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Common Fisheries Policy Review Group

Sir Hector Monro: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Government will respond to the report of the common fisheries policy review group. [10456]

Mr. Baldry: The Government have carried out consultations on the report issued by the common fisheries policy review group in July. The results of the consultation have been taken into account in preparing the Government response, which is being placed in the Library today.

I am very grateful to the members of the group for all the work they put into preparing a thorough and wide-ranging document.

The group's overall conclusion was that the common fisheries policy has failings but that UK withdrawal would not address the fundamental problems facing the fishing industry. Where changes are needed, the CFP should therefore be improved from within. The Government agree with this approach as representing the only practicable way forward.

Forty specific recommendations are included in the group's report. The Government's response covers each of these in turn.

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 651

ADAS

Sir Ivan Lawrence: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he will take to ensure that the benefits of his Department's future research and development carried out by ADAS continue to be made available to the industry as a whole following privatisation. [10464]

Mr. Boswell: We are well aware of the need to ensure that Department-funded research results continue to be properly exploited to the benefit of the industry as a whole. Where existing intellectual property rights are sold with ADAS business, we will attach appropriate conditions which may include a requirement on the purchaser to grant non-exclusive licences to third parties to exploit the intellectual property. Future contracts with the privatised company will specify the arrangements for ownership of the intellectual property rights and the conditions attached to such ownership.

Mammalian Meat and Bonemeal (Transport)

Mr. Martin Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations he has received concerning potential cross-contamination from the transport of mammalian meat and bonemeal in vehicles that are also used to transport grain; and if he will make a statement. [7946]

Mrs. Browning [pursuant to his reply, 10 December 1996, c. 106]: I have been further advised by my officials that we are aware of two letters on this issue which have been received.

"New Labour's Expenditure Plans"

Mr. Derek Foster: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what costs quoted in the document "New Labour's Public Expenditure Plans" were prepared in his Department; what detailed assumptions and interpretations were provided to officials in his Department and to enable preparation of each cost; and what was the total cost to public funds of preparing each estimate. [6353]

Mr. Hogg: The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in conjunction with the Treasury, prepared the factual material relating to costings published in "New Labour's Public Expenditure Plans" numbered 4, 5 and 6. The detailed assumptions and interpretations that were provided to officials are set out in my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary's reply to the right hon. Gentleman on 17 December 1996. It is not normal working practice to keep a record of the time spent in providing factual information to Ministers and it is not therefore possible to offer a reliable estimate of the costs involved.

Frozen Meat

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what assessment he has made of the health risks from meat sold as fresh which has previously been frozen; [7361]

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 652

(2) how he ensures that the public are informed of health risks from meat sold as fresh which had previously been frozen. [7364]

Mrs. Browning: The law currently requires the name of a food to include reference to its physical condition or treatment--for example, frozen--if omission of such information would mislead the consumer.

The health risks associated with meat which has been previously frozen are no greater than those from meat which has not been previously frozen. Provided the meat is cooked thoroughly and kept free from cross-contamination after cooking, it will be safe to eat. The long-standing Government advice has been widely disseminated in Government publicity on food safety for many years.

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what representations he has received to restore the requirement that meat sold as fresh which had previously been frozen should be clearly so labelled; [7365]

(2) what are the legal requirements on meat retailers concerning the specific labelling of meat sold as fresh which had previously been frozen; [7363]

(3) what guidance he has issued to meat retailers concerning the labelling of meat sold as fresh which had previously been frozen. [7366]

Mrs. Browning: Specific labelling requirements for meat and offal previously frozen were removed at the behest of the EC Commission as being at variance with harmonised EC labelling rules. No representations have been received seeking their restoration. None the less, the law currently requires the name of a food to include reference to its physical condition or treatment--for example, previously frozen--if omission of such information would mislead the purchaser. We shall be adding to the guidance notes on the food labelling regulations further advice on the way food processes and treatments should be indicated.

Cattle Cull

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his current estimate of the number of animals remaining to be culled in the over-30-month cull scheme; and if he will make a statement. [7913]

Mr. Baldry: The backlog of animals waiting to be slaughtered under the over-30-month scheme has now been eliminated in Great Britain and will very shortly be cleared in Northern Ireland. Cattle will therefore be able to be presented for the scheme at their normal point of slaughter, as originally intended.

Animals (Identification)

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many and what percentage of (a) farm and (b) domestic animals were (i) identified and (ii) newly identified by (1) a microchip and (2) a tattoo in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [9654]

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Mrs. Browning [holding answer 17 December 1996]: This information for farm animals is not collected centrally. Questions relating to domestic animals are a matter for the Home Department.

Beef Exports (South Africa)

Mr. Caborn: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much UK beef was exported to

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 654

South Africa in each of the years 1991 to 1995 and for each month in 1996 until the imposition of the EU export ban; and how much of this in each period was (a) frozen, (b) chilled, (c) fresh and (d) preserved or prepared. [9225]

Mrs. Browning: It is not possible separately to identify exports of beef of UK origin from those of non-UK origin. However, exports of beef from the UK to South Africa, as recorded in the overseas trade statistics, were as follows:

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Beef exports to South Africa 1991-95

		1991	1992	1993	(17)1994	(17)1995
(a) Frozen beef	tonnes	1,722	755	3,123	10,263	27,011
	value (£'000s)	1,617	787	3,929	9,364	23,744
(b) + (c) Fresh and chiled beef (18)	tonnes	0	21	47	61	46
	value (£'000s)	0	28	27	75	90
(d) Beef prepared and preserved	tonnes	0	0	1	0	0
	value (£'000s)	0	0	3	0	0
Total Volume	tonnes	1,722	776	3,171	10,324	27,057
Total Value	value (£'000s)	1,617	815	3,960	9,439	23.834

(17) Date provisional and subject to amendment.

(18) Exports of fresh and chilled beef are not separately available.

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Beef exports to South Africa 1996

		January(19)	February(19)	March(19)	1996 Total(19)
(a) Frozen beef	tonnes	879	2,212	1,893	4,985
	value (£000s)	965	1,883	1,513	4,361
(b) + (c) Fresh and chilled beef (20)	tonnes	0	0	0	0
	value (£000s)	0	0	0	0
(d) Beef prepared and preserved	tonnes	0	0	0	0
	value (£000s)	0	0	0	0
Total Volume	tonnes	879	2,212	1,893	4,985
Total Value	value (£000s)	965	1,883	1,513	4,361

(19) Data provisional and subject to amendment.

(20) Exports of fresh and chilled beef are not separately available.

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Mr. Caborn: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of the EC export refund given on beef exports to South Africa currently; and what it was in each of the years 1991 to 1995. [9226]

Mr. Baldry: There are 92 separate rates of export refund covering the export of beef and beef products from the EC to South Africa. However, when beef was exported from the UK to South Africa it tended to be in two categories: fresh chilled boneless cuts from the hindquarters of adult male bovines--special export refund beef; and other fresh chilled or frozen boneless cuts. These are set out with their current rate of export refund:

SER beef: 274 ECU/100 kg

Other fresh chilled or frozen boneless cuts: 145.5 ECU/100 kg.

During the years 1991 to 1995 different rates applied at different times. A list of these is in the table, together with the agricultural conversion--green--rates which convert these into sterling.

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	ECU/100 kg
Date	Special export refund	Other fresh/chilled and frozen
16 July 1991	312.00	165.00
31 July 1993	296.00	157.00
27 November 1993	281.50	149.00
29 January 1994	267.50	141.50
4 August 1994	267.50	141.50
26 November 1994	254.00	134.50
1 February 1995	306.71	162.41
17 February 1995	306.50	162.50
21 September 1995	296.00	157.00
14 October 1995	281.00	149.00
11 November 1995	267.00	141.50
18 November 1995	200.00	106.00
13 December 1995	227.00	120.50
11 February 1996	244.00	129.50
1 May 1996	274.00	145.50

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 655

Green rate

Ref. wef date	Value
14 May 1990	0.795232
17 June 1991	0.795423
17 September 1992	0.808227
22 September 1992	0.818896
19 November 1992	0.880533
26 November 1992	0.897525
1 January 1993	0.939052
1 February 1993	0.951031
3 February 1993	0.968391
1 March 1993	0.980715
11 April 1993	0.978559
21 April 1993	0.970726
27 April 1993	0.964017
28 May 1993	0.959111
1 July 1993	0.948645
21 July 1993	0.937041
24 July 1993	0.930787
1 August 1993	0.920969
1 July 1994	0.932453
14 July 1994	0.946550
21 August 1994	0.953575
11 September 1994	0.953575
1 February 1995	0.789704
17 February 1995	0.799794
21 February 1995	0.805837
6 March 1995	0.807419
16 March 1995	0.821220
26 March 1995	0.829882
15 April 1995	0.833125
25 April 1995	0.836385
15 May 1995	0.840997
4 July 1995	0.843954
18 November 1995	0.854276
21 November 1995	0.856563
17 June 1996	0.833821
1 November 1996	0.809915

Mr. Caborn: To ask the Minster of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the quantity of beef exports to South Africa which has been re-exported to the EU from (a) Botswana, (b) Namibia, (c) Swaziland or (d) Lesotho since 1991. [9227]

Mr. Baldry: The information requested is not available.

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