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PRIME MINISTER
Departmental Expenditure Limits
Mr. Burden: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to change the Cabinet Office: Security and Intelligence Services Vote Departmental Expenditure Limit for 2000-01. [138154]
The Prime Minister: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the Departmental Expenditure Limit for Class XVII, Vote 2 will be increased by £18,486,000 from £771,100,000 to £789,586,000 and the gross running cost limit will be increased by £10,455,000 from £412,193,000 to £422,648,000.
The change is to effect the transfer of £687,000 from the Modernisation of Government Fund, the take up of the Treasury contribution of £16,790,000 towards a capital project, the take up of running costs end-year flexibility of £500,000 and the take up of other current expenditure end-year flexibility of £509,000.
There will be an increase in Appropriations in Aid of £2,968,000 and a net increase in other current expenditure of £6,877,000.
The increases in provision will be offset by increased receipts or charged to the Reserve and therefore will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.
Strategic Export Controls
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he received between November 1999 and November 2000 on (a) the timing and (b) the content of strategic export controls legislation from (i) non- Governmental organisations including voluntary and charitable groups, (ii) commercial interests, companies and trade organisations and (iii) other categories; and if he will make a statement. [136603]
The Prime Minister: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer given to him today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
9 Nov 2000 : Column: 385W
NORTHERN IRELAND
Departmental Expenditure Limits
Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to amend his Department's Departmental Expenditure Limits and the Northern Ireland Office expenditure limits for 2000-01. [138027]
Mr. Ingram: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate for Class XV, Vote 1 the Northern Ireland Office Departmental Expenditure Limit for 2000-01 will be increased by £96,362,000 from £1,025,202,000 to £1,121,564,000. The running costs limit will be increased by £37,490,000 from £227,371,000 to £264,861,000.
An increase of £36,465,000 is required for costs associated with the implementation of the Patten Report, an additional £36,300,000 to cover prison officer redundancy costs, an increase of £1,390,000 in respect of costs arising from the Good Friday Agreement and £25,174,000 is required to cover increased costs of compensation payments under the various compensation schemes. Additionally £1,733,000 will be transferred from the Northern Ireland Departments DEL to cover costs incurred during the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Northern Ireland Departments DEL decreases from £5,201,636,000 to £5,199,903,000.
At the time of the presentation of the Main Estimates the Northern Ireland Office DEL was overstated by £4,700,000 and this has been included in the revised DEL stated.
These increases will be offset by a transfer from the Northern Ireland Departments DEL and a charge on the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Departmental Expenditure Limits
Mrs. Betty Williams: To ask the Solicitor-General what plans he has to amend the Law Officers' Department's Departmental Expenditure Limit and running costs limit for 2000-01. [138194]
The Solicitor-General: Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates for Class V, Vote 4 (The Crown Prosecution Service) and Class V, Vote 6 (HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor) the Law Officers' Departments' departmental expenditure limit for 2000-01 will be increased by £18,486,000 from £351,061,000 to £369,547,000.
The Crown Prosecution Service's running costs limit will be increased by £15,540,000 from £229,625,000 to £245,165,000. This increase is required to fund diversity and equality issues, a performance improvement programme, training for the Human Rights Act 1998 and pilots on direct communication of prosecution decisions with victims. An increase in capital expenditure of £2,650,000 will be used to fund joint CPS/police criminal justice and trial units, modernisation of the CPS information technology infrastructure and better integration with police IT systems.
9 Nov 2000 : Column: 386W
HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor's running costs limit will increase by £260,000 from £6,172,000 to £6,432,000. The increase in running costs is to facilitate action being taken by Treasury Solicitor's Department as part of their Modernising Government Action Plan. The increase in capital expenditure of £36,000 will be used to fund continued expansion of the Department's IT systems.
The increases will be partly offset by a transfer of £4,650,000 from the Home Office, an allocation of £1,500,000 from the Capital Modernisation Fund, an allocation of £1,000,000 from the Invest to Modernise Fund and the surrender of £36,000 of the Law Officers' Departments' end year flexibility of £4,565,000 as set out in Table 7 of the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper Cm. 4812 published 18 July 2000. The remainder of the expenditure will be charged to the Reserve and will not, therefore, add to the planned total of public expenditure.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Road Noise (A5)
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the noise nuisance level to local residents of the surface of the A5 at Wibtoft on the Warwickshire/Leicestershire border. [136945]
Mr. Hill: I have been asked to reply.
The noise level on the A5 at Wibtoft has been calculated at 75.77db(A). This is below the defined noise level of 80db(A) which forms part of the sift criteria for dealing with traffic noise on existing trunk roads. May I refer the hon. Member to the written answer on noise mitigation given on 22 March 1999, Official Report, columns 50-51W.
GM Food
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps have been taken to ensure that prohibited GM foods do not enter the UK market. [137349]
Ms Stuart: I have been asked to reply.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has written to food manufactures, retailers and local authorities pointing out that it is an offence under the Novel Foods and Novel Food Ingredients Regulations 1997 to sell foods containing non-approved genetically modified ingredients. Prosecution is a matter for local authorities.
Flax and Hemp
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if subsidy for growing flax and hemp is paid to farmers on the basis of the area harvested or the area planted. [135502]
Ms Quin [holding answer 1 November 2000]: The amount of flax and hemp subsidy paid is based on the smallest total area declared by the grower on the following documents:
- the IACS declaration (area planted)
- the Cultivation Declaration (area emerged)
9 Nov 2000 : Column: 387W
Sheep Dips
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the chemicals licensed for the purpose of dipping sheep; and what research he has carried out into the effects of each of these chemicals, and the solutions contained in them, used for dipping sheep, on (a) humans, (b) soil and aquatic life and (c) sheep, with particular reference to genetic damage caused. [136207]
Ms Quin: The exact formulations of veterinary medicinal products are subject to commercial confidentiality. The only active ingredients authorised for use in sheep dips in the UK are diazinon, flumethrin, cypermethrin, high-cis cypermethrin and amitraz.
No veterinary medicine is authorised in the UK unless it meets statutory criteria for safety, quality and efficacy. This includes assessments of the risk to humans, to animals and to the environment. All of the active ingredients currently authorised for use in sheep dips have been through such assessments and have been shown to be non-genotoxic in a range of suitable assays.
Baytril
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the resistance conferring antibiotic Baytril used in treating growing turkeys and chickens. [137179]
Ms Quin: Baytril 10 per cent. Oral Solution is an authorised veterinary medicinal product. It is used only under veterinary supervision to treat bacterial diseases of the respiratory and alimentary tracts in turkeys, broilers, broiler breeders and replacement chickens. No veterinary medicinal product may be marketed in the UK unless it meets stringent criteria of safety, quality and efficacy. For any new antibiotic, data are required to demonstrate the possibility of the development of resistance in susceptible organisms.
The advice of the independent Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) will be sought urgently on the decision by the US Food and Drug Agency's Center for Veterinary Medicines to prohibit the use in poultry of enrofloxacin, the active ingredient of Baytril. Action will be taken on the advice of the VPC.
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