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Conservation (Cardigan Bay)
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list his conservation objectives for the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation. [4537]
Mr. Win Griffiths: The legislation requires the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) to advise other relevant authorities as to the conservation objectives for the site. The CCW is in the process of preparing this advice, and discussions on the subject are taking place with the other relevant authorities. The process must be completed as soon as possible after the site is formally agreed between the European Commission and the UK Government. The relevant Directive requires this agreement to take place by June 1998.
Popular Schools Initiative
Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his future plans for the Popular Schools Initiative in Wales. [5497]
Mr. Hain: My right hon. Friend and I plan to honour commitments for the 23 projects successful under Phases 1 and 2 of the Popular Schools Initiative. There will, however, be no third phase.
University Hospital of Wales
Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning car parking charges at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff; and what consultations he has had with the chairman of the University Hospital of Wales Healthcare NHS Trust concerning these charges. [5500]
Mr. Win Griffiths: One. Charges for car parking are a matter for the UHW Healthcare NHS Trust. The charges for the new multi-storey car park under construction will be capped for three years, and any subsequent rises will have to be in line with local parking rates and inflation.
DEFENCE
HMS Dreadnought
Mr. Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information was provided by the manufacturers as to the maximum level of radiation workers could safely be exposed to when the Royal Navy took delivery of the nuclear reactor for HMS Dreadnought; and if such information is retained by the Royal Navy. [4788]
Mr. Spellar:
The Royal Navy took delivery of HMS Dreadnought containing the first UK Submarine nuclear reactor in 1963. While manufacturers are not responsible for advising my Department on the levels to which its radiation workers might be exposed, radiation surveys by Vickers (VSEL), the ship builder, established that the radiation levels on HMS Dreadnought were within the limits specified, based upon the recommendations of the International Commission for Radiological Protection in being at the time. This information is held by VSEL but was and is available to the Royal Navy.
26 Jun 1997 : Column: 629
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) the sponsors of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme and (b) their individual contributions since 1992. [5013]
Mr. Spellar:
We are profoundly grateful to the sponsors of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, British Aerospace, Rolls-Royce and Vickers, which have since 1992 each contributed £14,250, and to Sir Neil Thorne for the very considerable moral and financial support he has lent the scheme since its inception in 1989.
Mr. Brian Jenkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the AWE sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield to be licensed under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965. [6055]
Mr. Spellar:
I am pleased to announce that the Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations has granted a licence, effective from 1 July 1997, to the AWE management contractor Hunting-BRAE Ltd. to operate the AWE sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield. The two sites will thus be brought within the same regulatory regime as civil nuclear sites and will be regularly inspected by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. This will provide independent assurance that nuclear-related activities at AWE are carried out safely and pose no threat to the workforce, the public or the environment.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the statement by the Minister of State for Defence Procurement that the number of Eurofighters to be ordered will be included as an item for consideration by the Defence review represents Government policy. [5495]
Mr. Spellar:
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made clear on 16 June, Official Report, column 81, it is our intention to order Eurofighter according to the conditions and numbers previously announced. We are committed to the purchase of 232 Eurofighters. Eurofighter might be a cost effective replacement for the Harrier GR7, although no decision on this needs to be taken yet. Decisions taken during the Defence Review could affect this.
EU Agriculture Council
Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Luxembourg on 23 and 25 June; and if he will make a statement. [5942]
Dr. John Cunningham:
The Council reached agreement, Spain voting against, on a package of measures covering the CAP support prices and aids for the 1997-98 marketing year, the penalties to be applied when arable base areas are exceeded, and the rate of set-aside to apply to the 1998 crop.
26 Jun 1997 : Column: 630
On prices and aids, the agreement largely maintained the status quo, in advance of negotiations on reform of the major regimes, which are anticipated to start in the Autumn. However, monthly increments for cereals intervention and sugar storage refunds were cut by around 9 per cent. to reflect interest rate changes. The Council agreed to address the important question of over-compensation of arable farmers for past support price cuts in the context of the forthcoming discussions on reform of the arable regime.
In response to requests from me and several other Ministers, the Council agreed in principle that the set-aside rate for the 1998-99 marketing year should be maintained at 5 per cent. It invited the Commission to submit a proposal accordingly, as soon as possible. The proposal to amend the regulations concerning the arable penalties system was adopted with minor amendments--notably, to suspend the application of penalty set-aside for a further year--and requests from several Member States for measures which would have weakened or complicated the system were successfully resisted.
I argued for, and secured, a further commitment from the Commission to propose new measures to safeguard the welfare standards of breeding pigs without requiring them to be unloaded at staging points during journeys. This will help secure the high health status of these valuable animals when they are transported on long international journeys.
On BSE, I reported to the Council the measures I have recently announced to the House following SEAC's advice that the controls on specified bovine material should be extended to imports and that the UK should extend its controls on sheep and goat offal. In reply, Commissioner Fischler supported my call for a Community-wide solution to this problem and urged Member States to support the measures he has recently tabled on specified risk material.
The Council also unanimously endorsed an Italian application for approval of a state aid to agricultural co-operative members and adopted by qualified majority (Germany voting against) a Directive concerning maximum pesticide residue levels in food.
Mr. Prosser:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many pigs were exported for (a) breeding, (b) slaughter and (c) further fattening (i) during 1996 and (ii) to date in 1997; and if he will make a statement. [4867]
Mr. Rooker:
Information on the numbers of pigs escorted in 1996 and 1997 can be obtained in the form requested only at disproportionate cost. Official Overseas Trade Statistics show that approximately 340,000 pigs were exported from the United Kingdom in 1996 and approximately 34,450 were exported up to the end of March 1997. More recent figures are not yet available. These figures remain provisional and subject to amendment.
26 Jun 1997 : Column: 631
Mr. Pearson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to review the current regulations on the transportation of exotic animals; and if he will make a statement. [4607]
Mr. Morley:
The welfare of animals during transport to, from, and within the EU is regulated by directive 91/628, as amended by directive 95/29. In Great Britain these provisions are implemented by the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997 which was made on 10 June 1997. These regulations were introduced after consultation with interested parties when the subject was reviewed.
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research or data his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the presence of pesticides currently banned in the United Kingdom as residues on imported food; and if he will make a statement. [5163]
Mr. Rooker:
The Working Party on Pesticide Residues analyses 3,000 to 4,000 samples annually of a wide range of imported and UK-produced commodities. Each sample is analysed for up to 100 different pesticides, including those which have been banned in the UK. This monitoring programme cost £2 million in 1996-97. In recent years, although residues of banned pesticides have occasionally been detected, none has exceeded internationally agreed safety levels.
The full results of the Working Party's monitoring are published annually and the report for 1996 is expected to be published in September 1997.
Mr. Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his policy with regard to the release of brand names with the results of pesticide residue tests. [5164]
Mr. Rooker:
The Working Party on Pesticide Residues undertakes a large surveillance programme and publishes the results in an annual report with includes details of the countries of origin of samples where this can be determined. More generally, I am currently reviewing ways to improve reporting the results of all surveys including the release of brand names. I intend to make a further statement in the near future.
Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to ensure that chemicals used to spray crops do not damage the environment. [5190]
Mr. Rooker:
Only approved pesticides can be advertised, sold, supplied, stored or used. Applicants for approvals must show that their products pose no unacceptable risks to humans, animals or the environment before approval will be granted. The Registration Handbook outlines the comprehensive data which must be submitted in support of an application. These data are scrutinised by the independent experts of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides before a recommendation is made to Ministers in the five Government Departments responsible for pesticides.
26 Jun 1997 : Column: 632
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