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Fishing Industry

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment. Food and Rural Affairs how many fishing vessels will be restricted to 15 days at sea under EC Regulation 2371/2002 in (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland; and how many will be (i) whitefish vessels using mesh size over 100mm, (ii) beam trawlers using mesh size above 80mm and (iii) gill netters. [99396]

Mr. Morley: The 15-day restriction applies to vessels using demersal towed gear of at least 100mm or beam trawl gear of at least 80mm in the designated areas. It is for owners to decide what gear they should use in the future, and thus determine how many vessels will be affected in 2002.

However, on the basis of activity during 2002, and excluding vessels that were decommissioned during the year, 807 over 10 metre UK vessels used the three gear types specified in the designated area at some time during the year. The breakdown of the nationality of these vessels is given below.

	England & Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland	UK
Number of vessels
using one or more of
the three gear types
specified during 2002	189	585	33	807
Of which, using:
demersal trawl of at
least 100mm mesh size	113	392	30	535
beam trawl of at least 80mm mesh size	45	3	3	51
gill nets and other
static demersal nets	42	410	0	452

Notes:

1. Gill nets and other static demersal nets can be used for up to 16 days per month under the EU regulation.

2. Some vessels use more than one type of gear in a year. For example, in 2002 228 vessels used both demersal trawl of at least 100mm and gill nets in the designated area, and 3 vessels used both beam trawl and demersal trawls.

3. Under the Regulation, where a vessel uses more than one type of gear in a month it is entitled to the average of the number of days permitted for each gear type.

Game Licences

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many game licences were issued for the 2001–2 season; how much it cost to administer the game licence regime in 2001–2; and how much revenue was received. [100960]

Mr. Morley: In the year 2001–2002, the total number of game licences issued by Post Offices in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland was 48,385. The total gross annual revenue from those licences was £251,884. The total annual cost of administering the scheme for 2001–2002 is estimated at £261,900 + VAT.

In addition to the licences referred to above, district councils and London Borough councils issue licences to deal in game. No figures are collected centrally for the numbers of licences issued by councils. We understand that arrangements and charges vary.

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Game Birds

Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to prohibit the (a) partial beak amputation of pheasants and (b) use of bits and blinkers on these birds. [100320]

Mr. Morley: The department is currently reviewing legislation relating to the welfare of captive and domestic animals, including that which relates to the rearing of pheasants, with a view to introducing an Animal Welfare Bill. No decisions have been made as to the Bill's content but it is proposed that there will be a period of consultation on a draft Bill by the beginning of next year.

British Beef

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on sales of British beef to French markets. [99736]

Mr. Morley: Beef produced under the Date-based Export Scheme (DBES) has been exported to several EU countries. However, because only one establishment is currently approved to produce DBES beef, information about export consignments is commercially confidential.

Since the French agreed to lift the ban lifted last year, British beef has been eaten at several high profile events in France, including at a lunch attended by the Prince of Wales in Paris on 6 February.

Livestock Welfare

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will resubmit the draft Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock: Cattle for consideration by the Second Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation. [98144]

Mr. Morley: The Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock: Cattle will be re-laid shortly for approval in both Houses.

Foot and Mouth

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made since the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease to strengthen measures for dealing with any new outbreak. [100551]

Mr. Morley: The Government's Response to the Reports of the Foot and Mouth Disease Inquiries (Cm 5637, November 2002) sets out measures taken and work in hand to implement the lessons learned from the 2001 outbreak. Progress has been made in many areas. Measures of particular note are:

the Animal Health Act 2002, which adds to powers to deal swiftly with outbreaks in England and Wales. Similar legislation is in preparation in Scotland.

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an improved Foot and Mouth Disease Contingency Plan which is currently subject to consultation prior to being laid before Parliament at the end of this month; this includes enhanced preparedness for emergency vaccination;

tighter controls on animal movements and markets, and higher standards of biosecurity in use of livestock vehicles.

In addition preventive measures have been taken, for example to minimise illegal imports of meat and meat products and to ban swill feeding.

Cleve Farm

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how long the parallel pyres at Cleeve Farm, Westbury on Severn, Gloucestershire, were active. [96229]

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Mr. Morley: Eleven pyres were constructed at Cleeve Farm, Westbury-on-Severn, and that the first one was lit on or around 24 March 2001 and the last one on or around 2 April 2001. I understand that the pyres were active for two weeks, although they would have smouldered for several weeks after this.

Bureaucracy

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the forms that her Department requires private sector businesses to complete and return. [98085]

Mr. Morley: The statistical survey forms required to be completed by private businesses are shown below together with frequency and the number of forms received during 2001.

	Number of Responses	Frequency
Agricultural and Horticultural Census—June	28,749*	Annual
December Agricultural Survey	21,503	Annual
Earnings and Hours of Agricultural and Horticultural Workers	1,783	Annual
Vegetables and Flowers Survey	3,458	Annual
Glasshouse Survey	2,226	Annual
Orchard Fruit Survey	576	Annual
Production and Marketing of Hatching Chicks & Eggs	880	Monthly
Return of Stock Slaughtered by Type of Animal	6,735	Weekly and monthly
Bacon and Ham Produced	187	Monthly and annual
Animal Feeding-stuffs: Production, Stocks and Usage of Raw Materials	841	Monthly and annual
Wheat Milled and Flour Production	588	Monthly and annual
Oatmeal Millers—Stocks, Receipts and Production	72	Monthly
Brewers, Distillers and Maltsters—Stocks and Usage of Cereals	307	Monthly and annual
Cereal Breakfast Foods	81	Monthly
The Value of Milk Purchased in England and Wales	530	Monthly
First Hand Price Reporting to Brussels	36	Monthly
Purchase of British Corn in England and Wales	9,308	Weekly
Seed Traders Annual Return	998	Annual
Registration of Seed Multiplication Contracts not in the EU	14	Biannual
Average Grower Prices for Home-Grown Herbage Seeds	12	Annual
EC Survey of Wine Stocks–Producers, Wholesalers and Retailers	75	Annual
Stocks of Cereals and Feeding-stuffs held by Importers, Dealers and Merchants	205	Annual and quarterly

Notes:

* ''survey restricted due to Foot and Mouth disease—normally about 80,000

Additionally, a total of 39,275 responses were received in respect of 60 voluntary surveys which were conducted during 2001.

Defra keeps its statistical requirements under review. A research project to assess the amount of information (statistical and other) collected from farmers and growers is underway.

Bush Meat

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many arrests have been made in the last five years for crimes relating to importing illegal bushmeat; and how many convictions have resulted from these arrests. [100396]

Mr. Morley: Comprehensive records of arrests and convictions for the illegal importation of any meat are not held centrally. Prosecutions for offences relating to bushmeat can be brought under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species by HM Customs, and under the Products of Animal Origin (Third Country Imports) (England) Regulations by local authorities. We are aware of three convictions for offences relating to the illegal importation of bushmeat, all in 2001.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government is taking to increase vigilance at airports to discourage the importation of illegal bushmeat from Africa [100397]

Mr. Morley: Bushmeat refers to the meat of any wild animal hunted for food. It is not necessarily from endangered species. Bushmeat forms only a very small proportion of reported seizures of illegal meat. Controls on its import arise from both the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and from controls imposed to protect animal health. Action against illegal imports is not limited to bushmeat, nor is it targeted solely at Africa.

In the current financial year, additional measures have been introduced at airports to tackle illegal imports. Temporary agency staff, funded by Defra, have been recruited to carry out checks to detect smuggled goods—teams of six are based at our major airports. We

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are also paying for additional checks through overtime at regional airports, and Customs has provided support. Additional inspection resources have also been provided through the detector dog pilot based at Heathrow. A publicity campaign including videos, posters and leaflets has targeted ports, airports and points of departure.

A total of £25 million has been allocated 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, HM Customs will be taking over all anti-smuggling activity as soon as practicable.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the President and Secretariat of the CITES Bushmeat Working Group to support its future work. [101327]

Mr. Morley: This Department and its representatives have had informal discussions from time to time with the President and members of the CITES Bushmeat Working Group about the general direction being taken by the Group and about progress being made. However, we have always strongly maintained that the Group should remain first and foremost a Central and West African initiative. We have therefore deliberately sought not to initiate or participate too deeply in formal discussions. Our input to the direction taken by the Group and the development of its strategies and solutions is therefore taken forward mainly in the context of our participation in meetings of the Group, such as that taking place in Douala from 26 to 28 March 2003.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support her Department intends to provide the CITES Bushmeat Working Group in future years. [101330]

Mr. Morley: Following the agreement reached at the last Conference of CITES Parties (Santiago, 2002) to extend the work of the CITES Bushmeat Working Group, we have recently contributed a further £15,000 to the Group to help it carry forward its work to the next CITES Conference in 2004. This brings our total support for the CITES Bushmeat Working Group since its inception in April 2000 to £70,000.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what analysis her Department has made of the progress the CITES Bushmeat Working Group has made in tackling the unsustainable bushmeat crisis. [101354]

Mr. Morley: We have analysed reports produced both by the CITES Bushmeat Working Group itself and by those attending meetings of the Working Group on behalf of this Department. From these we believe that, after a slow start, the Group is now making good progress towards its aim of establishing strategies to overcome the problem of unsustainable trade in bushmeat in Central and West Africa.

The Group is highly committed and dedicated and has produced some useful work. In particular, it has completed an important study of laws and policies

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across the sub-region in support of its specific objective to develop strategies for the sustainable use of bushmeat within a lawful legislative context. We believe this study will provide a valuable resource for all the countries of the region in their efforts to harmonise and strengthen controls.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which members of her Department will be attending the forthcoming CITES Bushmeat Working Group in Cameroon. [101328]

Mr. Morley: This Department will be represented at the next CITES Bushmeat Working Group meeting (in Douala, Cameroon, from 26 to 28 March) by Dr. David Brown of the Overseas Development Institute's Forest Policy and Environment Group.

Dr. Brown co-authored the UK Government's 11CITES Conference discussion paper ''Bushmeat as a Trade and Wildlife Management Issue'' (April 2000), which included the recommendation to establish a CITES Bushmeat Working Group. Dr. Brown also represented the Department at the Working Group's last meeting (in September 2002).

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