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Kosovo
Mr. Maples:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the consequences for overstretch in the Army of the proposed deployment in Kosovo of British troops. [77302]
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Mr. George Robertson:
As I have said before, a deployment to Kosovo would represent a challenging new commitment for the Army, especially as implementation of the Strategic Defence Review is still at an early stage. The consequences for overstretch would obviously depend on the size and duration of any deployment, and on what happens to other commitments in the meantime.
CAP
Mr. Hesford: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the outcome of the discussions on reform of the CAP at the Council of Ministers was; and if he will make a statement. [74384]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 11 March 1999]: The House was informed of the outcome of the negotiations on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in my statement to the House on 12 March 1999, Official Report, columns 626-40.
Date-based Export Scheme
Mr. Paice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral answer to the hon. Member for North Dorset (Mr. Walter), 24 February 1999, Official Report, columns 385-86, when he issued the invitation to the European Commission to inspect the abattoirs which will be involved in the Date-based Export Scheme; and when he expects the inspections to take place. [74331]
Mr. Rooker [holding answer 2 March 1999]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes), on 3 March 1999, Official Report, column 774.
Pig Producers
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to ensure the repayment of subsidies which the Commission has deemed irregular which were paid to French and German pig producers; and if he will make a statement. [77130]
Mr. Rooker: In 1998, both the German and French Governments made announcements about the introduction of state aid schemes aimed at assisting their pig producers. Following representations from the UK and others, however, the German proposal was withdrawn. The EU Commission has expressed concern about some elements of the French proposal and has asked for further information under procedures laid down in Article 93(2) of the Treaty. The French Government have until the end of march to respond. We will, of course, continue to press the Commission to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty which include, if necessary, ordering the repayment of any state aid subsidies plaid illegally.
Tobacco
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on EU agricultural policy and its impact on the financial regime for tobacco grown in the EU. [76953]
18 Mar 1999 : Column: 813
Mr. Rooker:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on 14 January 1999, Official Report, column 294.
Mr. Letwin:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ban the sale of imported pork products which are of a type that cannot legally be produced in the United Kingdom. [76753]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 15 March 1999]: I assume that the hon. Member is referring to imported pork products which were produced from pigs which may have been reared in stall and tether production systems or fed with pig feed containing meat and bone meal (MBM). An import ban on such products would be incompatible with our EU and World Trade Organisation obligations. I will, however, continue to urge retailers and caterers to take account of animal welfare and other considerations when sourcing pork and pork products. The hon. Member may be aware that major UK retailers have given voluntary assurances to Ministers that they will only source own label fresh pork, bacon, ham, sausages and pork pies from stall and tether and MBM free production systems.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when Ministers or officials wrote to the appropriate authorities in the European Commission seeking confirmation that proposals to proceed with UK legislation on animal quarantine reform based on the outcome of the Kennedy report (a) are compatible with single market requirements and (b) will not be opposed by the Commission. [76663]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 15 March 1999]: We have kept the Commission closely informed about the Kennedy Report at meetings and through correspondence. If it became necessary to write along the lines suggested by the hon. Gentleman, we would do so.
Mr. Edwards:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about Government policy on the control of genetically modified food. [75373]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 17 March 1999]: The Government's policy on the control of GM foods is first and foremost to protect public health and secondly to ensure that all such foods are clearly labelled so that consumers are able to make an informed choice about whether or not to consume them.
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment his Department has undertaken of the safety of genetically modified foods on a similar basis to those undertaken for pharmaceutical products. [75418]
Mr. Rooker:
The authorisation of market release for new drugs and genetic modified (GM) foods are subject to different, but equally strict, criteria.
18 Mar 1999 : Column: 814
The assessment for new drugs is based on safety, quality and efficacy. The assessment of novel, including GM, foods is based on establishing that they do not present a danger to the public; that the public are not misled in any way about them; and that they do not disadvantage the public in terms of their nutritional content.
Mr. Home Robertson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to introduce regulations for the enforcement of EC Regulation 1139/98 concerning the labelling of genetically-modified soya and maize. [78044]
Mr. Rooker:
I have laid before Parliament this morning the Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations 1999, which will come into force tomorrow. These provide the means for Local Authorities to be able to enforce the EC Regulation that requires all foods containing genetically modified soya or maize ingredients to be clearly labelled. This Regulation, which took effect last September, applies to all foods produced and labelled from that date.
The Government are determined that consumers should be able to choose whether or not to eat genetically modified foods. This includes food sold in restaurants, cafes and takeaways and not just that available from supermarkets. The UK is the first member state in Europe to take steps to ensure that consumers eating out will have the same right to choose whether or not to consume foods containing GM ingredients as those buying from shops.
As a measure of how seriously the Government take the right of consumers to have clear, reliable information about the GM content of food they buy, we have decided not to wait the customary 21 days for these Regulations to come into force but to make them fully effective from tomorrow.
A letter is being sent today to interested parties advising them of the content of the Regulations and enclosing a copy of the text. Further copies of the Regulations are available from John Furzer or Raj Pal, MAFF, Room 239c, Ergon House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR. In addition, the legislation can be viewed from this afternoon at MAFF Website "http://www.maff.gov.uk/food/novel/labelreg.pdf". A Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Regulations has been prepared and placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Steen:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the availability of organic high protein feed supplements for sheep over the lambing period; and if he will make a statement. [76795]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 17 March 1999]: No specific assessment has been made. However inquiries have not indicated problems with the current availability of organic feeding stuffs for sheep.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the volume of farm animal feed that has been consumed since the introduction of genetically modified material to such feed. [75106]
18 Mar 1999 : Column: 815
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 8 March 1999]: In total, about 20 million tonnes of animal feed were purchased in both 1997 and 1998 by livestock farmers for use on their farms, which included some 3.6 million tonnes of imported soya and maize products. A proportion of this would have been derived from GM crops. However, in the absence of crop segregation and specific labelling requirements, it is not possible to know the precise amount. In addition, farmers will have fed material from home-produced crops which would not have contained any genetically modified materials.
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