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Cages (Hens)
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to encourage a switch towards more advanced well-managed cages for egg-laying hens. [128684]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002, lay down specific requirements in terms of space and design which cages for laying hens must meet. From 2012, cage systems must be enriched to meet additional requirements. Both the industry and Defra have research programmes which aim to evaluate the emergence and development of new systems of production.
Combined Heat and Power
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that electricity derived from CHP is financially more attractive to use than electricity from other carbon-based technologies. [127224]
Mr. Bradshaw: The measures to support CHP announced in the Energy White Paper, taken together with the measures we have previously introduced, and detailed in the draft CHP Strategy, will significantly help CHP. These include:
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Exemption from the climate change levy for fuel inputs and electricty outputs from Good Quality CHP;
The £50 million Community Energy programme promoting community heating;
The introduction of a target for Government Departments to use CHP generated electricity by the end of the year.
Contagious Animal Diseases
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list those outbreaks of contagious animal diseases which have occurred since May 1997, for which the European Commission has issued Decisions or communications to limit their spread; what numbers of livestock were killed to limit spread; what support funds were released in
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compensation; what amount was taken up by government; and what proportion of the value of lost stock this equated to. [128263]
Mr. Bradshaw: Since May 1997 there have been two outbreaks of contagious notifiable disease which have occurred in the UK—classical swine fever in 2000 and foot and mouth disease in 2001. Control of these was governed by both domestic and EU legislation. On both occasions the European Commission also issued Decisions.
A proportion of the costs of eradicating these diseases can be reimbursed by the European Commission to the member state, and the UK Government have submitted official applications for such reimbursement. Relevant details are as follows:
| Classical swine fever 2000 | Foot and mouth disease 2001 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of confirmed cases | 16 | 2030 |
| Livestock killed for disease control | 74,793 | 4,230,786 |
| Compensation paid for livestock (£) | 4,453,399 | 1,033,000,000 |
| Total compensation for which EU reimbursement claimed (includes other costs) (£) | 7,632,925 | 1,581,000,000 |
| Maximum rate of EU re-imbursement (percentage) | 50 | 60 |
| Maximum amount of re-imbursement (£) | 3,816,463 | 948,600,000 |
| Amount received to date(90) (£) | 1,809,460 | 217,000,000 |
(90) Further amounts will only be paid following completion of Commission audits of expenditure incurred during the disease outbreaks.
Convention on Europe (Animal Welfare)
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department was consulted on the Swedish Government's recent approach to the British Government in the European Convention with respect to the issue of animal welfare; at what level such consultation took place; when; and if she will make a statement. [128262]
Mr. Bradshaw: There is no record of any such approach to this Department by the Swedish Government.
Correspondence
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what reasons underlay the delay in responding to the letter received by the Department on 16 December 2002 from Mr. Ian Marsden and P. Westby of Accrington regarding biodiesel. [127101]
Alun Michael: I have looked at the way in which the case was dealt with and it appears that this was an unusual case in which the details of a draft response were considered by officials and Ministers on a number of occasions before a reply was sent to the hon. Gentleman on 27 June. The delay is unacceptable and falls far short of the standards now achieved within Defra. Having massively improved the turnaround of replies to MPs we are now trying to eradicate occasional lapses of this sort which are unacceptable.
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the letter from her Department dated 18 June to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms M. Bromley, if she will require the Food Standards Agency to send the promised reply to the right hon. Member without delay. [127747]
Alun Michael: I regret that my right hon. Friend's letter was not shown to me before it was transferred to the Food Standards Agency. However that transfer was correct as the Food Standard Agency is responsible for the Food Supplements Directive. I cannot speak for other Departments and my right hon. Friend may therefore wish to direct his inquiries to colleagues in the Department of Health.
Countryside Agency
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment she has made of the Countryside Agency's handling of its budgetary affairs in 2003–04; and if she will make a statement; [127765]
- (2) if she will take steps to ensure that the finances of the Countryside Agency are managed in such a way that will ensure funding arrangements for partnerships can be made clear at an early stage for 2004–05 and left unchanged. [127766]
Alun Michael: I have discussed with the Countryside Agency the way in which it manages its finances in view of the "hold" placed on some budgets, including Vital Villages, at the start of this financial year. This was done by the Agency because of the very high level of applications received and the consequent need to target money at the areas of greatest need, but it is unfortunate that this caused uncertainty to a number of organisations who were dependent on the Countryside Agency grant for continuity of their work. I am drawing to the attention of the Agency and other organisations funded by Defra the requirements on finance contained in the Government's compact with the Voluntary Sector. It should be noted that the Agency's grant in aid has been significantly increased this year.
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It is for the Countryside Agency to manage its finances within the budgets set for it and has been doing so against the background both of the major and novel task of access mapping, whose costs depend on public responses which are hard to predict, and of the demand-led nature of its major grant programmes. Despite these factors the budget for Vital Villages has been held to the level set at the start of the year. Budgets have also been agreed for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will meet Hampshire county council to discuss the effect on its rural transport partnership of late changes in funding by the Countryside Agency. [127767]
Alun Michael: The Countryside Agency manages the Rural Transport Partnership scheme on behalf of Defra and day to day decisions on the operation of the scheme are a matter for the Agency. However, the Agency has assured me that rather than cuts to the Rural Transport Partnership scheme, the budget for 2003–04 has been increased by £2 million since the original budget announcement. Demand for the scheme has been high and the funds available have had to be shared among as many projects as possible. In the South East region it is the Rural Transport Partnership officers themselves who have decided which projects should take priority.
Departmental Discussions
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with (a) the United States, (b) the European Union and (c) environmental organisations on international measures to assist developing nations in reducing climate change. [128216]
Mr. Morley: As climate change is a global problem, it is important that all countries engage constructively in international action to tackle it. With this in mind, Defra, along with other Government Departments, has regular discussions in both formal and informal fora with the United States, other European Union member states and environmental organisations on measures to assist developing countries to address climate change. These discussions include: the need to integrate climate change into national strategies for sustainable development; the importance of capacity building; the role of technology transfer and, the operationalisation of the Clean Development Mechanism.
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with (a) the United States, (b) the European Union and (c) environmental organisations on the obligations of (i) the UK and (ii) others to reverse (A) climate change and (B) energy shortage. [128217]
Mr. Morley: As climate change is a global problem, it is important that all countries engage constructively in international action to tackle it. With this in mind, Defra, along with other government departments, has regular discussions in both formal and informal fora with the United States, other European Union Member States and environmental organisations on action to address climate change. Although these discussions are
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often linked to energy policy, the security of energy supply is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Trade and Industry on investment in renewable energy. [128220]
Mr. Bradshaw: Achieving the commitments set out in the energy white paper will require close integration across departments and much more widely. To make this a reality the white paper announced the creation of a Sustainable Energy Policy Network of policy units from across Government departments, the devolved administrations, regulators and key delivery organisations that are jointly responsible for delivery. Working within this framework my Department has regular discussions with the Department of Trade and Industry on a wide range of energy policy issues, including the development of renewable energy.
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