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Illegal Meat Imports

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the risks to biosecurity as a result of illegal imports of meat; and what representations she has received about the threat to biosecurity as a result of such imports. [165200]

Mr. Bradshaw: In March 2003, DEFRA published the Veterinary Laboratories Agency "Risk Assessment for the Import of Meat and Meat Products Contaminated with Foot and Mouth Disease Virus into Great Britain and the Subsequent Exposure of GB Livestock".

This estimated that FMD infection of GB livestock due to contaminated illegally imported meat would occur with a mean of one infection in 130 years, with a 90 per cent. certainty interval ranging from one infection in 41 years to one infection in 1,100 years.

A further report updating this risk assessment, incorporating additional data, will be published in the next few months. This report will also include similar risk assessments on three pig diseases—Classical Swine Fever, African Swine Fever and Swine Vesicular Disease.

All seizures of illegal imports are disposed as if they were category 1 material under the Animal By-Products Regulations (2003) and are sent for incineration without undue delay.
 
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We have received many representations from stakeholders on these issues both in meetings and via correspondence and we take account of their views in developing our strategy.

We continue to work with interested groups on projects, such as with countryside user groups to raise awareness of all inland biosecurity issues, and with the Bushmeat Campaign and others in taking forward the message through publicity campaigns aimed at ethnic minority communities.

Insects

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the likely effects of climate change on the UK's biodiversity in respect of insects, including butterflies; and what measures she proposes to take to counter such effects. [165308]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Department, along with the Devolved Administrations, statutory nature conservation agencies and non-governmental organisations, is contributing to an on-going research programme on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity in the UK. Results suggest that as climate changes, the distribution of species and the composition of habitats will change. With warmer temperatures, some northern species are likely to retreat, while southern species may be able to expand their ranges. At the same time, coastal habitats will be affected by rising sea levels. On land, movement of some species may be impeded by our fragmented landscapes, possibly leading to local extinctions. However, there is already evidence that some butterfly species have expanded their ranges northward in recent years.

The Government's existing policies for nature conservation provide the basis to mitigate the effects of   climate change on biodiversity, by protecting and restoring wildlife habitats and concerted action to reverse the decline of threatened species. New evidence from research and monitoring is taken into account in developing these policies and management strategies. However, there remains considerable scientific uncertainty about the implications for individual species.

The Government are fully committed to the Kyoto Protocol and to reducing the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. Through the Climate Change Programme we have put in place a strong programme of policies and measures to ensure that the UK meets its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol and moves towards its domestic goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent. on 1990 levels by 2010. Longer term, the UK aims to strengthen its action further by putting itself on a path to a 60 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to (a) survey and (b) monitor the UK's future biodiversity in respect of insects. [165309]

Mr. Bradshaw: An organisation called the National Biodiversity Network Trust is currently co-ordinating actions by a range of interested parties to bring together the biological recording efforts of volunteers and agencies. The work of the NBN Trust is supported by
 
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the Government agencies responsible for biodiversity and the Government support this work through the grant-in-aid to these agencies.

In addition, DEFRA has provided financial support for specific surveys such as the Millennium Butterfly Atlas and monitoring work on butterflies on land subject to   agri-environment schemes. Species of particular concern are subject to individual specific action under the Biodiversity Action Plan and Government support this process through their conservation agencies in England, Wales and Scotland and the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland. Volunteers, through their relevant national schemes or societies, carry out much of the survey and monitoring work on priority species.

The vast majority of information on the distribution, status and trends of species comes from the activities of volunteers. These are individuals with a special interest in insects who give freely of their spare time. A key part of the work of the NBN Trust is about supporting these people and encouraging the next generation of biological recorders. Replacing the effort of volunteers with contracted survey would be extremely costly and need continued funding. The Government support the work of the NBN Trust as the primary mechanism to secure the continued supply of information from volunteers through capacity building of support networks at national and local scale.

We believe that the short life spans and diverse needs of insects make some of them good indicators of environmental change. Information on the status and trends in insects, and other plants and animals, would be extremely helpful in both detecting adverse change and identifying sustainable practices. We recognise that some groups of insects do not have the resources necessary to provide a comprehensive baseline of information and more resources are needed. DEFRA is currently exploring options for improving surveillance and monitoring of species, including insects, and will consider future funding in the light of discussions with the conservation agencies and representatives of voluntary conservation organisations.

Land Distribution

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hectares were classified as (a) grassland, (b) land for crop growing, (c) woodland, (d) urban, (e) suburban and (f) semi-natural vegetation in each year since 1974   in the UK, broken down by (i) region and (ii) county. [165805]

Mr. Bradshaw: Estimates of the area of farmland in England which is classified as grassland, crops and bare fallow, and other agricultural land is available from the Agricultural Census for the years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2002. Estimates of the area of woodland in England in 1995–99 is available from the Forestry Commission, while information on the extent of urban areas (including suburban land) in England in 1981, 1991 and 2001 is available from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. No separate information is available on the extent of semi-natural land in England. A copy of the available information will be made available in the
 
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Library of the House. Information about the area of land in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland falls under the jurisdiction of the devolved authorities.

Market and Coastal Towns Initiative

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress by each Regional Development Agency on the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative; and what the budget for each RDA was for each year of the initiative. [167859]

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

The Rural White Paper offered funding of £37 million to enable the Regional Development Agencies and the   Countryside Agency to support market town regeneration in the regions over a period of three years (2000–01 to 2003–04).

£32 million was allocated to the Regional Development Agencies and £5 million to the Countryside Agency. The funding for the Regional Development Agencies was incorporated in the DEFRA contribution to their Single Programme, to enable regional partnerships to target towns in their region according to selection criteria agreed regionally. The initiative was not established as a national funding programme with an annual budget for each agency.

The start of the initiative was delayed in many of the regions due to the foot and mouth crisis, with some regions not launching their own initiatives or incurring spend until last year. For this reason data from the Regional Development Agencies on their expenditure is unlikely to be available until the initiative is evaluated, which DEFRA is currently discussing with the Regional Development Agencies.

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