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GM Crops
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress of trials for the growing of genetically modified crops. [86788]
Mr. Meacher: The farm-scale evaluations are investigating whether there are any differences in the diversity and abundance of wildlife associated with the management of genetically modified (GM) herbicide tolerant oil seed rape and maize compared with the management of equivalent conventional crops.
The research contractors, the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, the Institute of Arable Crop Research and the Scottish Crop Research Institute have begun to assess the biodiversity in each field. This year there are now two paired comparisons of winter oil seed rape and four of maize.
The ecological studies are being reviewed by an independent scientific steering committee. The committee comprises scientists drawn from English Nature, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Game Conservancy Trust and academia. The first meeting was on June 14 and the progress of the research was reviewed. The committee considered the work to be making satisfactory progress and that the approach being taken to investigate the effects on wildlife was scientifically sound. Details of progress and steering committee meetings will be made publicly available. A web-site is being set up to provide this information in due course.
Later this year farm-scale evaluations of winter oil seed rape fields will commence. Next year the ecological studies in the farm-scale evaluations will be extended to approximately 20 paired comparisons of each crop.
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Mr. Hepburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will designate the regional chamber for the North East Regional Development Agency. [88211]
Mr. Caborn:
I am pleased to announce that we have today issued a direction to One North East designating the North East Regional Chamber as its regional chamber under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998.
Section 8 of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 provides that if the Secretary of State is of the opinion that there is a body which is representative of those in the RDA's area with an interest in its work, and that body is suitable to be given the role of regional chamber for the RDA, he may designate it.
RDAs must take full account of regional interests. Regional chambers will provide a mechanism through which RDAs can take account of regional views and account for their activities. Ministers expect that each RDA will have regard to the chamber's view in preparing its strategy, consult the chamber on its corporate plan and give an account of its performance to the chamber.
We are currently considering applications for designation from bodies in other regions.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimates he has made of the extent of fraud in the EU budget relating to decontamination payments following the Chernobyl accident. [87379]
Clare Short:
My Department is unaware of any fraud in the EU budget relating to decontamination payments following Chernobyl. There has been no reference to this in reports by the Court of Auditors.
If my hon. Friend has any such information, I would be grateful for details.
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to encourage the use of the new BSI BS8600 for customer complaints. [85339]
Dr. Howells:
The Government support the work of the British Standards Institution in creating better and fairer systems for the benefits of consumers and suppliers. This Department is keen to promote the rights and responsibilities of customers in all sectors and notes the new BSI standard for customer complaints as a contribution to this.
Knowledgeable and well informed consumers play an important role in enhancing the competitiveness of UK businesses. The new standard BS8600 offers useful
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guidance and is one of a number of options that can help businesses in setting up effective systems for responding to customer complaints.
Helen Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the extent of the trade in dog and cat pelts through British ports; and if he will make a statement. [87417]
Mr. Wilson:
There are no official figures relating to the trade in dog and cat pelts. Imports of dog and cat pelts are not separately classified in the HM Customs and Excise Integrated Tariff.
Helen Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take action to provide safeguards for the welfare of animals in the European Union autumn trade round. [87416]
Mr. Wilson:
The Government are committed to promoting high standards of animal welfare.
Following initiatives taken by the UK during our Presidency last year, the agreement on the Directive concerning the protection of farm animals included a commitment that the Commission should consider the scope for seeking changes to WTO rules in the next round to accommodate animal welfare concerns. We will consider this further in the run-up to the third WTO Ministerial at the end of this year.
Mrs. Ellman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the (a) volume and (b) value of exports from Britain to Northern Ireland for each of the last five years for which information is available. [87642]
Mr. Wilson:
Official statistics on exports relate to the United Kingdom, as a whole. It is, therefore, not possible to provide information on the value or volume of exports from Britain to Northern Ireland.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the extent of interchange of information with Unit A-I of Directorate-General IV; and if he will deposit papers published by the Unit in the Library. [87692]
Dr. Howells:
DTI officials are from time to time in contact with Unit A-1 of Directorate General IV on a variety of issues relating to competition policy. The Unit does not publish papers in its own right; material published on behalf of the Commission by Directorate General IV can be found on the Commission's internet site.
Mr. Cotter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what procedures his Department has established to monitor the quality of services by Business Links. [87714]
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Mr. Wills:
The Department has a range of procedures to monitor the quality of services provided by Business Links.
The main procedure is a system of Accreditation under which each Business Link is required to meet rigorous quality standards in order to be able to use the Business Link brand. These standards are set by an independent Accreditation Advisory Board and include meeting ISO9001 and Investors in People requirements as well as other specific requirements, for example, on customer service. The Accreditation Advisory Board is responsible for advising Ministers on whether or not each Business Link is meeting the standards.
Business Links are also required to submit information on a quarterly basis on the number of businesses and individuals who have accessed different services and the fee income they have generated. Government Offices use this data, along with local intelligence, to monitor the performance of individual Business Links. Copies of these reports are held in the Library of the House. From April 1998, we have also required Business Links to track the impact of their services on client businesses.
At national level the performance of the Business Link Network as a whole is assessed through regular customer satisfaction and evaluation studies. The most recent evaluation report on Business Links was published in October 1998. A copy of this is also available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Cotter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 11 June 1999, Official Report, columns 400-01, on small businesses, what assessment was made of the level of awareness of business support services by small business owners in the research conducted since May 1997. [87772]
Mr. Wills:
The September 1997 MORI survey showed that spontaneous (able to name Business Link) awareness of Business Link was 19 per cent. and prompted awareness was 66 per cent. among directors of businesses with 10-200 employees. For businesses with between 5 and 9 employees, spontaneous awareness of Business Link was 16 per cent. and prompted awareness was 59 per cent.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the studies which he has evaluated examining the effects of irradiation processes on GM material; what safety requirements apply to such practices; and if he will make a statement [87512]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 22 June 1999]: I am not aware of any studies specifically to examine the effects of irradiation on GM material but a considerable amount of work has been carried out on the effect of this treatment on a wide range of genetic material consumed as food. There is therefore already an extensive body of
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information available to show that irradiation of non- living material, whatever its make-up, does not render it inherently harmful.
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