You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Commons Debates by date > Commons Debates - previous sessions > Bound Volume Hansard - Written Answers
Previous Section Index Home Page

13 Feb 2003 : Column 870W—continued

Universities' Royal Naval Units

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role and structure of the Universities' Royal Naval Units. [92959]

Dr. Moonie: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Vacant Ministry Buildings

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of Ministry of Defence owned buildings are vacant; and if he will make a statement. [95786]

Dr. Moonie: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Working Week

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours were worked in the average week in (a) the Army, (b) the Navy and (c) the Air Force in each of the past five years. [97924]

Mr. Ingram : I will write to the hon. Member and I will place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Quality

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to implement recommendations for low emission zones made by the National Society for Clean Air. [97017]

Alun Michael: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Transport wrote to the National Society for Clean Air last May, on behalf of himself and the then Minister for Environment, agreeing, in principal, the merits of Government support for their recommendation for a low emission zone national standard. I understand the Society has still to finalise their proposals and are about to undertake further consultation. We have asked the Society to let us know the outcome to allow consideration of the potential social and economic impacts of a final standard before formally agreeing to endorse it.

13 Feb 2003 : Column 871W

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the local authorities in England which have completed Ambient Air Quality (a) plans and (b) assessments; and what measures she is taking to assist local authorities to adopt ambient air quality plans. [98008]

Alun Michael: Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Environment Act 1995 to designate air quality management areas where it is likely that the air quality objectives, as prescribed in regulations, will not be met by the relevant deadline.

Over 100 authorities have now declared air quality management areas. Following the designation of an air quality management area, the local authority has a statutory duty to undertake a further review and assessment within 12 months from when the air quality management area came into effect. The local authority also has to produce an action plan within 12–18 months setting out the measures it intends to implement to work towards meeting the air quality objectives in that area.

Those local authorities in England which have produced air quality action plans and consulted the Secretary of State on them are listed as follows:


13 Feb 2003 : Column 872W

Those local authorities in England which have produced further assessments under section 84 of the 1995 Act and consulted the Secretary of State are listed as follows:


In England, the Revenue Support Grant Settlement provides running cost resources for local air quality management duties under the 1995 Act. We also have a Supplementary Credit Approvals (SCAs) programme to support local authorities' capital costs and we have targeted the SCAs at those authorities who have to undertake further assessments and those with action

13 Feb 2003 : Column 873W

plans. Local authorities can also bid for funds through the local transport plan regime to support local traffic measures in their action plans.

Illegal Meat Imports

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people coming into the UK have been apprehended at the port of entry in each of the last five years for illegal importation of meat products. [96021]

Mr. Morley: Since we started keeping records centrally in April 2001, we have been notified of 5,818 people who have had products of animal origin seized and notices served. However, we have not been notified of anyone being arrested at the port of entry for the illegal importation of meat products.

Sheep Dip

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has collated on adverse health effects reported following use of sheep dip by farmers. [95844]

Mr. Morley: In October 2002 the Government published a Report on an Analytical Study of data collected under the UK's Veterinary Medicines Suspected Adverse Reaction Surveillance Scheme (SARSS) on reports of suspected adverse reactions to OP sheep dips. This Report is available in the Library of the House and on the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD)'s website (www.vmd.gov.uk).

The Report's main conclusions were that:


The strength of internal association shown between reports of ill health and both the extent and current status of dipping activities underlines the importance of the Government funded epidemiological and mechanistic research studies currently underway;
the variable quality of the data submitted to the SARSS, together with the inherent nature of data from a passive monitoring system, prevented firmer conclusions being drawn; and
while no novel patterns of symptoms were detected, some symproms (notably myalgia and depression) were prominent features of OP related suspected adverse reaction reports.

This report has been considered by the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC), the independent advisory committee of experts established to provide advice to Government on the safety, quality and efficacy of veterinary medicines. The VPC has advised that the report's findings do not support any additional regulatory action being taken on OP sheep dips.

Final findings from the Government's £1.4 million targeted research programme on OPs are expected in 2006.

Animal Diseases (EU Finance)

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2002, Official Report, column 40W, on animal diseases (EU finance), on what date the claims were submitted to the European Commission and by what means. [97916]

13 Feb 2003 : Column 874W

Mr. Morley: In order to claim EU contributions to expenditure in 2003, we were required to submit programmes for that year by 1 June 2002. Northern Ireland officials wrote to the Commission on 14 June 2002, submitting their programmes for TB and Brucella. Defra wrote to the Commission on 22 October 2002 submitting programmes for TSE testing. The Commission confirmed on 11 November 2002 that it was not then legally possible for payments to be made.

Animal Welfare

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Government have taken to limit the maximum journey time for livestock throughout Europe. [97136]

Mr. Morley: The rules governing animal welfare during transport, including maximum permitted journey times, are set down in directive 91/628/EEC, as amended. They are implemented in GB by the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997, as amended. We have consistently pressed the European Commission to bring forward proposals to amend and update these rules. In September 2002, the Secretary of State supported calls for shorter journey times for animals going to slaughter.

In the wider European context, we have played a leading role in revising the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Animals During International Transport.

Next Section Index Home Page