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5 May 2004 : Column 1497W—continued
Rats
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Government are taking to control the rat population. [169892]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 puts the responsibility for the enforcement and monitoring of rodent control with local authorities. Water companies, like other owners and occupiers of land, have a duty of carrying out the necessary control measures when ordered to do so by local authorities.
Should local authorities fail to discharge their responsibilities under the 1949 Act, Defra has certain default powers to initiate action, and has oversight of the water companies who undertake control of infestations in sewers and water supplies. The Department of Health is responsible for advising on the health aspects of infestations. Our Departments liaise closely to ensure co-ordinated Government action is taken as necessary.
The Government take this matter seriously. Defra, along with the Department of Health, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Local Government Association (representing the local authorities), Water UK (representing the water companies), Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and Central Science Laboratory, participate in the National Working Group on Rats in Sewers. The aim of the group is the development of an ongoing co-ordinated rodent control strategy.
Defra is also undertaking a research and development programme, to develop or encourage the development of cost-effective, humane and environmentally acceptable methods of managing rat populations. This is due to be completed in March 2007. The Department also monitors the level of commensal rodent presence through the English House Condition Surveys, undertaken by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
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This is the only large-scale random survey of commensal rodent presence.
A rat control technical advice leaflet and a range of others on similar topics are available from the mammal and bird licensing and advice pages of the Defra website (these are located at: www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates) and from Defra's National Wildlife Management Team.
Tenancy Reform
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on recent discussions with the Association of Chief Estates Surveyors and Property Managers in Local Government, with specific reference to tenancy reform and estate disposal and restructuring. [169741]
Alun Michael: As part of the Government response to the report of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group, my noble Friend the Lord Whitty met representatives of the Association of Chief Estate Surveyors and Property Managers in local government on 7 April together with representatives from the Local Government Association and farming organisations, to discuss county farms.
The Government value the contribution that the county farm system makes to the tenanted farming sector and the opportunities it provides for new entrants to pursue a career in agriculture. The Government share the concerns of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group about the potential adverse impact that continuing sales of statutory smallholdings might have in the longer term.
The meeting of 7 April discussed a number of issues stemming from the report of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group. This included the regulatory framework under which local authorities provide for statutory smallholdings and the way in which local authorities manage their county farm estates. The meeting also considered the way forward for county farms and how best to maintain a modern and efficient service for the future.
Veal Crates
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has made to the European Commission on the use and regulation of veal crates; and if she will make a statement. [169748]
Mr. Bradshaw:
We have not made any recent representations on veal crates. In the UK there has been a unilateral ban on the use of close-confinement veal crate systems since 1990. The EU banned new veal crate systems from 1994. Systems existing before that date were granted a transitional period that permitted their use until 2006. From 2006 all such systems will be banned throughout the EU.
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TREASURY
National Statistics
Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides were recorded in the UK in each of the last 10 years for (a) children and (b) adults. [169895]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 5 May 2004:
The most recently available information is for 2002. In routine statistics, ONS defines suicides as deaths from suicide and deaths from "injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted". In adults it is likely that most of these latter deaths are cases where the harm is self-inflicted but there was insufficient evidence to prove that the deceased deliberately intended to kill themselves so the Coroner returns an open verdict. This may not be the case in children, however, where open verdicts may not relate to self-inflicted injury. Therefore, figures for suicide and injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted are given separately in the attached table for the calendar years 1993 to 2002.
Note that, for this purpose, children have been classified as persons aged under 15, with adults aged 15 and over. This is to achieve consistency with previous published analysis. 1
1 Brock A and Griffiths C. Trends in suicide by method in England and Wales, 1979 to 2001. Health Statistics Quarterly 20 (2003), 7–18.
(2) Deaths with a verdict of suicide were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959 for the years 1993 to 2000 for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and for 1993 to 1999 for Scotland, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 for the years 2001 and 2002 for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and for 2000 to 2002 for Scotland (which also includes Y87.0).
(3) Deaths with a verdict of injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E980-E989 for the years 1993 to 1999 for Scotland and for the years 1993 to 2000 for Northern Ireland, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes Y10-Y34 for the years 2000 to 2002 for Scotland (which also includes Y87.2), and the years 2001 to 2002 for Northern Ireland. Data for England and Wales were defined using ICD-9 E980-E989 excluding E988.8 and ICD-10 Y10-Y34 excluding Y33.9 where the Coroner's verdict was pending.
(4) Children were classified as persons aged under 15 to be consistent with previous analysis.(5)
(6) Adults were classified as persons aged 15 and over to be consistent with previous analysis.(7)
(8) Data for England and Wales are for deaths occurring per calendar year. Data for Scotland and Northern Ireland are for deaths registered per calendar year.
(9) Brock A and Griffiths C. Trends in suicide by method in England and Wales, 1979 to 2001. Health Statistics Quarterly 20 (2003), 7–18.
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Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many conceptions resulted in termination in each year since 1997, broken down by month; and if he will make a statement. [170092]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Amess, dated 5 May 2004:
The most recent year for which figures are available is 2001.
The total number of monthly conceptions and conceptions terminated by abortion for women of all ages, in England and Wales, 1997 to 2001 are given in the attached table.
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| 2000 | 20011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month of conception | Total conceptions | Conceptions terminated by abortion | Total conceptions | Conceptions terminated by abortion |
| January | 66,116 | 15,183 | 67,873 | 15,794 |
| February | 61,406 | 13,927 | 58,089 | 13,665 |
| March | 65,566 | 15,157 | 63,188 | 14,867 |
| April | 61,101 | 13,991 | 59,642 | 14,067 |
| May | 64,791 | 15,181 | 65,256 | 15,773 |
| June | 62,811 | 14,606 | 62,501 | 14,835 |
| July | 61,893 | 13,617 | 62,104 | 13,831 |
| August | 65,458 | 14,308 | 65,339 | 15,067 |
| September | 62,641 | 13,918 | 61,812 | 13,763 |
| October | 65,011 | 14,431 | 66,363 | 15,031 |
| November | 64,044 | 14,704 | 64,595 | 14,840 |
| December | 66,117 | 15,339 | 66,669 | 15,302 |
| Total | 766,955 | 174,362 | 763,431 | 176,835 |
(10) Provisional.
Source:
Office for National Statistics.
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