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Written Answers to Questions

Monday 7 July 2003

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Sanctuaries

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps she plans to take to ensure high standards in animal sanctuaries; [122652]

Mr. Bradshaw: This Department is currently working on an Animal Welfare Bill. Under the new legislation it is proposed to licence animal sanctuaries and to apply a statutory code of practice that will set a minimum standard of welfare for animals in sanctuaries.

Correspondence

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when she will reply to the letter of 6 May from the hon. Member for Billericay regarding Pitsea Tip; [119460]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 30 June 2003]: The hon. Member's letter was received in the Department on 20 May. I responded on 4 July.

Crop Spraying

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place requiring farmers and growers spraying crops to inform the public about the type of chemicals being used. [123002]

Alun Michael: The Statutory Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Pesticides on Farms and Holdings provides advice for farmers on best practice, including notifying the public of impending spray operations. There is also a legal obligation to notify others in the case of aerial spraying of pesticides and for the use of sulphuric acid as a pesticide. In addition to these safeguards Ministers are considering if further measures could be taken to make more information available to the public on pesticide spray operations.

Greyhounds

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many greyhounds have retired from British greyhound racing in each year since 1997; and how many were re-homed each year. [122266]

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Mr. Bradshaw: The Government do not hold records on the numbers of greyhounds that retire each year from racing.

Each racing greyhound is the property of an individual owner and so it is not possible to record what happens to the dogs once they retire.

The racing industry and welfare organisations estimate that some 9,000 racing greyhounds retire each year. The Retired Greyhound Trust claims to re-home 1,400 per year. An undisclosed number will remain with their owners as pets.

Sharks

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of shark (a) fishing and (b) finning on the world's population of sharks. [122658]

Mr. Bradshaw: Current scientific knowledge indicates that many of the world's populations of sharks are under threat from fishing activities. The targeting of sharks for their fins alone adds to this threat. In view of concern over this threat to shark populations, this Department has been working to protect sharks at a national and international level. In addition to putting in place measures to protect the basking shark under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, we have secured strengthened protection for this species at an international level under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) produced in 1999 an International Plan of Action for the conservation and management of sharks, to which the European Commission signed up on behalf of the European Union. We have been pressing the Commission for action to follow this up and are pleased that work will begin shortly on the development and implementation of a Community Plan of Action.

Discussions on a Commission regulation to restrict the practice of shark finning have recently concluded. While it was not possible to achieve the complete ban on this practice that we would have preferred, we were able to secure some important concessions, including additional control clauses and a commitment to a complete review of the regulation in the light of the development of the Community Plan of Action.

Waste Incineration

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to make available additional funding to the Environment Agency for the regulation of on-farm drum incinerators when the Agricultural Waste Regulations are introduced. [122754]

Mr. Morley: A draft of the Agricultural Waste Regulations will be issued for public consultation in the autumn with a view to their coming into force in early 2004. The main purpose of the Regulations is to apply the requirements of the Waste Framework Directive to agricultural waste. Incineration is subject to control under the Directive as a waste disposal operation. Provision has been made within the Corporate Planning

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process to meet the Environment Agency's costs, through charges and Grant-in-Aid, as a "competent authority" for the control of agricultural waste under the Directive. My Department has received no specific request from the Agency for funding for the regulation of on-farm drum incinerators.

TRANSPORT

Aircraft Noise

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to change the measurement criteria for aircraft noise in the UK to correspond to those of the World Health Organisation. [123437]

Mr. McNulty: WHO noise guideline figures are given in terms of equivalent continuous sound level (dBA Leq) and of the sound event peak (dBA Lmax). Leq is already the established metric for averaging aircraft noise, as recommended in the planning guidance note PPG 24. Lmax and SEL (which takes account of event duration as well as peak level) are also extensively used in describing individual noise events.

In due course, noise contours will also be produced for aircraft noise and for other sources in accordance with the metrics, again based on Leq, prescribed by EU Directive 2002/49/EC.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) published in the last two years on the impact of different aircraft noise levels on those affected. [123438]

Mr. McNulty: The Department for Transport commissioned a study into attitudes to noise from civil aircraft sources in England in November 2001; it is expected to report towards the end of next year.

This major study was commissioned following three earlier, smaller-scale studies commissioned by DETR into the effects of noise specifically at night: "Adverse Effects of Night-Time Aircraft Noise" (CAA R&D 9964); "Aircraft noise and sleep—1999 UK Trial Methodology Study" (Flindell et al.) and "Perceptions of Aircraft Noise, Sleep and Health" (Diamond et al.) all published during 2000.

Crossrail

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding the progress of Crossrail. [123056]

Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Transport to the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey), and my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, South (Mike Gapes) on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 149.

Disabled Parking Permits

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 10 June 2003, Official Report, columns 736–37W, on disabled parking permits, when he will take forward the recommendations received on the Blue Badge Scheme; and what enforcement measures he proposes to take. [123818]

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Mr. McNulty: We are committed to introducing a specific power for the police, traffic wardens and local authority parking enforcement officers to inspect badges. We are also looking at the feasibility of establishing a national database of badge holders; the introduction of smartcard technology; increasing penalties for abuse and misuse of the Scheme.

The power to inspect, and a number of other measures, will need to be introduced through primary legislation and we are looking for a suitable legislative opportunity to do so. Meanwhile, we are already working on the changes that require secondary legislation, taking forward a number of research projects and drafting new guidance for local authorities to accompany the changes. We aim to implement the changes at the earliest opportunity.

Liverpool Airport

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by how much the passenger numbers to Liverpool John Lennon airport have changed in the past five years. [124212]

Mr. McNulty: The number of passengers arriving at or departing from Liverpool John Lennon airport has increased from 680,000 in 1997 to 2,835,000 in 2002.

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