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10 May 2004 : Column 15W—continued
Road Works
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average duration of works carried out by highway authorities necessitating occupation of (a) Highways Agency roads and (b) local authority roads was in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2002 and (iv) 2003. [170652]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 4 May 2004]: This information is not held centrally.
Rural Bus Services (Cambridgeshire)
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rural bus services in (a) the Huntingdon constituency and (b) Cambridgeshire are supported by rural bus grants. [170861]
Mr. McNulty: Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG) is paid to local transport authorities, in the case of Huntingdon this is Cambridgeshire County Council. It is for the authority to decide which services should be supported with the grant. We understand from the county council that there are 25 rural bus services operating in Cambridgeshire that are currently supported by RBSG, of these 13 services operate in Huntingdon.
Transec
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what Transec's chain of command is; and how Transec's staff are (a) recruited and (b) vetted; [169968]
(2) if he will make a statement explaining the central command structure of Transec. [170061]
Mr. McNulty: The Department's Transport Security Directorate (Transec) is headed by a director supported by two divisional managers. The director reports direct to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport on security matters, and to the Department's Director General for Railways, Aviation, Logistics, Maritime and Security on management issues. The director and her staff play a full and active role as part of the Whitehall counter-terrorist community working closely with colleagues in the police and other Government Departments.
Transec's staff is recruited in a variety of ways, depending on the job and the knowledge and skills needed to do it. Transec's staff includes career civil servants from the Department for Transport and other departments; people recruited through open competition who have relevant experience from industry and/or the security sector; and staff on secondment.
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Members of staff are subject to security vetting according to the nature of their work and the access they require to classified assets. The vetting is carried out in accordance with the rules set out in the Government's Manual of Protective Security.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Abattoirs
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total cost to the Department in the financial years (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 was of charges brought successfully against abattoirs for breaches of meat hygiene and animal welfare regulations. [166079]
Mr. Bradshaw: The total legal costs incurred by both this Department and the Food Standards Agency (which is responsible for meat hygiene prosecutions, as well as being involved with animal welfare cases) in pursuit of charges that were successfully brought against abattoirs for breaches of meat hygiene and animal welfare regulations were:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 44,031.61 |
| 2003–04 | 90,748.11 |
Mr. Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total cost was to the Department in the financial years (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 of all charges brought against abattoirs for breaches of meat hygiene and animal welfare regulations, including those which were successfully prosecuted and those which were dropped before they came to court. [166092]
Mr. Bradshaw: The total legal cost incurred by both this Department and the Food Standards Agency (which is responsible for meat hygiene prosecutions, as well as being involved with animal welfare cases) in pursuit of all charges brought against abattoirs for breaches of meat hygiene and animal welfare regulations was:
2002–03—£48,311.26
2003–04—£123,050.62
British Wildlife
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of the introduction of genetically modified crops on wildlife; and what studies the Government commissioned on the subject. [169944]
Mr. Morley: The effects on wildlife from the cultivation of each particular GM crop is assessed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the criteria in European Directive 2001/18 on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms.
In the case of GM herbicide tolerant oilseed rape, beet and maize the effects of the management of these crops on wildlife was studied in the GM crop farm scale evaluations. The results of these evaluations for spring
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sown oilseed rape, beet and maize were published in October last year. Results for winter sown oilseed rape will be published later this year.
BSE
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) total and (b) average monthly cost of the Over-30-Month scheme has been since its inception. [170187]
Alun Michael: The total and average monthly cost of the Over-30-Month scheme are shown in the table.
| Total cost of the scheme including compensation | Average cost per month | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 858 | 78 |
| 1997–98 | 432 | 36 |
| 1998–99 | 380 | 32 |
| 1999–2000 | 394 | 33 |
| 2000–01 | 401 | 33 |
| 2001–02 | 301 | 25 |
| 2002–03 | 367 | 31 |
| 2003–04 | (3)321 | (3)27 |
| Total | 3,454 | 36 |
(3) Forecast.
The average monthly costs have decreased over the years reflecting lower compensation rates and disposal costs and fewer animals entering the scheme.
The 1996–97 figure reflects the high compensation rate in the first year. The low 2001–02 figure reflects the reduced numbers entering the scheme as a result of the foot and mouth outbreak.
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost of maintaining the Over-30-Month scheme for cattle born after August 1996 until January 2005. [170188]
Alun Michael: The estimated direct cost (compensation and disposal) of maintaining the Over-30-Month scheme for cattle born after August 1996 from April 2004 until January 2005 is £120 million.
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost of maintaining the Over-30-Month scheme for cattle born before August 1996. [170189]
Alun Michael: The cost of maintaining the Over-30-Month scheme after April 2004 for cattle born before August 1996 will be spread over several years. The aggregate cost is estimated at £400 million. However, the annual cost will depend on how quickly the cattle are disposed of.
Conferences/Seminars
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans were made by her Department for (a) conferences and (b) seminars in conjunction with its consultations on (i) the sustainable management of wild deer in England, (ii) hazardous chemicals and (iii) dioxins and dioxin-like
10 May 2004 : Column 18W
polychlorinated biphenyls in the UK environment; what the total cost of organising each of those events was; and how many people attended in each case. [161389]
Alun Michael: The public consultation exercise on the sustainable management of wild deer in England ended recently on 16 April. The consideration of written responses began on 27 April and it is too early to make decisions on how to present the outcome of this exercise. However, when the appropriate stage is reached consideration will be given to the use of conferences and/or seminars.
The Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances has held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the consultation on the UK chemicals strategy and the review of the UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum. The Government invited companies in, and organisations representing, the small and medium-size business sector to a seminar on the consultation on 15 April but there was insufficient interest expressed to run this. The approximate cost of these events was £3,100. The consultation on the UK Strategy ends on 4 May.
The Government consultation on the new EU chemicals strategy (REACH) was launched on 30 March 2004. The deadline for comment is 25 June. As part of the consultation process, I chaired a stakeholder conference on 27 April in Birmingham. Approximately 150 delegates were expected to attend representing our main stakeholder groups: industry, environmental, trade unions, and animal welfare and consumer organisations. The cost of organising the conference is estimated at approximately £25,000.
The consultation on dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in the UK environment was the first step in the development of a UK action plan on dioxins and related compounds which is a requirement of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Work is still under way and the Government are seeking further views in a second round of consultation which will feed directly into the finalisation of the action plan. To date no conferences or seminars have been held in conjunction with this consultation, but we will consider the need for such events when we are closer to completion.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans were made by her Department for (a) conferences and (b) seminars in conjunction with its consultations on (i) a strategy for fly-tipping, (ii) the definition of wild birds and (iii) a new strategy on bovine TB; what the total cost of organising each of those events was; and how many people attended in each case. [161390]
Defra has worked with ENCAMS to organise a series of nine regional seminars in conjunction with the Environment Agency, the Local Government Associations, the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Local Government Association.
The events have used the Flycapture database system but also included discussion on Defra's Fly-Tipping Strategy.
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The total cost of the seminars for England and Wales was £77,000 and over 400 delegates have attended the events that have been held so far. More detailed numbers of attendees will be available when the events have finished.
We are currently conducting a public consultation on an amendment to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in order to ensure that the definition of "wild bird" correctly transposes the EC Wild Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) by protecting all species of birds occurring in the wild state in the European territory of the member states. A short consultation document was issued on the 17 February and the consultation period concludes on 11 May 2004. The proposed amendment will not restrict trade in legally taken or captive bred specimens. The Department has no plans for conferences or seminars in conjunction with this consultation.
Defra is holding workshops across England to discuss with stakeholders the issues raised in the consultation document "Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis". There will be some seven regional workshops and a national meeting in London between 26 March and 5 May 2004, with some 50 delegates at each event. The estimated cost of organising these events is £60,000 to £65,000.
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