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Waste Minimisation
Ms Walley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on existing targets set to minimise waste in his Department. [11539]
Mr. Morley: Under the Department's action plan for green housekeeping, there is a requirement on all our sites to minimise the generation of waste. So far, it has not been considered appropriate to set specific targets in what is a diverse and changing departmental estate. Although the scope for setting targets remains under consideration, a series of formal environmental audits of our laboratory sites is planned for later in 1997-98.
Ms Walley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the amount, and proportion, of paper recycled by his Department in each of the last five years. [11540]
Mr. Morley: This information is not available. Paper recycling schemes are in operation at many of the Ministry's 230 sites and the responsibility for handling such schemes is decentralised. At our London headquarters buildings, 37 tonnes of good-quality waste paper was recycled during 1996-97, which considerably exceeded expectations.
Ms Walley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to introduce a waste minimisation strategy for his Department. [11538]
Mr. Morley: A waste minimisation strategy already forms part of the Department's action plan for green housekeeping, with the objective of reducing the amount of waste produced, encouraging recycling schemes and reusing materials. A leaflet and notices have been issued to all staff and local campaigns have been undertaken to encourage participation, including exhibitions, presentations and the introduction of schemes for recycling paper, tin cans and other materials.
Pigs (Gas Stunning)
Sir Richard Body: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will place in the Library a copy of the advice he received from the Farm Animal Welfare Council on the carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs. [11827]
Mr. Morley:
I have placed in the Library a copy of the letter from the Farm Animal Welfare Council dated 1 May 1997. This says that the council would like MAFF to encourage the industry to develop superior stunning and
31 Jul 1997 : Column: 436
killing methods which move away from stressful handling and that these should make use of non-aversive gas mixtures. FAWC in its letter further recommended that the industry should concentrate on the use of argon to induce anoxia and that high concentrations of carbon dioxide in air should be phased out as systems using alternative gas mixtures became commercially available.
We have commissioned commercial trials using alternative gas mixtures and the next steps we take will depend on the results of these.
We also await formal proposals from the European Commission to add alternative gas mixtures to the permitted methods for stunning animals.
Mr. Terry Lewis:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has for the refurbishment of ministerial offices in his Department; and what is the estimated cost of the works and date of completion. [11870]
Mr. Morley:
The current Ministry building in Whitehall which houses ministerial offices is in need of major renovation within the next few years. Ministers, and about 76 officials, will therefore move by the end of November to MAFF offices in Nobel house, Smith square.
Details on costs for this move and associated redecoration works were included in the reply given to the hon. Member for Romsey (Mr. Colvin) on 28 July, Official Report, columns 23-24.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to this answer of 23 July, Official Report, column 639, concerning research into use of crops yielding vegetable oils, if he will list the principal research projects his Department is funding, indicating the cost of each to public funds. [11820]
| Project title | Total cost (£) |
|---|---|
| Genetic engineering of oilseed rape to produce products of defined acyl variation and low downstream processing | 320,697 |
| Oilseed rape seed loss-improving strength of pods by using engineering fracture analysis of genetically diverse pods | 348,000 |
| Genetic improvement of oilseed rape for reduced susceptibility to pod shatter | 607,193 |
| Regulation of pod shatter in oilseed rape | 190,210 |
| A knowledge based assessment of rapeseed oil as a pesticide adjuvant | 243,261 |
| Vegetable oils with specific fatty acids | 87,840 |
| Pesticide adjuvants from vegetable oils | 68,092 |
| Cost benefit assessment, including life cycle analysis, of oils produced from UK-grown crops compared with mineral oils | 192,754 |
| Comparative field trials of alternative UK road transport fuels | 33,520 |
| Linseed agronomy | 1,015,216 |
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Cattle Traceability
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Mr. Marsden) of 19 June, Official Report, column 286, on cattle traceability, when he expects to implement a system which meets the Florence precondition on cattle traceability. [11637]
Mr. Rooker: We believe that the cattle passport system, introduced on 1 July 1996, fulfils the Florence precondition on cattle traceability in Great Britain. However, a computerised system will improve cattle traceability still further, and is required under recent EU legislation which applies to all member states.
Mr. Swinney: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what actions his Department is taking to proceed with (a) the export certified herds scheme and (b) the date-based scheme. [12199]
Mr. Rooker: On 24 July, my officials discussed both schemes with the EU Commission. As a result, further clarification is to be provided on the date-based scheme. In line with the Florence agreement, the Commission will be putting both schemes to its scientific advisory committees.
State Veterinary Service
Mr. Gale: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many veterinarians are currently employed in the State Veterinary Service; and if he will make a statement on the future of the State Veterinary Service with particular reference to his plans for a food standards agency; [11780]
- (2) what plans he has to conduct open consultation with interested organisations in respect of proposed changes to the State Veterinary Service. [11781]
Mr. Morley: At 1 July 1997, the number of veterinarians employed in the State Veterinary Service within the direct line command of the chief veterinary officer was 306.15 full-time equivalents and includes permanent, fixed-term and casual appointees. This total excludes 13 veterinary posts recently transferred to the MAFF food safety and standards group on 2 June 1997 in preparation for the creation of a foods standards agency. It has been decided that the veterinary field service--the operational arm of the SVS--should not at present become an executive agency and I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Savidge) on 30 July, Official Report, column 322. The Government's proposals for a food standards agency will be published in a White Paper in the autumn. The White Paper will provide interested bodies with a further opportunity to comment on the organisation and remit of the new agency, including any implications it may have for the State Veterinary Service.
Computers (Century Date Change)
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what funding is presently committed from his departmental budget for (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000 to resolve the year 2000 computer problem; and if he will make a statement. [11899]
31 Jul 1997 : Column: 438
Mr. Morley:
Current commitments from the central information technology budget to resolve the year 2000 computer problem are:
making a total of £4,650,000. Further expenditure--to take the figure up to an estimated £7 million in total--is expected as detailed plans are finalised over the coming month.
Costs will be met from existing public expenditure survey provision. The Department is working in line with guidance published by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency; detailed and costed plans will be supplied by the end of October 1997.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which articles and subsections of articles of Council regulation 3760/92 will automatically continue after 2002; and what is the relevant legal text which substantiates their continuation. [12190]
Mr. Morley:
All of Council regulation (EEC) No. 3760/92 apart from article 6 continues automatically until the Council decides to change it. The provisions on access restrictions within six and 12-mile limits are exceptional in that they automatically end on 31 December 2002, but the Government are committed to securing their renewal thereafter.
(a) 1997-98: £2,500,000
(b) 1998-99: £1,400,000
(c) 1999-2000: £750,000
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