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Sudan (Religious Freedom)
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Government of Sudan regarding the rights of Christians to religious freedom, over the last 18 months. [68639]
Mr. Fatchett: FCO officials have regularly raised these important issues with the Government of Sudan and will continue to do so.
Pakistan (Christian Community)
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Government of Pakistan regarding the application of Sharia Law and its impact upon the Christian minority. [68640]
Mr. Fatchett: We continue to ensure that the Pakistan authorities remain aware of our concerns on human rights and religious minorities. We are following closely the progress of the Shariah Bill which has yet to pass Pakistan's Senate. We are aware of the concerns expressed by minorities and human rights groups about the possible effects of the Bill.
Kosovo
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what independent international investigation was conducted into the killings in Kosovo at Gornje Obrinje and what were the results; and if an investigation into killings at Racak has been commenced. [68804]
Mr. Tony Lloyd: An EU forensic team from Finland was admitted to Kosovo in December last year to conduct examinations of Gornje Obrinje and other massacre sites. They have not yet been able to complete their work at Gornje Obrinje but hope to do so in the spring. The same team have been conducting autopsies on those killed at Racak and will report to the FRY authorities, the OSCE and the EU when their examinations are complete.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has encouraged the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in her continuing efforts to investigate these and other incidents and to bring those responsible to justice.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the legal basis for the possible use of military force in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. [68759]
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Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The legal basis for any military action against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would need to be considered in the light of the circumstances at the time. Any military action by British forces would have to be lawful under international law.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of his (a) Department's and (b) Agencies officials have been assaulted in the course of slaughterhouse inspections in each of the last five years; how many prosecutions followed the assaults; and what action his Department is taking to minimise the number of assaults. [63379]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 15 January 1999]: The number of Departmental, mainly State Veterinary Service officials who have been subjected to intimidation at slaughterhouses is as follows:
No prosecutions followed these incidents.
The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), which was established on 1 April 1995, does not have information available on a year by year basis.
However, in response to evidence that MHS operational staff were being subjected to violence and/or intimidation, a survey was sent out to all 1,540 MHS operational staff in January 1998. It sought information on all incidents which inspectors had been involved with throughout their entire careers, not just since the launch of the MHS.
759 responses were received. 1 in 4 operational staff indicated that they had been subject to some form of violence and/or intimidation at some point. However, the most common instances related to verbal abuse/threats and not physical assault or obstruction. 17 MHS staff had been subjected to physical assault at some point.
Reported cases of physical assault are investigated with a view to prosecution under the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Obstruction of MHS staff in the performance of their duties is an offence under the Food Safety Act 1990. All reported cases are thoroughly investigated by MAFF Investigations Officers and prosecutions taken where it can be shown that MHS staff have been hampered from carrying out their meat inspection duties.
To date, 5 successful prosecutions have been taken.
Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met representatives of the British Retail Consortium; and if he will make a statement. [67773]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 26 January 1999]: The Minister last met with the British Retail Consortium on 3 November 1998. At this meeting, the major retailers
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gave important assurances about the pigmeat they sell, not least that all their own label fresh pork, ham sausages and pork pies will come from stall and tether and MBM free production systems. They also gave an undertaking not to market as British, processed products produced from imported meat.
More generally, the retailers are making efforts to ensure that their sourcing practices meet or exceed consumer expectations in areas such as quality, traceability and local supply, and concern for animal welfare and the environment.
Mr. Heppell:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at how many mink factory farms the killing of mink was witnessed by Ministry officials over the past three months; how long officials were in attendance at each mink factory farm; and what methods were used to carry out the killing, broken down by county in each case. [68148]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 27 January 1999]: All licensed mink farms were inspected during the killing period. The actual killing operation was observed on six farms in Cornwall, Dorset, Hampshire, Northumberland, Lancashire and Yorkshire. The following killing methods were used: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and pentabarbitone injection.
Mr. Heppell:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many mink and fox fur factory farms there are by county in England and Wales. [68146]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 27 January 1999]: There are currently the following number of mink farms in England:
1993-94: 0
1994-95: 7
1995-96: 0
1996-97: 1
1997-98: 0.
Background Note
Welfare inspections of fur farms (in practice licensed mink farms) are made twice a year, once at the time of killing (November). Although the actual killing operation will not be observed in all cases, the veterinary officer carrying out the inspection is charged with ensuring that those responsible are aware of, and follow the requirements of, the welfare legislation. No central records are kept of the duration of visits but at a minimum they would take at least an hour.
| County | Number of licensed mink farms |
|---|---|
| Cornwall | 1 |
| Dorset | 1 |
| Hampshire | 1 |
| Isle of Wight | 1 |
| Lancashire | 5 |
| Northumberland | 1 |
| South Yorkshire | 1 |
| Staffordshire | 1 |
| West Yorkshire | 1 |
| Total | 13 |
There are no licensed mink farms in Wales.
There is no requirement to register fox fur farms. However, I am not aware of any in England or Wales.
Non-modified Organisms
Mr. Crausby:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will require food manufacturers who support the use of non-modified organisms to make
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public the systems they use to ensure that their commitments to non-modified organisms can be verified. [68620]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 1 February 1999]: EC Regulation 1139/98, which establishes the legal requirements for labelling foods containing GM soya and maize, and sets a precedent for the labelling of all GM foods, recognises that any food labelled as not containing GM soya or maize must be verifiable by scientific or other means. Enforcement of this requirement is a matter for Local Authorities.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions were held with the major supermarkets about the principle of a flat rate levy for the Food Standards Agency before publication of the consultation paper, "Proposals for a Levy Scheme". [68973]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 2 February 1999]: No such discussions were held.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the total cost of the proposed levy to fund the Food Standards Agency on (a) the charitable, (b) the voluntary and (c) other not-for-profit sectors. [68974]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 2 February 1999]: The data are not available to make estimates of the number of food premises falling in these categories. The purpose of the public consultation exercise is to invite views on the proposals, including those from the sectors affected.
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