---

Departmental Asset Sales

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the assets sold by his Ministry and their values, broken down by item, for each year from 1991-92 to 1998-99; and if he will estimate the value of assets sales planned to be made in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. [96224]

Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 28 October 1999]: The information is as follows:

Disposal of Fixed Assets

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 15 February 1999, Official Report, columns 574-75. The following additional information is available.

5 Nov 1999 : Column: 373

Property Assets

A list of all properties sold since 1991, together with the income received, has been placed in the Library of the House.

Non Property Assets

The Ministry owns a high volume of relatively low value fixed assets, where fixed assets are defined as items costing in excess of £2,000 with a useful life in excess of one year.

A continuing programme of investment means items such as vehicles and IT equipment are renewed every 4 to 6 years. As a result, a number of life expired assets will be sold each year as new assets are purchased to replace them. Extracting information on these sales could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, information for the 1998-99 financial year is given in the following table:

Group	Number items retired	Cash received £
IT equipment	58	0
Vehicles	67	195,731
Office equipment	24	528

IT equipment and office equipment, by its nature, will have minimal value at the end of its life. Vehicles in the Private Use Car scheme are replaced every 4 years and are sold by auction. Estimated Sales for 1999-2000 and 2000-01

Planned property sales over the next two years include the continued disposal of buffer depots and stores, together with the sale of redundant office space. A total of £20 million is expected in 1999-2000, of which £12 million has already been received. Sales revenue of £12 million is planned for 2000-01. These figures exclude the proposed sale of New Covent Garden as it is not yet possible to determine what the proceeds from this sale might be.

Non-property assets are expected to continue to turn over at a similar rate to the figures presented for 1998-99.

Sheep Imports

Mr. Ainger: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many sheep were imported (a) live and (b) in carcase form into the United Kingdom from continental Europe and Ireland, broken down by country of origin, in each of the last five years and in 1999 to date. [95814]

Ms Quin [holding answer 28 October 1999]: The number of live sheep imported into Great Britain from other member states since 1994 is given in the following table. These figures are derived from the information messages which European law requires exporting countries to send to the importing country to inform them of the number of animals certified for export in a given consignment.

Figures are not available for Northern Ireland at this time.

5 Nov 1999 : Column: 374

Country	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999 (4)
Belgium	535	206	165	272	230	486
Germany	0	22	4	0	8	0
Denmark	0	0	0	0	3	0
Spain	1,750	0	0	0	51	0
France	29	46	370	12	61	6
Republic of Ireland	2,055	46	1,956	983	6,117	624
Netherlands	122	544	79	519	234	272
Portugal	0	0	0	524	0	0
Total	4,491	864	2,574	2,310	6,704	1,388

Note:

These figures are provisional and subject to validation.

The product weight (in tonnes) of sheep in carcase form imported into the United Kingdom from other member states as recorded on the Official Overseas Trade Statistics is given in the following table. The number of sheep that this represents is not known.

Country	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999 (4)
Belgium	1,467	1,821	736	443	482	5
Germany	133	195	2,554	1,672	817	214
Denmark	22	31	653	50	11	135
Spain	466	343	1,946	2,482	1,920	816
France	920	1,330	1,854	1,209	1,208	945
Republic of Ireland	2,672	2,918	3,784	3,313	1,775	1,061
Netherlands	3,856	4,487	5,613	6,418	5,097	2,647
Italy	0	0	202	68	150	1
Austria	0	0	17	16	0	0
Greece	29	0	0	0	0	0
Sweden	0	0	28	0	0	0
Finland	0	0	0	13	0	0
Total	9,565	11,125	17,387	15,684	11,460	5,824

(4) To October 1999

Note:

Please note that these data are subject to a degree of statistical error; care is needed when interpreting this data.

Animal Feedstuffs

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reports he has received about the French response to the European Commission report exposing instances of the use of sewage sludge in feed for French livestock; and if he will publish them. [97229]

Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 4 November 1999]: No written reports have been directly received on the French response. However, at the September Agricultural Council, the French Agriculture Minister provided verbal assurances that the shortcomings identified in the Commission's inspection report had been firmly addressed. There has been no suggestion of widespread use in animal feed of human sewage. The Commission's report focused on the recovery of animal material from waste water treatment systems in rendering plants.

Food Imports

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he can take to prevent the import of food and food products known or believed to have been produced using illegal methods. [97230]

Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 4 November 1999]: Detailed rules are in place under European Community law and in national legislation in member states making it

5 Nov 1999 : Column: 375

an offence to export food and food products which might compromise the health and life of humans, animals or plants. Similar controls apply to imports into the Community from third countries under EC and domestic legislation. Under World Trade Organisation rules, imports from countries outside the EU can be restricted in order to protect human, animal or plant life and health, provided such measures are based on sound science.

5 Nov 1999 : Column: 376

Member states may take unilateral safeguard measures to restrict specific imports on an ad hoc basis where they believe health risks exist which are not adequately provided for under EC legislation. Such supplementary measures, details of which must be notified to the European Commission for their agreement, must be proportionate to and consistent with any harmonised Community rules in the area concerned.

5 Nov 1999 : Column: 375

---

---