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Biodiversity

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to help reduce the rate of biodiversity loss throughout the world. [116046]

Mr. Morley: The World Summit on Sustainable Development set a target to significantly reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity at the global, regional, sub regional and national levels by the year 2010. A challenge of this magnitude requires international co-operation. We are working within existing international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to this end.

The CBD reviewed the outcomes from WSSD at its intersessional meeting in March 2003. The UK was among those Parties which pressed successfully for a recommendation that each Conference of Parties should assess progress towards the target. To faciliate this, the CBD together with the United Nations Environmental Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre organised an international conference in London from 21–23 May 2003 with financial support from my Department. The meeting made a number of recommendations on how we might better co-ordinate efforts to achieve the goal and monitor progress towards it.

The Darwin Initiative is one means by which the Department provides direct support to other countries to help safeguard their biodiversity. This grant programme launched at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 assists countries that are rich in biodiversity but poor

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in resources to conserve and sustainably use their biological diversity. Phase II of the Initiative launched in November 2002 by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, focuses on enhanced legacy to produce greater biodiversity gains, increasing partnership with local organisations and communities and stronger links to the aims of the Convention on Biological Diversity. So far it has committed over 30 million to over 300 projects with links to some 100 developing countries and countries with economies on transition. On 2 August, the Prime Minister announced an increase in funding from £3 million per annum rising to £7 million a year by 2005–06.

Last year also saw the largest ever replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) which now stands at three billion dollars over four years. In addition to its assessed contribution to this replenishment, the UK contributed a voluntary additional amount of £15 million, making a total contribution of around £118 million. A substantial proportion of the GEF goes to biodiversity projects and within that a substantial proportion to protectedareas.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of bovine TB there have been in Cumbria in each of the last five years. [116174]

Mr. Morley: The number of new bovine TB herd incidents in Cumbria 1998–2002 is given in the following table.

New Herd Incidents in Cumbria 1998–2002

Year	Number
1998	8
1999	9
2000	4
2001	2
2002	33

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 heards 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.

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the incidence was of bovine tuberculosis in (a) Haltemprice and Howden, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (c) England in the last five years for which figures are available. [116762]

Mr. Morley: The data requested is not available for (a) Haltemprice and Howden or (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire. However, the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in Humberside and England, from 1998 to 2002, is given in the following table

TB Herd incidence 1998–2002⁽¹⁾(percentages)

Year	Humberside	England
1998	0.00	2.43
1999	0.00	2.63
2000	0.00	3.29
2001	0.00	3.94
2002	0.37	4.78

⁽¹⁾ 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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David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered in the last five years in (a) Haltemprice and Howden, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (c) England and Wales as part of the campaign against tuberculosis. [116792]

Mr. Morley: The data requested is not available for (a) Haltemprice and Howden or (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire. However, the number of cattle slaughtered in Humberside and England, from 1998 to 2002, is given in the table.

Number of cattle slaughtered under bovine TB control measures 1998–2002⁽²⁾

	Humberside	England and Wales
1998	1	5,788
1999	1	6,708
2000	5	8,295
2001	4	5,888
2002	5	22,682

⁽²⁾ 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 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 TB reactors identified and slaughtered in 2002 is not comparable to those identified and slaughtered in previous years.

Brazilian Beef

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many beef carcases from Brazil were tested for disease in each of the last 10 years, broken down by type of disease; and what proportion were found to pose a health risk. [116856]

Mr. Morley: There are no provisions for beef imported from Brazil or any other approved countries to be routinely tested for disease. Other controls are designed to prevent serious exotic diseases entering the country via imported meat.

All meat imported from third countries must be accompanied by official veterinary certification. This must confirm that the meat is derived from animals which have been subjected to a veterinary inspection during the 24 hours prior to slaughter and showed no signs of diseases. Meat from Brazil must have been

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matured and tested to confirm that it has reached a sufficiently low pH (acidity) and then de-boned so as to remove any risk of the FMD virus being present. Whole carcase meat and bone-in cuts are not permitted.

European Community law requires that all meat imported into the UK from third countries must enter at designated Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) where it is subject to veterinary inspections. All consignments are subject to documentary and identity checks and at least 20 per cent. of consignments undergo physical checks, which may include taking a sample for testing. It is the responsibility of the Official Veterinary Surgeon to decide what type of test might be carried out. These checks ensure import conditions are met and that the products remain in a satisfactory condition during transport.

BSE Status

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps have been taken to achieve moderate BSE status for the United Kingdom. [115268]

Mr. Morley: To achieve moderate risk status, the UK must provide evidence that it complies with World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) and EU rules. Essentially, there are three key areas where steps have been taken.

First, the UK's normal veterinary surveillance and active monitoring programmes are in line with EU rules concerning effective surveillance systems for BSE.

Secondly, the UK has implemented all EU legislation on TSEs in order to deal effectively with BSE risks.

Thirdly, the UK's BSE incidence must be below the upper threshold for moderate status. This target was altered at the recent annual general meeting of the OIE for countries that have implemented active monitoring programmes, to 200 confirmed cases per million adult cattle. The consistent decline of the epidemic is steadily bringing the UK closer to this threshold.

Date-based Export Scheme

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Date-based Export Scheme; and what plans she has to amend the scheme. [116584]

Mr. Morley: The Date-based Export Scheme has been effective in enabling the UK to resume exporting British beef albeit in small quantities.

We are currently exploring with the commission a number of proposals to amend the scheme.

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