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Remploy
Mr. Caton: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what Remploy products his Department has purchased in the last three years. [109940]
Mr. Morley: In the last three years, the Ministry has purchased office furniture, packaging, packing and filing materials to an approximate value of £154,310 (excluding VAT) from Remploy.
Agricultural Development Scheme
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the Agricultural Development Scheme. [109794]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 11 February 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, North-West (Dr. Naysmith) on 2 February 2000, Official Report, columns 640-42W.
Austria (Bilateral Meetings)
Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many bilateral meetings were held between his Department and its Austrian counterpart in each of the last five years; and what was discussed at each meeting since May 1997. [109873]
Ms Quin: In addition to the contacts that have taken place in the regular Agriculture Council meetings, five Ministerial bilateral meetings have been held with our Austrian counterparts during the period 1995-99. The dates of these and the subjects discussed at the meetings held since May 1997, are shown in the table.
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Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those previously planned meetings, and their subject, between his Department and its Austrian counterpart which have been cancelled since the formation of the new Austrian Government. [109898]
Ms Quin: We are no longer proceeding with plans for an Anglo-Austrian seminar on rural development for applicant member states under the auspices of Technical Assistance Information Exchange (TAIEX), as a follow-up to an earlier Anglo-Austrian seminar in November 1999.
Animal Slaughter
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has made to (a) the European Commission and (b) the French Government about the slaughter of animals as part of the annual Eid-el-Kebir festival in France; and what was the (i) date and (ii) nature of these representations. [109745]
Mr. Nick Brown: I wrote to Commissioner Byrne on 9 February 2000 expressing the concerns of many British people at the outdoor slaughter of sheep in France during Eid-el-Kebir, and urging him to take steps to secure compliance with the laws of the European Union relating to this and other animal welfare concerns.
Gardening Leave
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many officials in his Department are currently on gardening leave. [108424]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 3 February 2000]: One staff member, an Administrative Assistant, is currently absent on full pay awaiting a medical assessment.
Chicken Imports (Thailand)
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many chickens were imported from Thailand in each of the past three years; what assessment he has made of the quality of the feed
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given to such chickens; what health problems have arisen from consumption of Thai chicken products; and if he will make a statement. [108110]
Ms Quin:
UK imports of chicken from Thailand in 1997 to 1998 and in January to November 1999 were as follows:
| Tonnes(6) | £ million | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | ||
| Carcase meat | 3,784 | 7.6 |
| Preparations | 2,131 | 6.4 |
| Total | 5,915 | 13.9 |
| 1998 | ||
| Carcase meat | 7,216 | 11.1 |
| Preparations | 6,760 | 17.2 |
| Total | 13,976 | 28.3 |
| 1999(7) | ||
| Carcase meat | 9,767 | 14.1 |
| Preparations | 9,724 | 24.0 |
| Total | 19,491 | 38.1 |
(6) Product weight
(7) January-November
Source:
HM Customs and Excise
No live chicken imports into the UK from Thailand were recorded during this period.
Responsibility for approving countries from which poultry meat may be imported into the European Community, and for collecting information on practices within those countries to aid decisions on approval, rests with the European Commission. In deciding whether to approve countries, the Commission must, in particular, take account of information on the state of health of the livestock, other domestic animals and wildlife; the provision of information on incidence of certain diseases; the country's rules on disease prevention and control and how these are organised and implemented; the structure of the veterinary services; and legislation on the use, authorisation, distribution and marketing of substances which might be administered to livestock. The quality of feedstuffs used is not a specific consideration.
Thai chicken products have not been directly implicated in outbreaks of foodborne illness reported to the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC) of the Public Health Laboratory Service. Should it be evident that any animal product from any country of origin will pose a serious threat to human or animal health, safeguard action can be taken in accordance with EU veterinary rules.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he proposes to meet European Commissioner Franz Fischler to discuss the issue of aid being provided to pig farmers to assist with the additional welfare costs imposed on the industry. [111154]
Ms Quin
[holding answer 21 February 2000]: My right hon. Friend the Minister has many discussions with Commissioner Fischler on all manner of topics. The
28 Feb 2000 : Column: 25W
Minister and I discussed state aids in the pig sector with Mr. Fischler in the margins of the Agriculture Council on Monday, 24 January. The Minister, and Mr. Fischler held further discussions in the margins of the NFU AGM on Tuesday, 1 February. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said on 1 February, any investment by Government must be linked to long-term change in the structure of the industry. It must also be part of an agreed overall strategy; to this end, my officials are in touch with the National Pig Association and others. Further communication with the European Commission will follow the outcome of these discussions.
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what initiatives are being pursued (a) to reduce suicides among farmers and (b) to investigate the stress levels of farmers. [110531]
Ms Quin:
A MAFF official has been seconded to work for two years as Deputy Director of the Rural Stress Information Network, an authoritative source of information and advice on initiatives to combat rural stress.
Staff working at or for MAFF's Regional Service Centres have received guidance to ensure that where their work brings them into contact with distressed farmers they know how to deal with the situation and instigate any follow up. Free business advice is also made available to distressed farmers referred to MAFF by the Samaritans or social services.
The Department of Health has funded research in this area, the results of which were published in a report in 1998 called "Suicide and Stress in Farmers" available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on how many cases in each of the last two years of (a) BSE-infected material and (b) TB-infected material have been discovered to be in livestock imported into this country; and if he will list the country of origin for each case. [107380]
Ms Quin
[holding answer 31 January 2000]: In the last two years, there have been two cases of BSE in imported livestock. One was an animal imported from France in 1994 and the other an animal imported from the Netherlands in 1996. Because of their long stay in the UK, it is not possible to determine whether the animals became infected before or after importation.
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