---

27 Apr 2004 : Column 860W—continued

Common Land

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provisions are in place to enable mistakes following the initial registration of common land to be rectified. [168651]

Alun Michael: The provisions of the Commons Registration Act 1965, and subsequent regulations which set out the detailed registration procedures, make only very limited provision for an amendment to the registers to be made to resolve minor clerical errors or omissions. Additionally, in certain cases, errors may be rectified by the High Court. The Common Land Policy Statement, published in July 2002, contains an outline proposal to make further provision in new legislation for the correction of errors. It is also intended that the scope of this provision will be wider than before. Although we hope to bring forward measures as soon as Parliamentary time permits, I can give no guarantee at this stage either about the timing of legislation, or its scope.

Departmental Expenditure (Sittingbourne and Sheppey)

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the expenditure of her Department and its predecessors was for the constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey between (a) 1992 and 1997, (b) 1997 and 2001 and (c) 2001 and 2004. [159491]

Alun Michael: Expenditure information is not currently held by the Department on a constituency basis and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However Defra is investigating whether it would be feasible to provide data on this basis readily in the future and if so, when it would be able to do so.
 
27 Apr 2004 : Column 861W
 

Electric Shock Dog Collars

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for   Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what statutory powers she has to ban the sale of electric shock dog collars; [163525]

(2) how many electric shock dog collars were sold in the last year for which figures are available; [163526]

(3) what representations she has received in the last three months regarding the (a) sale and (b) use of electric shock dog collars; [163527]

(4) what assessment her Department has made of the effect on a dog of the use of an electric shock dog collar. [163528]

Mr. Bradshaw: Defra is currently reviewing the legislation relating to the welfare of captive and domestic animals with the intention of introducing an Animal Welfare Bill into Parliament in the fourth legislative session. It is intended that any new legislation should include a power for the Secretary of State to prohibit or restrict the sale and use of certain devices used on animals. Any proposal to prohibit or restrict the sale and use of any device should be based on scientific evidence. As there is currently no such evidence available in respect of electronic training devices for animal, it is not currently proposed that any restrictions should be put in place.

Figures for the sale of electronic training devices for animals are not held centrally. The Department has received occasional representations from members of the public and organisations both opposed to and in support of the use of these devices.

EU Agriculture Council

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for   Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who will represent the UK Government at the meeting of the European Agriculture Council in Luxembourg on 26 and 27 April. [167171]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 22 April 2004]: I will be representing the UK Government.

Fisheries

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what fishing restrictions apply to vessels not registered in the UK within (a) three mile, (b) six mile and (c) 12 mile limits from the UK coast; and what distinction is made between non UK-registered vessels with and without an historic entitlement. [167325]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 22 April 2004]: Only UK fishing vessels are allowed to fish in the zero to six mile zone around UK waters. Certain member states with historical catch records in UK waters can fish in the six to 12 mile zone. No distinction is made between non UK registered vessels with and without a historical entitlement. Access is granted on the basis of member states' historic fishing activities.

Food Industry Waste

Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment
 
27 Apr 2004 : Column 862W
 
she has made of (a) the additional volume of food industry waste that is disposed of in landfill, the sewage system or otherwise as a result of the ban on swill feeding and (b) the change this represents in terms of the risk of spread of communicable animal diseases; and if she will make a statement. [165941]

Mr. Bradshaw: The disposal of catering waste to landfill is a longstanding practice and only 1.4 per cent. of the national pig herd was swill fed. The increase in the amount of catering waste going to landfill following the ban on 93 swill users for about 82,000 pigs was therefore very small compared to the total amount of catering waste generated from the 260,000 restaurants and other catering outlets across the UK, which as a matter of course, currently goes to landfill.

It is not possible to give a definitive picture of the disposal methods for the relatively small amount of catering waste that was formerly fed to pigs but it is not considered to be ending up down sewers as has been   suggested. There are day-to-day problems with blockages to drains and sewers which are dealt with by the various authorities, but the main stream of catering waste is collectable and is not in a form that can be easily disposed of down the sewer.

In common with all methods of disposing of animal by-products disposal to landfill does carry some risks to animal health. Among the measures in place to minimise such risks landfill operators work to specific conditions of their licence or permit including covering waste with inert material and maintaining a strict pest control programme.

No comparative risk assessment has been made of the risks of swill feeding and landfill when exotic diseases are absent from the national herd. However, when a disease such as foot and mouth is present, the level of virus circulating increases the risk from swill feeding.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes in Liverpool, Walton have benefited from the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme. [166955]

Alun Michael: Between the launch of the scheme in June 2000 and the end of March 2004, approximately 7,290 households in Liverpool, Walton received assistance from the Scheme, which is now marketed as Warm Front.

Pesticide Voluntary Initiative

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make an evaluation of the Pesticide Voluntary Initiative. [168082]

Alun Michael: Progress with the Voluntary Initiative on pesticides is reviewed regularly and Government report their broad conclusions in the Budget and Pre-Budget Report. In Budget 2004 the Government confirmed their view that, provided the initiative is fully implemented, the Voluntary Initiative should be the most effective way of reducing the environmental impacts of pesticide use. However, to cover the potential case that the Voluntary Initiative might fail to deliver
 
27 Apr 2004 : Column 863W
 
the required environmental benefits within a reasonable timescale, the Government continue to keep the options for a tax or economic instrument under review.

Recruitment

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of recruitment of civil servants for the Department was in each financial year since 1996–97, broken down by (a) delegated or contracted out recruitment procedures and (b) recruitment procedures carried out by the Department. [158187]

Alun Michael: Defra was created in June 2001 so information for Defra can only be given from that date.

Given the structure of the Human Resources function within the Department prior to 1 April 2004 the information requested is available only at disproportionate cost. From 1 April this year recruitment and selection activity will be undertaken by a central HR Resource Centre.

Recruitment procedures used to bring in staff to Defra may vary depending on several factors including the number, grades and/or locations of vacancies and any specialisms involved.

---