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20 May 2003 : Column 681W—continued
Air Quality
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will instruct the Environment Agency to take immediate steps to tackle the odour problems affecting Castle Point residents; what steps the Environment Agency is proposing to take; and how long she estimates it will take for her measures to be effective. [113791]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 16 May 2003]: The odour problems affecting Castle Point residents have been recognised and discussed with the Environment Agency which is already taking steps to tackle the problem. Further action is being discussed with the site operator.
Work to prevent the escape of landfill gas from one of the two sources of odour has already begun. A final layer of waste is being put over the affected area, which will be followed by a clay 'cap' to seal it. The Environment Agency has required that this odour source be abated within three months and it is expected that this will be completed within this time.
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The second and most predominant source of odour has been treated with oxidising agents which eliminate the odour rapidly, but there has been difficulty in maintaining this and further efforts are being made to stabilise the source in an aerobic state. A number of additional measures are also being implemented.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research has been conducted by the Environment Agency into the sources of the odour problems that have affected Castle Point residents in recent months. [113792]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 16 May 2003]: Odours have been traced by the Environment Agency to two sources within the site. The first source is from an area of the landfill site from which landfill gas was escaping. The second is from a lagoon within the site. Research into the health effects of the landfill gas is currently being undertaken by the Environment Agency at the site. The research will look into any health impacts that may have been caused by the odours.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints and inquiries the Environment Agency has received about bad odours in South East Essex in the last three months. [113793]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 16 May 2003]: The Environment Agency has recorded 562 complaints up to the end of 13 May. 396 of these have been since 20 April.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what long term measures she will take to remove the recurrent problem of bad odours for Castle Point residents; and if she will visit Castle Point to discuss the problem. [113794]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 16 May 2003]: The Environment Agency has acted to ensure that more robust procedures are put in place to monitor for odours more actively at Pitsea landfill site. This will enable such odours to be detected and dealt with promptly. Planned activities which may potentially generate odours will be risk assessed to ensure that all measures are in place beforehand to minimise odour release.
As the site nears the end of its operational life, more of it will be progressively capped and sealed, enabling landfill gas to be efficiently extracted and burned and for rainfall to be shed from the surface of the site without becoming contaminated.
I am happy to discuss with the hon. Member or the Agency any further issues of concern if the local community remain anxious about the operation of the Pitsea landfill site.
Animal By-products
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the Animal By-Products Regulation with regard to placenta and afterbirth materials on farm
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holdings; and what measures she is taking to reduce their incidence. [111114]
Mr. Morley: No specific assessment has been made with regard to placenta and afterbirth materials. However, we would expect this material to be disposed of according to the Regulation.
Animal Disease
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's budget for tackling animal disease. [113532]
Mr. Morley: The 2003–04 overall budget allocation for tackling disease control is £668 million. The details are available in DEFRA's Departmental Report 2003 (Chapter 5 Core Table 2). A copy of the report can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/default.htm
Animal Welfare
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the forthcoming publication, by the European Commission, of a new Directive on the transport of live animals; what efforts are being made to persuade European colleagues (a) to replace the transport of live animals by a trade in meat and (b) to adopt a maximum limit of eight hours per journey to slaughter; and if she will make a statement. [114000]
Mr. Morley: The Government would prefer a trade in meat rather than the long distance transport of animals for slaughter. We have consistently pressed for improvements in the current controls on the welfare of animals during transport and more recently for the introduction of a general eight hour maximum for journeys within the EU. We look forward to publication of the European Commission's long overdue proposals to update and improve the current directive.
Ash Residue
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulations she plans to implement on the treatment of ash residue from (a) incineration of animal by-products and (b) human incineration at crematoria. [114388]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 19 May 2003]: The EU Animal By-Products Regulation requires that ash from low-capacity incinerators which burn whole ruminant carcases or other specified risk material(SRM) must be disposed of as waste to a licensed landfill site.
Ash from incinerators which burn non-SRM material may be spread to land if it is derived from agricultural waste. However, the requirement for a waste management licence effectively prevents the application of non-agricultural waste e.g. from pet crematoria to land.
Ash from the cremation of human corpses does not fall within the scope of waste legislation.
Bovine TB
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many herd
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breakdowns there have been in each of the last five years owing to a positive reaction to the test for bovine tuberculosis in each region of England; and how many of those herds were closed herds, with no stock brought onto the farms in question in the period since any previous tests. [110757]
Mr. Morley: The number of new herd incidents by county 1998–2002 is given in the following table:
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England—Total | 1,224 | 1,332 | 1,416 | 512 | 2,582 |
| Avon | 42 | 50 | 53 | 18 | 98 |
| Bedfordshire | — | 1 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Berkshire | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Buckinghamshire | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| Cambridgeshire | — | — | 2 | — | — |
| Cheshire | 11 | 5 | 4 | — | 27 |
| Cleveland | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| Cornwall | 213 | 221 | 228 | 81 | 451 |
| Cumbria | 8 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 33 |
| Derbyshire | 18 | 48 | 23 | 16 | 65 |
| Devon | 191 | 244 | 282 | 103 | 524 |
| Dorset | 34 | 40 | 32 | 19 | 91 |
| Durham | — | 2 | — | — | 3 |
| East Sussex | 3 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| Essex | 3 | — | — | — | 2 |
| Gloucestershire | 207 | 186 | 227 | 48 | 285 |
| Greater London—East | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| Greater London—South East | — | — | — | — | — |
| Greater Manchester | 6 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
| Hampshire | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Hereford and Worcester | 186 | 204 | 222 | 87 | 328 |
| Hertford | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Humberside | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Isle of Wight | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Isles of Scilly | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kent | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| Lancashire | 19 | 4 | 5 | — | 7 |
| Leicestershire | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| Lincolnshire | 1 | 12 | 3 | — | 4 |
| Merseyside | — | — | — | — | — |
| Norfolk | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| North Yorkshire | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Northamptonshire | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| Northumberland | 7 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 26 |
| Nottinghamshire | 4 | — | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Oxfordshire | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Shropshire | 23 | 17 | 39 | 11 | 67 |
| Somerset | 77 | 82 | 102 | 29 | 165 |
| South Yorkshire | 1 | — | 2 | — | — |
| Staffordshire | 69 | 63 | 48 | 51 | 172 |
| Suffolk | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| Surrey | — | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Tyne and Wear | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| Warwickshire | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 15 |
| West Midlands | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
| West Sussex | — | 1 | 1 | — | 3 |
| West Yorkshire | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| Wiltshire | 65 | 97 | 86 | 28 | 147 |
Note:
1. In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, the number of new herd incidents in 2002 is not comparable to that of previous years.
2. No data are available on the number of closed herds.
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered in the last five years in (a) England and Wales and (b) Herefordshire and Worcestershire as part of the campaign against tuberculosis. [111017]
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Mr. Morley: The information requested is given in the following table.
| (a) England and Wales | (b) Herefordshire and Worcestershire | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 5,788 | 786 |
| 1999 | 6,708 | 843 |
| 2000 | 8,295 | 1,038 |
| 2001 | 5,888 | 706 |
| 2002 | 22,682 | 2,729 |
(3) TB reactors plus direct contacts.
Note:
In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests. The herds (and individual animals within the herds) would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, the numbers of reactors identified and slaughtered in 2002 is not comparable to those identified and slaughtered in previous years.
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the incidence of TB in cattle for (a) England and Wales and (b) the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the last five years was. [111018]
Mr. Morley: The figures requested are given in the following table.
| (a) TB herd incidence England and Wales | (b) TB herd incidence Herefordshire and Worcestershire | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 2.30 | 6.07 |
| 1999 | 2.55 | 6.40 |
| 2000 | 3.14 | 7.65 |
| 2001 | 4.19 | 9.17 |
| 2002 | 4.52 | 11.70 |
(4) Confirmed new herd incidents as a percentage of tests on unrestricted herds.
Note:
In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, herd incidence in 2002 is not comparable to that of previous years.
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