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24 Jun 2003 : Column 673W—continued
Departmental Veterinary Surgeons
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many veterinary surgeons are employed by her Department. [120525]
Mr. Bradshaw: The number of veterinary surgeons employed by the Department as at April 2003 is 493.
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Environmental Targets
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received regarding (a) environmental targets not yet met and (b) the attainment of those targets. [120897]
Mr. Morley: The Department receives a great many representations on these and other aspects of environmental policy, for example, the Efra Select Committee hearing on 18 June 2003 looked at the Department's performance against its Public Service Agreement targets as reported in the Departmental Report.
The Department has published its environmental Public Service Agreement targets (along with all other Public Service Agreement targets) in the Departmental Report—(ref Cm 5919), which can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/default.htm
The Report outlines our progress to date in meeting these targets and sets out a wide range of actions necessary to meet them.
Financial Support (South-east)
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial support she has given to the south-east in each of the last five years; and what she plans to give in the next two years. [119658]
Alun Michael [holding answer 16 June 2003]: Direct support from the Department to the regional food sector falls under two main areas: support for the development of the sector as a whole via Food From Britain (FFB) and through schemes under the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP). In addition to this, financial support is also available from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to which the Department provides funds. Over the last five years, financial support for food from the south east was as follows:
| Source | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food From Britain(1) | 55, 289 | 45,084 | 67,000 | 222,319 | 121,458 |
| ERDP(2) | — | — | — | 301,000 | 1,401,000 |
| SEEDA(3) | — | 30,000 | 90,000 | 20,000 | 55,000 |
(1) The figures include funding under the Countryside Agency's Eat the View project (2000–01 to 2002–03), the Department's Foot and Mouth Recovery fund (2001–02) and start-up funding for the regional food group (1998–99 to 2000–01).
(2) This covers funding under the Processing and Marketing Grant (PMG) Scheme and Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES)—Marketing of Quality Agricultural Products.
(3) Includes funding to support the marketing of local produce and support for the red meat sector. It does not include the £840,000 available for the development of food related enterprise hubs (as follows).
For the future, as part of the Department's regional food strategy, Food From Britain will receive £1,260,000 per annum for this year and for the next two from Defra for the promotion of English regional food and drink. In the first year of the programme, the South East Food Group Partnership will receive £120,000 to implement a series of regional level activities in support of the overall regional food strategy. Under the ERDP, the following sums have been allocated for projects in the south east under the RES and the PMG: £1,468,000 (2003–04), £1,647,000 (2004–05) and £1,771,000 (2005–06). In addition, small on-farm food processing projects are among the wide range of activities that are eligible for support within the budget allocated to the Farm Diversification category of the RES.
SEEDA is also supporting the development of two enterprise hubs linked to the food sector with £840,000 over a three-year period from autumn 2002. It is also developing plans to make available a substantial amount of funding over the next three years (2003–04 to 2005–06) to support the development of the local food sector in the south east to implement aspects of the Regional Economic Strategy and the Delivery Plan for Defra's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food.
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Flood and Coastal Defence
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent reports she has received under her Department's high level targets for flood and coastal defence; and if she will make a statement. [120779]
Mr. Morley: We expect to receive a number of reports on High Level Targets from the Environment Agency in the coming weeks. Once received, I will place copies of these reports, which are designed to assist in delivery of the Government's policy aims and objectives for flood and coastal defence, in the House Libraries. These reports relate to:
- Target 2—Flood warnings;
Target 3—Exercises and emergency plans;
Target 5—Flood defence inspections and assets at risk;
Target 10—Water Level Management Plans.
GM Crops
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the (a) accuracy and (b) reliability of information submitted by GM consent applicants; and what her policy is on where liability should lie for damage to (i) human, (ii) animal and (iii) environmental health of GM releases. [119077]
Mr. Morley: The legislation requires all applications for consent to release or market genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to be supported by a dossier of information about the GMO and its properties and an assessment of the risk to human health and the environment from the proposed release. This information is scrutinised by officials for compliance with relevant legislation. Scientific assessment of the dossiers is carried out by independent experts; the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, the Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, the Food Standards Agency, the statutory nature conservation agencies and the Health and Safety Executive. Consent to release would only be issued if these advisors are satisfied as regards the reliability and accuracy of the information provided by the applicant.
As regards liability, approval for a GMO release will only be given if the relevant authorities are satisfied that all appropriate measures are being taken to avoid adverse effects on human health and the environment. There are specific provisions in Part VI of the Environmental Protection Act giving powers to the courts and the Secretary of State to remedy harm that results from the commission of an offence. Otherwise currently there are no specific liability provisions in relation to GM releases. Depending on the circumstances, however, a claim for redress could be made through the courts under existing general legal principles. The independent Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission is preparing a report to Government on GM crop liability. We will consider this issue further in the light of that report.
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which (a) organisations and (b) individuals were invited by
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her to debate the future of GM crops in the South West on Saturday 7 June in Taunton; and how they were chosen. [119653]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 16 June 2003]: GM Nation?—the public debate on GM issues—is being run by an independent Steering Board at arm's length from Government. The regional public launch events, such as the one in Taunton on 7 June, were open to all—no specific organisations or individuals were invited. The date, time and venue were publicised in press releases on 13 May and 3 June and also at the launch of the debate on 3 June. The information was also available on the website and received widespread media coverage. Individuals who wished to attend were asked to register in advance and tickets were made available on a first come, first served basis. The events involved facilitated active participation in small discussion groups, which limited their overall size. Two sessions were held at Taunton in response to demand.
GM Food
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by consumers on genetically modified foodstuffs in each of the last 10 years, broken down by type of foodstuff. [119147]
Mr. Morley: Official statistics on consumers expenditure do not separately identify expenditure on genetically modified foodstuffs.
Illegal Meat Imports
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on responsibility for security at ports and airports to counter illegal imports of meat. [121271]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 23 June 2003]: Following the recommendations of the Cabinet Office Review of enforcement structures which reported in November 2002, responsibility for anti-smuggling activities was transferred to HM Customs and Excise on 11 April. Defra retains responsibility for policy on illegal imports of meat and animal products.
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