportunities for IGER to submit new research proposals and bid for further funding.

Butter

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure that easy-spread butter is available to British consumers at the same price as ordinary butter. [4369]

Mrs. Browning: The European Commission has concluded that spreadable butter is ineligible for the preferential rate of duty which applies to imports of butter from New Zealand under the general agreement on tariffs and trade current access quota. This is a commercial matter which the New Zealand authorities are pursuing bilaterally with the Commission. Meantime, HM Customs and Excise has been notified of the Commission's conclusion and is acting upon it.

Live Animal Exports

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at what time his Department's inspectors at Dover boarded the MV Cap Afrique to speak to the captain of the ship about the prevailing weather conditions on 6 November. [4247]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 15 November 1996]: Between 1430 and 1500 hours.

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Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many sheep were exported from the United Kingdom between July and October, inclusive, with the place of loading stated as (a) Abbotsland farm, Capel Le Ferne, Kent, (b) Lydden Court farm, Lydden, Kent, (c) Homestead farm, Petham, Kent, (d) Uffington Court farm, Adisham, Kent and (e) Coxhill farm, Shepherdswell, Kent on the export health certificate. [4249]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 15 November 1996]: The total number of sheep exported between July and October, inclusive, from these premises is:

Number
Abbotsland129,304
Lydden Court77,687
Homestead90,717
Uffington24,121
Coxhill47,462
Total369,291

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) which bodies his Department's inspectors at Dover consulted as to whether animals boarding the MV Cap Afrique for sailing on 6 November would be likely to be caused unnecessary suffering or injury while at sea under the terms of the Welfare of Animals During Transport Order 1996; and what decision they reached; [4246]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 15 November 1996]: Information was sought from the Meteorological Office, HM Coastguard at Dover, the Dover harbour board port control office and the animal health and welfare veterinary section at the Ministry's headquarters. The master of the vessel was also consulted. The vessel sailed at approximately 1700 hours with 27 livestock vehicles.

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons he has instructed (a) that live animals exported for fattening may be sent to the staging post Ryckewaert-Arnout, Loker in Belgium and (b) animals for slaughter are prohibited from being sent. [4252]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 15 November 1996]: At the request of the Belgian authorities, animals for immediate slaughter are not consigned to these premises.

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many audits of the work of local veterinary inspectors have been undertaken by his officials during (a) July, (b) August and (c) September for consignments of live sheep for export certified in the area of Dover. [1979]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 4 November 1996]: During the month of July, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food officials undertook audits of the work of local veterinary inspectors concerning the certification

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of live sheep for export on three days. The audits took place on two days during August and on two days during September.

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many supervised loadings were undertaken by his officials in the area of Dover; and on what dates during (a) July, (b) August and (c) September. [1980]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 4 November 1996]: During the months of July, August and September, no supervised loadings at lairages were undertaken by Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food officials in the area of Dover. During those months, officials inspected consignments of sheep at the point of loading on to the ship on the following dates:


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