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Hospital Waiting Lists (Essex)
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of people waiting for hospital treatment in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area; and how many have waited 12 months or more. [114724]
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Mr. Denham
[holding answer 15 March 2000]: The information requested is given in the table.
| Month | Total waiting | Number waiting over 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| January 2000 | 10,233 | 1,118 |
Source:
Monthly waiting list return
Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 18 January concerning an MRI scanner, ref: POH(3) 5608/38. [114808]
Yvette Cooper: I will let my hon. Friend have a reply to his letter as soon as possible.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Common Agricultural Policy
10. Mr. Tynan: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent estimate he has made of the savings for consumers from the Agenda 2000 reform of the common agriculture policy. [113378]
Ms Quin: The Agenda 2000 reforms should result in savings of around £1 billion a year for UK consumers when all the changes have worked through. This will equate to a saving of around £65 per year for the average family of four.
14. Mr. Cox: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the overall benefit to the UK economy of the Agenda 2000 reforms of the CAP. [113382]
Ms Quin: Once fully implemented the economic benefit to the UK is estimated to be worth around £0.5 billion per year.
17. Mr. Borrow: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the savings to consumers that will arise from the Agenda 2000 reform of the common agricultural policy over the next three years. [113385]
Ms Quin: If price reductions are passed to retail, UK consumers will save around £250 million in 2001, £450 million in 2002 and £600 million in 2003 as a result of the Agenda 2000 reform.
Forestry Commission
12. Mr. Chope: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will next meet the chairman of the Forestry Commission to discuss the Commission's licensing responsibilities. [113380]
Mr. Morley:
I often meet the Forestry Commission's Chairman and other senior staff to discuss current forestry issues and the Commission's responsibilities.
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13. Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to ensure that farmers receive prices for animal products which reward better welfare standards. [113381]
Mr. Nick Brown:
The Government have always maintained that UK welfare standards offer the domestic livestock industry, particularly the pig industry, a strong marketing advantage. That is one reason why the Government have agreed to fund half of the £4.6 million welfare linked pork promotion campaign developed by the Meat and Livestock Commission.
21. Mr. St. Aubyn:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has made to the European Commission concerning animal welfare standards in the agriculture sectors of member states. [113391]
Mr. Morley:
My right hon. Friend the Minister wrote to Commissioner Byrne on 9 February pressing him to take action to ensure proper enforcement across the EU of the rules on welfare in transit and at slaughter.
15. Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been achieved since May 1997 in improving conditions for live animals exported from the UK and transported around the continent. [113383]
Mr. Morley:
We introduced the overdue EU rules on animal welfare in transit immediately after coming into office, and tighter pre-export inspection procedures for livestock in May 1999. We ensure the rules are enforced strictly while live export consignments are on our territory: we have pressed the Commission to ensure the same standards throughout the EU, and welcome the review they are now carrying out.
16. Mr. Blunt:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the use of antibiotics in animal feed. [113384]
Ms Quin:
Certain antibiotic feed additives authorised by the EU may be used as growth promoters in animals. They may be used only if they satisfy stringent statutory criteria including a requirement that, at the level permitted, they do not adversely affect human or animal health or the environment.
18. Mr. Webb:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if it is his policy that genetically modified crops should not be exploited for commercial purposes. [113386]
Ms Quin:
Our policy is that UK industry should not be denied access to GM technology, provided that valid concerns are addressed. The GM industry has agreed that no GM crops will be grown on a commercial basis before the farm scale evaluation programme has been completed.
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22. Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what conclusions he has drawn from the recent OECD conference on genetically modified crops. [113392]
Ms Quin:
The OECD conference held last week in Edinburgh was extremely useful in bringing together scientific experts, policy regulators and other parties interested in GM crops and food from around the world. The conference allowed a balanced debate, scrutinising the safety assessment systems for GM foods and considering whether and how GM foods and crops could serve the needs of society. It is too early to draw any firm conclusions but we await the chairman's final report with interest.
25. Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what procedure he will follow when licensing genetically modified crop varieties. [113395]
Ms Quin:
Genetically modified crops are not licensed. Releases of Genetically Modified Organisms are regulated by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and secondary legislation made under it. The National Listing of plant varieties (which could include genetically modified varieties) is regulated by the Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 1982. The relevant procedures are set out in the legislation.
26. Dr. Naysmith:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he has taken to provide information to the public concerning the safety of genetically modified foods. [113396]
Ms Quin:
The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) is responsible for assessing the safety of genetically modified foods in the UK. The ACNFP already publishes agendas, reports and minutes of its meetings, committee papers and detailed assessment reports on individual GM food applications as well as an Annual Report. In addition the Committee has held a number of open meetings on issues such as postmarket surveillance.
Those seeking novel food approvals have been encouraged for many years to deposit data supporting their applications in the British Library. All new applications will however be made available electronically on the ACNFP website from now on and public comments invited, which the ACNFP can then take into account in reaching its preliminary conclusions. These conclusions will be made available for comment in turn before they are forwarded to the European Commission. The UK is encouraging other European member states to follow a similar approach.
General information about the safety of genetically modified foods is also contained on the Government GM website at www.gm-info.gov.uk. This has been widely publicised.
Mr. David Heath:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what restriction is placed on feeding chickens with unprocessed GM maize containing antibiotic-resistant marker genes in (a) the UK and (b) the EU. [113762]
Ms Quin
[holding answer 13 March 2000]: There are no restrictions on feeding GM maize to chickens, provided that the maize concerned has received a
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marketing consent under Council Directive 90/220 on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms into the environment.
Mr. David Heath:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what controls are in place to prevent varieties of GM crops not approved for sale for planting in the EU being imported into the UK as animal feed. [113763]
Ms Quin:
[holding answer 13 March 2000]: Under Council Directive 90-220, on the Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Organisms into the Environment, no viable GM material can either be grown or imported into the EU without a marketing consent.
Mr. David Heath:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research he has commissioned into the implications for safety or welfare of animals of being fed on GM crops. [113768]
Ms Quin
[holding answer 13 March 2000]: Research to date has concentrated on the effects of processing on animal feed materials and the ability of DNA to survive processing and passage through an animal's gut. No incidental ill-effects have been detected in animals, nor have any been reported in countries where GM crops have been grown and fed to animals for a number of years.
Mr. David Heath:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made on the proposed European Novel Feeds Regulation to ensure the labelling of GM animal feed. [113766]
Ms Quin
[holding answer 13 March 2000]: We have been pressing the Commission for some time to bring forward its proposed Novel Feeds Regulation which will contain labelling rules. Commissioner Byrne has given an undertaking to do this as soon as possible, and we expect a formal proposal to be submitted to Council later this year.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when a decision will be taken on placing Avantis GM maize seeds on the national seed list. [114352]
Ms Quin
[holding answer 13 March 2000]: Ministers are presently considering whether or not to propose a GM forage maize variety (CHARDON LL) for addition to the National List. When this decision is taken it will be published in the Plant Varieties and Seeds Gazette, and persons affected by the proposed decision may then make representations and/or be heard by a person appointed by Ministers for that purpose.
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