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Egypt (Abductions)
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) reports he has received and (b) representations he has made concerning the abduction of Suhir Shihata Gouda in Egypt. [79309]
Mr. Fatchett: We have recently received reports about Suhir Shihata Gouda from international NGOs. Our Embassy in Cairo is making inquiries into the background.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Egyptian authorities about the abduction of Christian women in Egypt. [79310]
Mr. Fatchett: We regularly make representations to the Egyptian authorities when we receive reports of human rights abuses against anyone, regardless of gender or religion. This includes reports of abductions.
Overseas Trade Services
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 18 March 1999, Official Report, column 765, on overseas trade services, if he will place in the Library the relevant accounts for the overseas trade services income for 1997-98. [79311]
Mr. Fatchett: Details of overseas trade service income and expenditure for 1997-98 are contained in the 1999 Foreign Commonwealth Office Departmental Report which will be issued on 31 March 1999; copies will be placed in the Library.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Refreshment Department
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee if he will make a statement on the effect on services for members and staff of the Refreshment Department's modernisation programme. [77415]
Mr. Dennis Turner: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave on 15 February 1999 to my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody), Official Report, columns 421-22, and to my letter of 4 March which was sent to all hon. Members. In my letter, I set out in detail the catering facilities which will, and those which will not, be available to hon. Members and staff during Phase F of the Refreshment Department modernisation programme.
Retirements
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the President of the Council if she will discuss with the House of Commons Commission, the Commissioner of Police of the
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Metropolis and officers of the House means by which hon. Members can be informed of prospective retirements and departures of long-serving staff. [77411]
Mrs. Beckett:
I have asked the Serjeant at Arms to write to my hon. Friend about this matter.
Departmental Staff (Ethnic Origin)
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Council if she will provide a breakdown, in numerical and percentage terms, of the ethnic origin, at 1 March, of (a) her private office, (b) Government special advisers and (c) her Policy Unit. [78509]
Mrs. Beckett: On 1 March 1999 there were six staff in my Private Office, none of whom was of ethnic minority origin. As regards Special Advisers, I would refer my hon. Friend to answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone) by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 February 1999, Official Report, column 39.
Millennium Compliance
Mr. Maclean: To ask the President of the Council what assessment she has made of the 9.9.99 computer bug in formulating Government policy on the millennium bug. [77545]
Mrs. Beckett: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 22 March 1999, Official Report, column 7.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Genetically Modified Crops
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what safeguards the Government plans to impose to guard against cross-pollination with non- genetically modified plants when genetically modified foods are planted commercially. [75138]
Mr. Rooker: The issue of cross-pollination is considered by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) when examining each application for release of genetically modified (GM) crops. Appropriate conditions (e.g. separation distances) may be included in a consent, but a consent would not be granted if ACRE considered the risks associated with cross-pollination to be unacceptable. In addition the Government have encouraged the development of industry guidelines which will set out best practice for growing GM crops, and these guidelines will include minimum separation distances between GM and non-GM crops.
Pig Industry
Mr. Sawford:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the financial impact on the British pig industry of the new stall and tether regulations. [75844]
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Mr. Rooker:
The legislation to ban sow stalls and tethers was introduced in 1991 and allowed the industry an eight year phase-out period. The Government estimate made at that time was that the total compliance cost to industry would be in the region of £9 million taking account of the phase-out period and that many systems would in any case need to be replaced for other reasons.
Mr. Letwin:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to adopt an early retirement scheme for farmers; and if he will make a statement. [78023]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 22 March 1999]: Support for early retirement is one of the measures provided for in the Rural Development Regulation, recently agreed by the Agriculture Council as part of the CAP reform negotiations. Detailed implementing rules still need to be agreed. No decision has yet been made on which of the measures in the Regulation will be implemented in the UK. We are currently evaluating the views expressed by farmers and other interested parties as a result of the consultation exercise launched in January. Now that the Regulation has been agreed, we will be putting forward more detailed proposals for consultation, taking account of the funds available.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if it is his Department's policy that products derived from animals which eat genetically modified animal feed are safe for human consumption. [78722]
Mr. Rooker:
Yes. The Advisory Committee on Novel Food and Processes considers the human food safety implications of animals fed genetically modified material to ensure this.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to encourage rotation of planting by (a) species of crops and (b) area of UK farms. [78540]
Mr. Rooker:
It is for farmers to decide how best to manage their crop rotations to achieve profitability and meet customer requirements. The Government's role is to provide an appropriate policy framework, which is why it has pressed for CAP reforms aimed at reducing the distortions caused by production-linked subsidies. The Government also aid conversion to organic farming, which relies on crop rotations to maintain soil fertility.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of food-producing land in England is devoted to monoculture. [78541]
Mr. Rooker:
The information is not available in the form requested. Information on agricultural land use can be found in "Agriculture in the United Kingdom 1998" which was published on 16 March 1999 and a copy placed in the Library of the House.
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Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide a list of food substances available in the UK containing genetically modified contents. [78783]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 26 March 1999]: All genetically modified foods on sale in the UK have been approved following a rigorous safety assessment. The Government do not keep details of the use of ingredients in individual food products. However, wherever GM ingredients from GM soya or maize are present in foods, this must be declared in accordance with the requirements of EC Regulation 1139/98 and the Food Labelling (Amendments) Regulations 1999. The only other GM product currently on the market, tomato paste, has been clearly labelled by the manufacturer on a voluntary basis since its launch in 1996.
Mr. Laurence Robertson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what import duties are applied by the European Union to (a) dairy products and (b) meat products from each country of supply; and what subsidies are given on the same goods exported from the EU. [78942]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 26 March 1999]: Figures for the annual import duties applied by the European Union to meat and dairy products are published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, L 292, Volume 41, 30 October 1998, entitled: "Commission Regulation (EC) number 2261/98 of 26 October 1998" amending Annex 1 to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff.
Additional import duties may be applied on entry to the European Union when certain poultrymeat products are imported at very low prices that may disrupt the internal market. Commission Regulation No 1484/95 implements the system for applying additional duties in the poultrymeat sector, which is published in the Official Journal of the European Communities L 145, 29 June 1995. In order to implement the WTO Brazil/EU Disputes Panel ruling this was amended by Commission Regulation No 623/1999 introducing a new system for calculation which took effect on 25 March 1999. Some imports of beef and veal are allowed into the Community under certain limited concessionary import schemes, but these concessions are limited to a quantity of beef that amounts to 5 per cent. of total community production.
Export refunds for certain dairy products are published in Commission Regulation (EC) No 532/1999 of 11 March 1999, fixing the export refunds on milk and milk products which can be found in the Official Journal of the European Communities, L 63, 12 March 1999. Export refunds for certain pigmeat products are published in Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/1999 of 12 February 1999, which can be found in Official Journal of the European Communities, L 40, 13 February 1999. The latest rates of export refunds for beef and veal were published on 16 March 1999 and can be found in Commission Regulation 565/1999, which can be found in Official Journal of the European Communities, L 70 of 17 March 1999. Export refunds for certain poultrymeat products are
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published in Commission Regulation (EC) No 395/1999 of 23 February 1999, which can be found in Official Journal of the European Communities, L 48, 24 February 1999. This reflects the remaining refund availability since quota volumes for other products under WTO rules have been exhausted for the year July 1998-99.
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