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6 Feb 2003 : Column 371W—continued
Bovine TB
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with representatives from (a) New Zealand, (b) Ireland and (c) the Netherlands on the search for a cattle vaccine against bovine TB. [95064]
Mr. Morley: During 2002, the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) Vaccine Scoping Study Sub-Committee (VSSSC) met six times and will report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in the spring on the feasibility for pursuing a TB vaccination strategy for cattle or wildlife. As well as ISG members and other leading academics, Defra and DARDNI officials sit on the VSSSC.
The VSSSC has heard presentations from and questioned Dr. Eamonn Gormley from Ireland and Dr. Leigh Corner from New Zealand on the bovine TB vaccination research being carried out in their own Countries. Members of the ISG and Defra officials have visited Ireland to discuss the Irish work programme and see their experimental facilities. Defra's Veterinary Laboratories Agency has active research links with both the Irish and New Zealand workers researching bovine TB. Officials are in regular contact with the Instituut voor Dierhouderij en Diergezondheid in Lelystad, the Netherlands. This is the official laboratory of the Netherlands for the testing of tuberculin's.
Climate Change Agreement
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the performance of the pig and poultry sectors in complying with the terms of the climate change agreement. [95052]
Margaret Beckett: There are climate change agreements with sectors for intensive pig rearing, intensive rearing of poultry for meat production and intensive rearing of poultry for egg production. Sectors with climate change agreements have until noon on Monday 17 February to submit information. No information has yet been supplied to me in respect of these sectors.
Cloned Animals
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the
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Government's policy is on the import of animal eggs, embryos or semen from cloned animals for breeding purposes. [94979]
Mr. Morley: With regard to animal health controls on the importation of live animals and their genetic material it is Government policy that, where trade has not been harmonised under EU rules such imports remain prohibited except under the authority of an import licence issued in accordance with bilateral agreements. All imports of such commodities have to be accompanied by health certification in accordance with the legislation in place. These rules would also apply in the case of cloned animals and their eggs, embryos or semen.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations have been made to her Department by scientists involved in the cloning of animals; whether the representations have discussed products from cloned animals reaching the food chain; and what assessment the Government has made of the use of cloning technologies in the production of food. [94980]
Mr. Morley: No recent representations have been made to Defra by scientists requesting financial support for research to advance animal cloning technologies or for application of the technology to the livestock products food chain.
The Government has commissioned several advisory reports on livestock cloning, including "The implications of cloning for the welfare of farmed livestock" from Farm Animal Welfare Council, 2002. The Government accepts the findings of this report that the cloning of livestock is ethically acceptable, providing it is carried out within the framework of the general principles laid down in the Banner Committee's report of 1995, which considered the 'Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies in the Breeding of Farm Animals'. This reiterates the Government's view that all animals (whether domestic, farmed or used for scientific purposes) should be kept to the highest possible welfare standards.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research has been conducted into the use of cloned animals for the production of food in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement. [94983]
Mr. Morley: Research at Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, that led to the development of animal cloning by nuclear transfer, and used to produce Dolly the sheep, was supported by MAFF between 1990 and 1999. No further research has been supported by MAFF or Defra to apply the technology to livestock product production.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the use of cloning technology for the production of domestic farm animals. [94978]
Mr. Morley: Animal cloning technologies are inefficient, resulting in greatly increased production cost for livestock breeders. This has inhibited the uptake of livestock cloning in the UK. The Government ensure that cloning procedures are carried out within the
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framework of the general principles laid down in the Banner Committee's report of 1995, which considered the 'Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies in the Breeding of Farm Animals'. This reiterates the Government's view that all animals (whether domestic, farmed or used for scientific purposes) should be kept to the highest possible welfare standards.
Commercial Whaling
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Government is taking to ensure that no commercial whale hunting will resume within EU waters; if the Government will take steps to ensure that EU waters are made a whale sanctuary; and if she will make a statement. [93070]
Mr. Morley: All cetaceans are fully protected in EU waters under the EU Habitats Directive. While we do not oppose the creation of an EU whale sanctury, we believe that the current measures afford the necessary safeguards which a whale sanctuary would provide.
COTES Regulations
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to complete her review of the 1997 COTES regulations. [95375]
Mr. Morley: We published a consultation paper on the review of the COTES regulations on 15 January, in which we proposed a number of measures to combat wildlife crime. The closing date for responses is 4 April. How soon we can complete our review will depend on what emerges from the consultation, and to what extent further discussions, including with the devolved Administrations, are needed, but we are very keen to take our proposals forward as quickly as possible at every stage.
Deer Culling
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total cost has been in each of the last five years of deer culling programmes undertaken by the Forestry Commission in (a) Scotland and (b) elsewhere in the UK. [95507]
Mr. Morley: The Forestry Commission's deer management costs throughout Great Britain for the last three years, together with the forecast for the current financial year, are given in the following table. The figures include costs such as provision of deer fencing as well as culling.
It has not been possible to identify the costs for the years 1997–98 and 1998–99, as these were included with protection and maintenance costs for other activities.
| 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03(2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 4.6 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.8 |
| England | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| Wales | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
(2) Forecast
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Fisheries
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions have been held between British officials and UK Ministers regarding compensation from the European Commission for those affected by the decisions at the December Fisheries Council; [93881]
- (2) what advice British officials have given UK Ministers regarding compensation from the European Commission for those affected by recent cuts in fishing quotas and the implications of this on the annual UK rebate from the European Union. [93979]
Mr. Morley: The question of additional funding from the EC Budget to compensate those affected by the recovery measures for cod did not arise during the negotiations at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in December.
The European Parliament approved the 2003 EC Budget in December 2002. The relevant Category of expenditure has already been budgeted up to the agreed spending ceiling.
The European Commission did propose as part of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy that 32 million Euro of new money from the EC Budget should be made available during 2003 for an emergency vessel scrapping fund. The UK supported the proposal for this fund, provided that the Community financing could be found within the limits of the Berlin Financial Perspective. The Commission has yet to come forward with a fund that meets this condition.
The Commission also requested that member states consider re-prioritising their existing allocations of EC Structural Funds to provide socio-economic measures,
such as compensation, under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG). The Commission noted that funds would be freed in some member states if the Council curtailed aid paid for building new vessels. Unlike some member states, the UK does not use EC aid towards building new vessels, so this was not an avenue which freed financing for the UK.
I considered this position, as did my colleagues in the Scottish Executive and the department for Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland. Our combined conclusions resulted in the substantial packages of aid announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 28 January, and the related packages introduced in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Together, they provide aid worth over £60 million to the UK fishing industry.
The UK rebate was not an issue in these discussions.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she will take to give British fishermen socio-economic aid under the amendments to article 12 of European Union Document No. 2369/2002 of 20 December 2002, Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No. 2792/1999. [95494]
Mr. Morley: Since the December Fisheries Council, Fisheries Departments have announced financial aid to the UK fishing industry worth over £60 million
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Support for re-training can be provided through the existing regional mechanisms.
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