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Fair Trade Products

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the purchase for departmental use, of fair trade products. [99241]

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 9 December, Official Report, column 92W. The Government are committed to supporting ethical trading wherever possible within the boundaries set by the public procurement rules and provides significant support to the Fair Trade Foundation's efforts in promoting the supply and marketing of fair trade products.

This is reflected from Defra's Green Guide for Buyers, http://www.sustainable-development.gov. uk/sdig/improving/partf/greenbuy/index.htm, and the

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work that departmental officials are undertaking with Defra's catering contractors to the purchasing approach within my private office. In consultation with them Defra has produced a catering action sheet that, among other things, calls for promotion of fair trade or ethically produced food by, where appropriate, reflecting such needs in non-discriminatory specifications in line with user requirements. Defra has been negotiating with its catering contractors to put fair trade tea and coffee on their menus and to supply such drinks whenever official hospitality is provided. These arrangements should be in place shortly in Defra canteens in the following locations: Guildford, Reading, York, London and the Central Science Laboratory.

Foxhound Packs

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many foxhound packs there are in England and Wales; and how many hunts have taken place in each of the last five years. [100361]

Alun Michael: According to the Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs in England and Wales (The Burns Report), published in June 2000, there were 175 foxhunting packs registered with the Masters of Foxhounds Association in England and Wales. There were also nine fell packs registered with, or affiliated to, the Central Committee of Fell Packs. In addition, there were seven packs of harriers, registered with the Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles which mainly hunt foxes. There were also another two harrier packs which were registered to hunt foxes.

The position in Wales was found to be less clear. There were 48 foxhunting packs registered with the Federation of Welsh Packs which included 27 Welsh based packs affiliated to the Masters of Foxhounds Association, and 30 registered with the Welsh Farmers' Fox Control Association. At the time of publication of the Burns Report these two bodies had been formed fairly recently and represented only a proportion of the total number of packs in Wales. Some estimates put the number of unregistered packs in Wales at two or three times those of registered packs (Burns, paragraphs 2.10–2.11).

The Burns Report stated that there was a total of some 15,000 meets per season (paragraph 2.12). This figure would have been significantly less in 2001 when all hunting was suspended in England and Wales due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

Hospitality

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's hospitality budget (a) is in 2002–03 and (b) was in each of the last three years; and how much was left unspent at the end of each financial year. [99515]

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 24 February 2003; Official Report, column 85W.

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Illegal Meat Imports

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2003, Official Report, column 380W, what additional resources the Government are making available at ports to prevent the importation of substandard meat and bushmeat into the UK. [98372]

Mr. Morley: The Government have made available a total of £25 million over the next three financial years to tackle illegal imports from outside the European Union of any meat, other animal products and plant products. Following the Cabinet Office review of enforcement structures, final decisions on the allocation of this money will be made once consultations with HM Customs and Excise and the FSA have concluded.

Action against illegal imports is not limited to substandard meat and bushmeat, nor will it be limited to ports and airports. It is in addition to the requirement to pre-notify all commercial imports of meat and products of animal origin and present them to a Border Inspection Post for veterinary checks.

In the current financial year, additional measures have been introduced at ports and airports to tackle illegal imports . Additional temporary agency staff have been recruited to carry out checks to detect smuggled goods—teams of six are based at our major airports and teams of two at major seaports. We are also paying for additional checks through overtime elsewhere. Additional inspection resources have also been provided through the detector dog pilot, and a publicity campaign which has targeted both ports and airports and travellers before they leave.

Water Pollution

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of significant non-water industrial discharges to rivers were reviewed in 2002 by the Environment Agency, broken down by region; and if she will make a statement. [99204]

Mr. Morley: The information shows the percentage of consents for significant non-water company industrial discharges to rivers reviewed by the Environment Agency (the Agency) regions in 2002. Consents are issued under the Water Resources Act 1991 (as amended by the Environment Act 1995). Significant discharges are defined by the Agency as consented discharges of more than five cubic metres per day, some smaller discharges where the type and location of discharge requires monitoring will also be included.

	Percentage
Anglian	11
Midlands	7
North East	11
North West	6
Southern	7
South West	3
Thames	5

Overall percentage of consents reviewed in England = 8

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Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals are deemed to be safe (a) at point of emission and (b) within water courses under (i) UK, (ii) EU and (iii) International law; how many water courses there are where the level of endocrine disrupting chemicals exceeded levels deemed safe in the last year for which figures are available; and where they are located. [99238]

Mr. Morley: The Environment Agency for England and Wales currently refers to its own non-statutory standards of 1 microgram per litre as an annual average, and 2.5 micrograms per litre as a maximum allowable concentration, for nonylphenol and octylphenol for the protection of the aquatic environment where appropriate for regulating discharges to water courses. These values were determined in relation to the substances' wider ecotoxicological impact, although data on their endocrine disrupting properties were taken into account.

Under the EU Community Strategy on Endocrine Disrupting Substances, and the Oslo Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR), a number of potentially endocrine disrupting substances have been identified for which an assessment strategy is currently being developed. The European Commission is expected to propose later this year EQS and emission standards for certain substances on the Priority List of Dangerous Substances under Article 16 of the Water Framework Directive which are potential endocrine disrupters.

Nonylphenol ethoxylates and octylphenols are produced at one site only in the UK where monitoring for nonylphenol showed that the Environment Agency standard was not exceeded in 2002. The Environment Agency does not routinely monitor these substances nationally. Other substances, such as ethinyl oestradiol and oestradiol, have been studied in specific water courses and the results of those findings are currently the subject of risk assessment.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of (a) streams and (b) rivers with high microbial loading in each year since 1997; and where each is located. [99252]

Mr. Morley: The Environment Agency does not have any statutory obligations to control the microbial quality of freshwater streams and rivers to specific environmental standards and does not routinely monitor the microbial quality of these waters.

Limited monitoring is undertaken as part of research to investigate causes of non-compliance with bathing and shellfish water standards.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many legal actions have been begun against (a) water companies and (b) other companies in respect of discharges of endocrine disrupting chemicals in each year since 1992; how many in each case resulted in successful prosecutions; and what fines were levied as a result. [99280]

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Mr. Morley: The Environment Agency has not initiated prosecutions against any companies specifically as a result of endocrine disrupting impacts on the environment. Prosecutions may have been initiated in relation to substances which are potential endocrine disrupters but, owing to the large number of such substances and the level of uncertainty surrounding many of them, figures would be difficult to compile and would involve disproportionate cost.

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