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Fisheries

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with (a) the European Commission and (b) other EU member states regarding proposals to reduce cetacean by-catch in the past year. [155945]

Mr. Bradshaw: The importance of reducing dolphin and other small cetacean by-catch has been raised by the UK at ministerial level with the Fisheries Commissioner on a number of occasions and bilaterally with France. In particular, the UK has pressed in February 2003 for the

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introduction of a observer programme across the EU to broaden the information available about which fisheries, and which vessels, are involved in the dolphin by-catch problem.

Following this, the Commission published, on 24 July 2003, a draft Council regulation concerning the incidental by-catch of cetaceans in fisheries. Discussions on this proposal are currently taking place at official level and will come to a future Council of Minister's meeting for adoption.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to place observers on UK fishing vessels to examine the causes of the cetacean by-catch. [155947]

Mr. Bradshaw: As part of Defra-funded research, the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) has in recent years placed observers on UK vessels in a number of fisheries to monitor small cetacean by-catch.

As part of a new five year Defra-funded contract which started in 2003, SMRU has continued to place observers on UK vessels in the offshore bass fishery and plans to monitor other pelagic trawl fisheries and selected gillnet fisheries. This work is intended to provide improved estimates of annual by-catch levels of harbour porpoise and common dolphins, and to improve our understanding of how, where and why such events occur.

Market and Coastal Towns Initiative

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her latest estimate is of the costs of the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative in each year from 2000–01 to 2005–06 (planned); and if she will make a statement. [156600]

Alun Michael: The Rural White Paper stated that £37 million over three years (2001–04) would be made available to fund regeneration in market towns. This funding has been delivered through

(a) the Regional Development Agencies (£32 million) and matched with funding from partners; and

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(b) the Countryside Agency (£5 million) for work on Health Checks for individual Towns, the Beacon Towns Network, and the Best Practice Programme.

When the announcement of the funding was made, it was envisaged that 100 towns would benefit from this funding. I am pleased to report that, through the innovative methods used in each of the regions, currently 227 towns are receiving support.

Future funding is being reviewed as part of the Modernising Rural Delivery process. At the same time Defra is working with the Countryside Agency to assess the outcomes from the initiative, with a report due in June, and are in discussion with the Regional Development Agencies on evaluation of the initiative in the regions.

Rights of Way

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations with groups representing people with disabilities she had before issuing her consultation document, Use of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles on Rights of Way. [159259]

Alun Michael: Last December I met a number of groups representing people with disabilities, under the banner Countryside For All, to discuss rights of way issues. We will look carefully at the responses from such groups to our consultation document.

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent responses from groups representing people with disabilities she has had on her consultation document, Use of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles on Rights of Way. [159261]

Alun Michael: By 4 March we had had responses from the Kent branch of the National Federation of the Blind; the Access Group for Kent and Canterbury; and County Mobility in Cheshire.

Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for section 34(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. [159694]

Alun Michael: I made a written Ministerial statement to the House on 9 December 2003, Official Report, column 81WS. The Government will not be implementing section 34A of the Road Traffic Act 1988. New proposals have been put forward in the Government consultation paper, "Use of mechanically propelled vehicles on Rights of Way".

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she issued the Departmental Circular on Traffic Regulation Orders described in Proposal 1 of her consultation on the use of mechanically propelled vehicles on rights of way. [159273]

Alun Michael: We will issue the Departmental Circular shortly. The Circular will explain the range of powers available to regulate the use of mechanically propelled vehicles, including the power to make traffic regulation orders.

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Varroa Mites

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in developing an effective treatment against highly resistant varroa mites. [157781]

Mr. Bradshaw: Recent experience both on the European Continent and in North America has shown that there is a spread of resistance to most medicament treatments applied to control the varroa mite. Misuse of proprietary products or use of illegal treatments has been found to be the cause of resistance in most cases.

In the UK, resistance to the two pyrethroid-based varroacides, Apistan and Bayvarol, was first detected in Devon in 2001. Resistance was detected early through the monitoring programme conducted by the Central Science Laboratory's (CSL) National Bee Unit. This enabled action to be taken prior to the widespread colony collapse which has been experienced in other countries. Continued monitoring by beekeepers and CSL demonstrates that resistance is still localised. In many parts of the UK pyrethroids retain their high efficacy.

The introduction to the UK market in 2003 of Apiguard, a non-pyrethroid-based treatment for varroa, now means that beekeepers are able to apply this product to their colonies, ideally as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to combating pyrethroid-resistant mites.

Measures funded by Defra to protect bee health include training and technical advice to beekeepers in order to help them become more self-reliant through improved bee husbandry, in particular dealing with varroa. Defra is also currently funding research investigating the use of entomopathogenic fungi as possible microbial control agents of varroa.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Commission for Africa

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the members of the Commission for Africa were chosen. [159379]

Hilary Benn: The members of the Commission for Africa have been personally invited to participate by the Prime Minister.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the Commission for Africa will take evidence in Africa. [159381]

Hilary Benn: Yes. The Commission will be seeking evidence from African institutions, civil society and citizens including through seminars, participation in debates and commentary on work in progress. Commissioners such as Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel of South Africa and K.Y. Amoako (Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission on Africa) will also bring African perspectives to the debate.

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HIV/AIDS

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what representations his Department has received from (a) the UN, (b) the EU and (c) NGO sources on channelling more aid money towards fighting malaria in sub-Saharan Africa on the basis that HIV/AIDS rates in sub-Saharan Africa were stabilising; [156423]

(2) what representations his Department has received from (a) the UN, (b) the EU and (c) NGO sources that HIV/AIDS rates are stabilising in Africa. [156437]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has received no representations to channel more aid assistance towards fighting malaria on the basis that HIV/AIDS rates are stabilising in Africa, or, any specific representations about trends in HIV/AIDS rates. The global UNAIDS epidemic update of December 2003 (available at www.unaids.org) records that among some populations in sub-Saharan Africa, for example in Zambia, and groups, for example, pregnant women, HIV rates are stabilising. However, UNAID's overall conclusions are that we are not witnessing a decline in sub-Saharan Africa's epidemic. Even if prevalence rates stabilise it may not mean that infection rates have dropped. Rather, it may mean that a persistently high number of new infections is offset by an increasing number of deaths. In such cases it will still be necessary to fully support prevention programmes, while scaling up provision for treatment and care. In terms of African countries where the UK's support is predominantly through budget support, decisions on the balance of investment between different public health priorities are for country governments to make.

DFID has contributed £48 million over the period September 1999 to March 2004 to Roll Back Malaria who operate globally but with priority given to sub-Saharan Africa where the burden is highest. We have committed $280 million over eight years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

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