| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Food Produce
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent efforts his Department has made to promote local sourcing of food produce; and if he will make a statement. [24461]
Mr. Rooker: The Government are firmly committed to promoting the local sourcing of food produce, particularly through their grant aid scheme for the establishment of regional groups of speciality producers and the practical assistance provided to these and other groups by Food From Britain.
I myself will shortly be opening the Food and Drink Expo 98 exhibition in Birmingham which will have a dedicated British speciality foods sector which is directly sponsored by FFB and MAFF. We have also ensured that food served in the VIP suite reflects regional foods.
Further, as part of his personal commitment to this sector, my noble Friend Lord Donoughue of Ashton has recently announced that he will refuse to stay at hotels which do not serve locally produced food and drink and has challenged other business travellers to do the same.
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his order of priorities for reform of Article 39 of the Treaty of Rome. [24455]
Mr. Rooker:
The Government objectives for the Common Agriculture Policy, as established under Articles 38-46 of the Treaty of Rome, are for reforms which provide a market oriented policy with less costly farm support decoupled from agricultural production; and more emphasis placed on targeted environmental and rural development objectives. Achieving these objectives does not require Treaty amendment.
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to reduce the use of pesticides; and if he will make a statement. [24453]
Mr. Rooker:
It is Government policy to minimise the use of pesticides to that required for effective pest and disease control. This policy is pursued in a number of ways including a rigorous pesticide product approvals
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 95
process, a wide ranging R&D programme, and surveillance monitoring of pesticide residues in food. In addition, the Statutory Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Pesticides on Farms and Holdings, laid before this House on 12 January, will be published in March.
The Government are also reviewing the role that economic instruments such as charges or taxes might play in reducing the impact of pesticides and aims to give organic farming a higher priority.
Finally, the Government have given their full support to the recently established Pesticides Forum which, last August, published an Action Plan for encouraging responsible pesticide use, including plans to improve arrangements for technology transfer and promote techniques, such as integrated crop management, designed to minimise pesticide use.
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment his Department has made of the presence of traces of DDT in (a) milk and (b) other dairy products imported from New Zealand. [24451]
Mr. Rooker:
Milk is not normally imported into the United Kingdom from New Zealand. However, in 1993 and 1996 the surveillance programme of the Working Party on Pesticide Residues included butter imported from New Zealand. Residues of DDT at very low levels were detected on both occasions, but there was no cause for concern from these findings and no exceedance of maximum residue levels (MRLs).
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research his Department has evaluated into the long-term effects of pesticide residues in food; and if he will make a statement. [24452]
Mr. Rooker:
It is standard practice for the possible effects of each active ingredient used in pesticides and its residues in food to be assessed before products containing that active ingredient are approved for sale. This assessment is undertaken on the basis of extensive testing of the active ingredient in animals, including long-term testing at much higher doses than would occur in the food supply.
The results of assessments by Government scientists are reviewed by the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides who advise Ministers in six UK Government Departments on the approval of pesticides. The Working Party on Pesticide Residues undertakes an annual surveillance programme to ensure that residues in food remain at acceptable levels.
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to ensure that those farmers who have been excluded from requiring a certificate of competence before using pesticides now have such certificates; and if he will make a statement. [24454]
Mr. Rooker:
I propose to remove the age exemption to ensure that all users of agricultural pesticides are properly trained. This will require amendments to the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 (as amended) and the Plant Protection Products (Basic Conditions) Regulations 1997.
We shall be consulting interested parties on this and related matters.
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 96
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to introduce a more informative labelling system for pet foods; and if he will make a statement. [24464]
Mr. Rooker:
I have no plans to make changes to the labelling system for pet foods. The Feeding Stuffs Regulations 1995 (as amended), which implement EC measures, contain extensive provisions for the statutory labelling of pet foods.
Mr. Fabian Hamilton:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of anti-rabies precautions within the Channel Tunnel. [24789]
Mr. Rooker:
The controls in place to prevent animals from entering the channel tunnel, which include fencing, video recording, routine surveillance by service personnel, deterrent lighting, and routine baiting for small animals are considered to be very effective anti-rabies precautions. No rabies susceptible animal has ever succeeded in passing through the tunnel. There have however been considerable operational problems with the electrified grids within the tunnel. We are pressing Eurotunnel to get the grids back in operation which is a legal requirement.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to give grants to small family butchers to compensate them for the financial losses resulting from the ban on beef on the bone. [24700]
Mr. Rooker:
I have no such plans.
Mr. Wilkinson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the expected duration of MAGP V and the forecast reduction of EU marine resources available in that period, together with the forecast reduction in vessel capacity. [24685]
Mr. Morley:
Council Decision 97/413/EC concerning objectives and detailed rules for MAGP IV covers the period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001. Article 9 provides for the European Commission to present a report by 30 March 1999 at the latest on the state and evolution of fish stocks and an assessment of the effects of structural, conservation, control and other policy measures on the state of the resources and on the sector. In the light of this the Council has until 30 December 1999 to decide on any necessary adjustments to the targets for fishing effort in the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2001. Consideration of the position after 31 December 2001 has not yet been provided for.
Mr. Wilkinson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of fishing already conducted in EU waters by boats of applicant nations for EU membership listed in phases one and two of projected EU enlargement, as based on the 1983
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 97
principle of relative stability; and what percentage per species catch is accounted for by each of these potential new EU members. [24684]
Mr. Morley:
The only applicant countries which have current fishing quotas in EU waters are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Under the terms of bilateral fisheries agreements with the EU, access by these countries to EU waters is limited to the Baltic Sea where the UK fleet does not fish.
| Quota | Quota as percentage of EU share of TAC(20) | |
|---|---|---|
| Estonia | Cod1,100 tonnes | 1.29 |
| Herring4,000 tonnes | 1.30 | |
| Sprat4,000 tonnes | 2.00 | |
| Latvia | Cod2,500 tonnes | 2.93 |
| Herring2,500 tonnes | 0.81 | |
| Sprat6,000 tonnes | 3.01 | |
| Salmon2,000 fish | 0.50 | |
| Lithuania | Cod1,350 tonnes | 1.58 |
| Herring500 tonnes | 0.16 | |
| Sprat4,000 tonnes | 2.00 | |
| Salmon500 fish | 0.13 | |
| Poland | Cod400 tonnes | 0.47 |
| Herring5,000 tonnes | 1.62 | |
| Sprat5,000 tonnes | 2.51 | |
| Flounder400 tonnes | n/a |
(20) Total allowable catches are fixed by the International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |