6 May 2004 : Column 1649W
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 6 May 2004
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Animal and Plant Disease
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many outbreaks of each notifiable (a) animal and (b) plant disease there have been in each of the last 10 years. [165201]
Mr. Bradshaw: The two tables placed in the Library of the House summarise details of outbreaks of each (a) notifiable animal and (b) plant disease/notifiable pests of plants in each of the last 10 years.
The first table details animal diseases in Great Britain as notifiable under the Animal Health Act 1981.
The second table details outbreaks in England and Wales, as Defra's Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate are responsible for dealing with outbreaks both in England, and in Wales under a specific plant health concordat.
Animal Fodder
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 19 April 2004, Official Report, column 129W, on animal fodder, if she will list the developing countries which exported animal feeding stuffs and cereals into the (a) UK and (b) EU in 2002. [168796]
Alun Michael: Tables placed in the Library of the House provide details of exports of cereals and feeding stuff for animals to the UK and the EU from developing countries in 2002 as recorded in the UK Overseas Trade Statistics and the equivalent systems of other member states.
Overseas Trade Statistics (and the equivalent systems of other member states are subject to a degree of error. Although the overall level of errors is low, small values are affected disproportionately. Care should therefore be taken when interpreting such data.
Batteries
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of small, domestic-type batteries were recycled in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. [164533]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 26 April 2004]: As far as we know, all collected batteries are recycled, but the collection rate is very low. We understand that the UK sold 25,100 tonnes of consumer batteries in 2002 and 125 tonnes were collected separately. This equates to a low collection rate of only 1 per cent.
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In 2003, Britannia Zinc recycled 5 tonnes as part of the Bristol Battery Recycling Campaign. All other collected consumer batteries are sent abroad for recycling.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to encourage those using disposable batteries to switch to rechargeable ones. [167748]
Mr. Morley: The environmental case for switching to rechargeable batteries is not straightforward as not all applications are appropriate for rechargeable batteries. The Government are therefore not taking any steps on this matter.
Bovine TB
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research is being undertaken by or on behalf of her Department on bovine TB. [169744]
Mr. Bradshaw: The following table shows the TB research projects currently being funded by Defra (April 2004):
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A full list of Defra's research projects can be found online at: http://www2.defra.gov.uk/research/project data/Default.asp
Defra is also funding the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and associated research (the Road Traffic Accident Survey in seven English counties and the TB99 Epidemiological Questionnaire), as well as a Gamma Interferon Policy Pilot.
A limited survey of wildlife (badgers, and deer with suspicious lesions) killed on the roads in the Furness Peninsula, Cumbria is also underway.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will respond to the Godfrey Report on the Government's tuberculosis strategy. [170134]
Mr. Bradshaw: On 6 April, Defra announced the publication of a report from an independent scientific panel reviewing the progress of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and associated Defra research, as part of a wider review of Defra's science. The audit panel was chaired by Professor Charles Godfray FRS, director of the Natural Environment Research Council's Centre for Population Biology at Imperial College London, and comprised experts from the fields of veterinary and wildlife population epidemiology, applied statistics and population biology.
The Government will give careful consideration to the complex recommendations of the report. The review's conclusions will inform Defra's wider review of TB strategy. Defra has extended the deadline for the public consultation on the TB Strategy review until 4 June, to allow sufficient time for the assimilation of, and comment on, this report.
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BSE
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when it is proposed that the over-30-month scheme for beef will end; and if she will make a statement. [170625]
Alun Michael: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) review of the Over-30-Month rule was completed in July 2003 and recommended that it would be acceptable on public health grounds to replace the rule with BSE testing of cattle in two stages. Cattle born after August 1996 could be allowed into the food chain, after being tested for BSE, with the possibility of complete replacement of the rule from July 2005. Health Ministers are still considering the FSA advice, but it has already been decided that, for practical reasons, cattle born before August 1996 will be permanently excluded from the food chain. We are now unlikely to see any changes to the OTMS before January 2005, due to the legislative process that must take place once a decision has been reached by Ministers.
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