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Forest Land
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food further to his answer of 25 October 1999, Official Report, column 714, on forest land, what assessment he has made of the consultation process relating to the sale of Chepstow Park Wood; and if the sale constituted an open sale. [96516]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 29 October 1999]: The subject of this question relates to a matter for the National Assembly of Wales.
Coastal Whaling (Ireland)
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if the Government oppose
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proposals put forward by the Government of Ireland that would permit coastal whaling; and if he will make a statement; [96336]
Mr. Morley:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend for Harrow, East (Mr. McNulty) on 9 June 1999, Official Report, columns 348-50.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) with which EU member states he has discussed the prospect of zonal/regional fisheries management; and what interpretation of this management he has used in these discussions; [96879]
Mr. Morley:
I regularly discuss regional aspects of Common Fisheries Policy management with my opposite numbers in other EU member states. In all those contacts I have made clear the need to enhance the regional dimension of the CFP through increased involvement of the stake holders in the management process; greater focus on management problems on a regional specific fishery basis; closer links between fishermen and scientists; and the ability to act rapidly when confronted with conservation emergencies affecting a particular fishery.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish the latest scientific evidence on the presence of the BSE prion within (a) the dorsal root ganglia and (b) marrow of cattle. [96297]
Ms Quin
[holding answer 29 October 1999]: The results of the BSE pathogenesis study which described the detection of infectivity in dorsal root ganglia and bone marrow of orally infected cattle were reported in the following two articles:
"Preliminary observations on the pathogenesis of experimental bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)": by G.A.H. Wells and others. (The Veterinary Record, 1998/Vol. 142/31/1/1998, pp. 103-106).
"Limited detection of sternal bone marrow infectivity in the clinical phase of experimental bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)": by G.A.H. Wells and others. (The Veterinary Record, 1999/Vol. 144/13/3/1999, pp. 292-294).
There are no new results to report.
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what initiatives his Department is providing to boost the competitiveness of the UK's agriculture industry in Europe. [96259]
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Ms Quin:
The Government are seeking to assist UK agriculture to be more competitive in Europe on several fronts.
The foundation of a competitive industry must be the macro-economic stability which the Government have achieved and which brings low levels of inflation and interest rates. We have built on this foundation by investing in research and development, pursuing the Government's policy of training, education and lifelong learning, establishing the Food Chain Group earlier this year whose aim is to bring the food chain close together, launching a joint campaign (with the National Farmers' Union (NFU)) to encourage more collaborative marketing, and launching a further joint initiative with the NFU to review regulatory burdens on the industry.
Furthermore, my right hon. Friend announced a substantial package of aid on 20 September which included £150 million of new money for the industry. This included the waiving of specified risk material charges and cattle passport charges until at least 2001/02, and £1 million aimed directly at support for marketing. Most recently, my right hon. Friend announced on 28 October 1999, Official Report, column 1128, that we have secured a further £5 million in marketing aid.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will amend the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 in order to allow non-vets to carry out acupuncture and homeopathy on animals. [91992]
Ms Quin
[holding answer 21 July 1999]: The authorisation of practitioners of alternative medicine under the Act is limited to the provision of physiotherapy to animals which are under the care of a veterinary surgeon. Such treatment can be authorised only if it is prescribed by that veterinary surgeon. At present, there are no plans to implement further regulatory arrangements recognising or authorising practitioners of alternative medicine to carry out acts of veterinary surgery.
Mr. Nicholls:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the oral answer of 21 October 1999, Official Report, column 564, when he plans to reinstate the fishing safety grants; and if he will make a statement. [95768]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 26 October 1999]: The Government are currently considering the issue of reinstating a scheme of grants for safety equipment for vessels, in particular in the context of any funding available for the programme of structural measures currently under negotiation in the Fisheries Council. As this would be a new scheme, all options are under consideration.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment she has made of the warning by
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the Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation relating to Year 2000 compliance of local authorities' housing benefit systems. [95216]
Mrs. Beckett:
I am replying as the responsible Minister. The compliance of local authority systems has been independently assessed by the Audit Commission, with Government Offices in the Regions acting as responsible bodies. This took place as part of Action 2000's National Infrastructure Forum programme of independent assessment, reported on 21 October, when all but a very few UK infrastructure organisations were rated "blue", which means there is no identified risk of material disruption. All sectors are expected to be "blue" by mid November.
I have placed a copy of the report of the Forum, which contains a full account of the assessment process for all these sectors, in the Libraries of the House. Local authorities in England were rated "blue" in this report, which means that as well as having completed their compliance programme, they also have business continuity plans to deal with any unexpected events. Under this assessment, payment of housing benefit should not be at risk.
Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps she is taking to improve the despatch of Government consultation documents to organisations and individuals requesting them. [96533]
Marjorie Mowlam:
Last year we published a guide on the conduct of written consultation exercises setting out best practice for departments and agencies, and we are now evaluating it. In carrying out the evaluation, we will ensure that improving the despatch of consultation documents receives attention. The results of the evaluation will be made public in due course.
Mr. Denzil Davies:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the total number of employees who will be eligible for a working families tax credit in 2000-01. [95812]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 26 October 1999]: Excluding families just with self employed workers, about 1.2 million families will be in receipt of the Working Families Tax Credit in 2000-01, the first full year of the credit.
Mr. John M. Taylor:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the European Investment Bank is subject to the scrutiny of the European Union's Court of Auditors; and if he will make a statement. [96036]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
As an autonomous institution, the EIB is not accountable to the Court of Auditors in respect of its own resources. Under its Statute the Bank is accountable to its own governing bodies, including an independent Audit Committee which reports directly to
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the Board of Governors (comprised of Finance Ministers of the member states). The Bank's accounts are submitted to internal and external auditors.
(2) if it is Her Majesty's Government's policy to oppose the Irish Government's compromise proposals to allow the resumption of coastal whaling, put to this year's International Whaling Commission; and if he will make a statement. [96334]
(2) when he last met his opposite numbers in other EU member states to discuss the prospect of zonal or regional management of fisheries waters. [96880]
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