---

Rail Subsidies

Dr. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what conditions he has attached to public money given to the railway industry as subsidy in relation to the priority for its repayment before dividends are paid to shareholders. [145925]

Mr. Hill: Subsidy is paid to the railway industry in recognition of benefits which cannot be captured through the passenger fare box or freight charges. The conditions attached define what is to be delivered. Passenger franchise agreements provide for penalties for poor performance by train operators. There is a penalty and incentive regime for Railtrack and the Rail Regulator has powers, strengthened by the Transport Act 2000, to enforce Railtrack's compliance with the conditions in its licence to operate the rail network. Dividends for shareholders are for the companies to decide.

Barn Owls

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to improve the labelling of rodenticide products in respect of the danger they pose to barn owls; and if he will make a statement. [145456]

Mr. Mullin: The use of rodenticides is controlled to limit the risk to birds of prey, including barn owls. The labels of all anticoagulant products require users to prevent access to bait by birds and non-target animals, and to search for rodent bodies and the remains of baits and to dispose of them safely. The use of the more potent products is restricted to professional users, for indoor use only. The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides recently agreed that the current labelling policy should continue.

HSE has produced a guidance sheet on the safe use of rodenticides, and MAFF is currently preparing a guidance document on rodenticide use. MAFF is also funding research into the effects on predatory birds from the use of anticoagulant rodenticides in rural areas, which should provided a better basis for assessing the potential for secondary poisoning. HSE is conducting discussions with interested parties, including English Nature and the RSPB, on action that might be taken to protect further birds of prey.

Cyclist Deaths

Mr. Page: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many cyclists have died from head injuries in each of the last 20 years. [R] [144820]

Miss Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

17 Jan 2001 : Column: 264W

Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Richard Page, dated 17 January 2001:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question on the number of cyclists who have died from head injuries in each of the last 20 years (144820). I am replying in his absence.

The information requested is provided in the attached table.

Number of cyclist deaths⁽³⁰⁾ due to head injuries⁽³¹⁾ in England and Wales, 1979-1999

Year	Number of deaths
1979	177
1980	169
1981	103
1982	157
1983	160
1984	186
1985	154
1986	148
1987	156
1988	131
1989	132
1990	127
1991	120
1992	98
1993	89
1994	86
1995	127
1996	108
1997	97
1998	77
1999	92

⁽³⁰⁾ Cyclist deaths are classified according to the International Classification of disease, ninth edition, and are selected using ICD9 codes E810-E825, E800-E807, E8261.

⁽³¹⁾ Head injuries have been selected using ICD9 codes for secondary cause of death N800-N804, N850-N854, N870-N873.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Ruminant Animal Feed

Mr. Livsey: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what estimate he has made of the quantity of ruminant meat and bonemeal exported from the United Kingdom between 18 July 1988 and 20 March 1996; [142893]

(2) what meat and bonemeal has been exported from the United Kingdom since 20 March 1996. [142895]

Ms Quin [holding answer 20 December 2000]: Ruminant meat and bonemeal is not specifically identified in the official overseas trade statistics. The nearest equivalent is:

Flours, meals and pellets, of meat or meat offal (including tankage), unfit for human consumption; greaves which includes poultry-based material. It is not possible to provide the actual quantity of MBM exported during the periods in question as these figures can not be extracted from the totals which include exports of other materials including non-MBM poultry-based products such as feathermeal.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what official advice the Government have received on the impact of fishmeal used in ruminant animal feed in the United Kingdom on human or animal health. [144343]

17 Jan 2001 : Column: 265W

Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 8 January 2001]: Recent independent advice is that fishmeal is a desirable ingredient in high quality ewe rations because of its blend of proteins, amino and fatty acids, although there are examples of such rations where fishmeal is not included. In its recent review of BSE controls, the Food Standards Agency has not identified fishmeal as posing a risk to human health.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment the Government have made of the impact of the EU ban on fishmeal in ruminant animal feed on conventional and organic livestock farming in Britain. [144329]

Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 8 January 2001]: This issue will be considered in light of responses to the consultation exercise on the wider EU feed ban which issued on 12 January.

French Beef

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he requested advice from the Food Standards Agency concerning the safety of French beef imported into the United Kingdom; what advice he has received; and if he will publish it. [144335]

Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 8 January 2001]: In response to requests from my Department and elsewhere, last autumn the FSA advised that there is no scientific justification for a ban on imports of legally sold French beef in view of the levels of incidence of BSE in France, the specified risk material controls and the ban on the sale of over-thirty-months-old beef. The agency regularly publishes information on its internet site--http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the quantity of beef produced from French cattle imported into Britain from other EU countries in the last 12 months. [144319]

Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 8 January 2001]: Following the introduction of the single market, official overseas trade statistics on intra-Community trade are compiled from the Intrastat Survey of traders run by HM Customs and Excise.

While all traders provide the country of despatch of imports into the UK, the country of origin is provided only on a voluntary basis by a minority of traders.

As a consequence, we do not have reliable statistical information on the quantity of French beef imported from other member states.

Cod Quota

Mr. Alan Campbell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of its cod quota was caught by the UK fleet in the North Sea in 2000. [145576]

Mr. Morley: The UK's final cod quota in the North Sea for 2000 was 34,149 tonnes. Total landings by UK vessels, as known to Departments at 11 January 2001, was 27,131 tonnes. This represents an uptake of 79.4 per cent.

17 Jan 2001 : Column: 266W

Common Fisheries Policy

Mr. Alan Campbell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken to improve regional management of the Common Fisheries Policy. [145573]

Mr. Morley: We consider regional management to be a priority issue to be addressed as part of the review of the common fisheries policy. The Irish Sea cod recovery programme represents a significant step forward in bringing together fishermen, managers and scientists from the member states concerned to help develop the programme and review its operation. We are following a similar approach for the North Sea cod recovery programme. This indicates the direction in which we want the common fisheries policy to develop.

Fishing Management

Mr. Alan Campbell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with representatives of the regional development agencies regarding the improvement of regional management of fishing. [145572]

Mr. Morley: We plan to consult fully with all interested parties, including the regional development agencies, on the forthcoming review of the common fisheries policy, including options to improve its regional dimension.

---