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27 May 2004 : Column 1731W—continued
PRIME MINISTER
Cabinet Committees
Ms Munn: To ask the Prime Minister when he will next publish the full membership and terms of reference of Cabinet Committees. [176693]
The Prime Minister: I have placed a copy of the current list of Cabinet Committees, their membership and terms of reference in the Libraries of both Houses. Details have also been updated on the Cabinet Office website.
Correspondence
Mr. Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the letter reported in The Times of 21 May regarding the time taken to reply to letters from hon. Members, peers and MEPs. [176075]
The Prime Minister:
I and my Ministerial colleagues attach great importance to dealing with all correspondence quickly and effectively. On 20 May, my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) published a report on the performance of Departments and Agencies in handling correspondence from hon. Members and noble Peers for 2003. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
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Czech Republic
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Prime Minister what steps he took to secure the export of Gripen aircraft to the Czech Republic. [176221]
The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Mr. Taylor) on 9 July 2003, Official Report, column 853W.
Hunting Bill
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received about reintroducing the Hunting Bill in this Session; and if he will make a statement. [176292]
The Prime Minister: Since January I have received over 1,600 letters and cards about the issue of hunting. Given the volume of correspondence I receive, over one million letters and cards in the last year covering a broad spectrum of issues, my office records letters by subject rather than by the view expressed.
Lockerbie Bombing
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the outcome of his meeting with the Lockerbie relatives on Monday 24 May. [176998]
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The Prime Minister: I had a very constructive meeting with the Lockerbie families on 24 May. It was an opportunity for me to brief them on my visit to Libya in March and to listen to the families' concerns, which we take very seriously.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Athletics
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the financial viability of UK Sport's elite athletes programme; whether she intends to draw more funds from the devolved Governments to increase the finances available to this fund; and if she will make a statement. [176085]
Mr. Caborn: UK Sport recently presented their Business Plan for 2005–09, including details of proposed support to elite athletes, to the Sports Cabinet. The Sports Cabinet considered the proposals in terms of funding need, value for money and affordability and has requested further work be undertaken to ensure that sufficient funds are available for the next Olympic cycle. There is no intention to draw more funds from devolved Governments.
Legal Deposits Libraries Act
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding her Department has allocated for (a) the long-term storage of the British Library's newspaper collection and (b) the archiving of digital material as required under the Legal Deposits Libraries Act 2003. [175968]
Estelle Morris: DCMS recognises the key storage needs of the British Library, and in SR 2002 set aside an extra amount of capital (£3 million in 2004–05 and £8 million in 2005–06) to help the British Library address this. The Department is aware of the British Library's bid for further resources to accelerate the programme of newspaper microfilm surrogate production and to manage digital materials. This is being considered as part of the 2004 Spending Review. The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 allows for the possibility of archiving digital material; the precise manner in which this is done will be dependent on regulations which will be brought forward incrementally after consideration by an Advisory Panel.
Licensing
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects responsibility for licensing to be transferred to local authorities. [176338]
Mr. Caborn:
Licensing authorities, who will generally be local authorities, will be able to accept applications for the conversion of existing licences and club registration certificates from the first appointed day. This will be at least six months after my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State issues the Guidance to licensing authorities. The timetable for full implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 is dependent on parliamentary approval of the draft guidance, which
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was laid before Parliament on 23 March. If Parliament is content, we expect to complete the implementation of the Act around late summer 2005.
Regional Tourist Boards
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the membership of each regional tourist board has been in the last three years. [176312]
Mr. Caborn: Regional Tourist Boards are not Government agencies, their board members are not appointed by Ministers and records of their membership are not held centrally.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the expenditure of each regional tourist board has been in the last three years, broken down by main budget heading. [176318]
Mr. Caborn: Regional Tourist Boards (RTBs) are not Government agencies and records of their expenditure are not held centrally. Most of them are private companies limited by guarantee and they have income in addition to Government funding.
Funding via the English Tourism Council in 2001–02 and 2002–03 and via the Regional Development Agencies in 2003–04 totalled £6.5 million, £5.7 million and £3.6 million in these years respectively. Government funding passed to the RTBs in these years for specific tourism projects, delivery of national objectives at a regional level and activities in line with regional strategies. Separately, funding of £1.9 million per annum passed from DCMS to the Greater London Authority who, worked with the London Tourist Board (renamed VisitLondon in 2003), on marketing London overseas and tourism development.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Bisham Footpath 9
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Government office for the south-east intends to issue its decision on Bisham footpath 9, following the public inquiry, which was completed on 9 November 2003. [174012]
Margaret Beckett: The Government office for the south-east is considering the Inspector's report and expects to issue a decision next month.
Bovine TB
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the current status of the gamma interferon trials being conducted by her Department is; what the total cost so far expended on developing this test is; and what the estimated total cost fully to develop this test to the point where it can be used routinely is. [158000]
Mr. Bradshaw:
Desk studies have estimated that significant savings will need to accrue from the use of gamma interferon (g-IFN) before it becomes cost-effective in GB. The field trial of the g-IFN test taking place in Wales and the Midlands is sponsored by Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government. It aims to assess
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the cost-effectiveness of using g-IFN in infected herds in conjunction with the single intradermal comparative cervical test.
The field pilot began in November 2002, with the intention to recruit 660 herds. Recruitment to the trial has been slow, with 115 herds recruited by 19 May 2004. Approximately one third of herds recruited so far are g-IFN tested, with the other herds subject to "extra-severe" interpretation of the skin test and a control group (status quo).
From May 2004, newly recruited herds will have a 50 per cent. chance of being allocated the g-IFN treatment, with 25 per cent. allocated to "extra-severe" and 25 per cent. to "control" groups. It is hoped this will encourage more eligible herd owners to participate.
Since 1999, the Government have spent more than £900,000 on g-IFN research projects and £8.5 million on other research projects contributing to the development of g-IFN as a diagnostic test. This is in addition to the £667,000 we expect to spend on the field pilot for the test.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average number of cattle involved in a herd TB breakdown was over the last five years; what the average was in herds with repeat breakdowns; and what epidemiological significance there is to the number of animals affected in a herd breakdown. [158675]
Mr. Bradshaw: The following table details the average number of reactor cattle slaughtered per TB incident (breakdown) over the last five years:
| Reactors per incident 1 | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 2.5 |
| 2000 | 2.8 |
| 2001 | 3.1 |
| 2002 | 4.7 |
| 2003 | 3.6 |
(8) Includes all the herd incidents recorded each year (new and ongoing).
Separate figures are not available for herds with recurrent breakdowns as a subgroup of all breakdowns. This data can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The number of reactors per incident is a proxy for the severity of a TB breakdown. Severity of a breakdown is in turn determined by the number of cattle in the herd infected at the initial exposure (index animals), the time elapsed between introduction of infection in the herd and the disclosing test (or slaughterhouse case), social interactions between infective and susceptible cattle, herd size, herd management system, susceptibility of the host, the portal of entry into the host and infective dose and, possibly, the strain of "M. bovis" causing the breakdown. Confirmed TB incidents tend to last longer and yield more reactors than unconfirmed incidents.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in how many herd breakdowns in 2003 only one reactor was detected; and in how many of those herds there had been no cattle movements into the herds in the preceding 60 days. [158678]
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Mr. Bradshaw: In 2003 there were 1204 1 breakdowns with one reactor detected. Of these, the number with no cattle movements in the preceding 60 days is not centrally recorded on the State Veterinary Service database and can only be provided at disproportionate cost from other sources.
1 Provisional data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service database on 4–5 March 2004. Subject to change as more data becomes available.
Note:
For the purposes of this question a reactor has been defined as (i) an animal which reacts positively to the tuberculin test and (ii) an animal which has had an inconclusive reaction to the tuberculin tests on three occasions.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tuberculin positive reactor cattle were slaughtered in the UK in each year from 1999 to 2003 inclusive; and in how many bovine TB infection was not confirmed on culture or examination post mortem in each year. [172557]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested is given in the following table for Great Britain.
| Number of TB reactor cattle slaughtered 1 | Number of unconfirmed cases(10) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 5,910 | 2,709 |
| 2000 | 7,031 | 2,629 |
| 2001(11) | 5,048 | 2,293 |
| 2002 | 19,903 | 9,671 |
| 2003 | 20,117 | 10,180 |
(9) For the purposes of this question a reactor has been defined as (i) an animal which reacts positively to the tuberculin test or (ii) an animal which has had an inconclusive reaction to the tuberculin tests on three occasions.
(10) Failure to detect visible lesions or culture Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) from samples does not confirm the absence of infection or that the animal has not been exposed to M. bovis.
(11) In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result since 2002 the statistical data is not comparable to that of previous years.
Note:
Data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service database on 1 April 2004 (1999–2001) and 8 March 2004 (2002–03). This is provisional data, which is subject to change, as more data becomes available.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what further research she proposes to undertake to investigate TB in wildlife; and if she will make a statement. [173694]
Mr. Bradshaw: Defra is funding the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and associated research (including the Road Traffic Accident survey of badger carcases in seven English counties). A limited survey of wildlife (badgers, and deer with suspicious lesions) killed on the roads in the Furness Peninsula, Cumbria is also under way.
Recently published research highlights that the use of farm buildings and cattle troughs by badgers can constitute a TB risk to cattle. A study of possible badger/cattle interactions and how cattle husbandry methods may limit these is under way.
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Defra currently funds two research projects investigating the risk to cattle from wildlife species other than badgers. Both projects are due to be completed during 2004 and their final reports will be studied closely before deciding on future research requirements in this area.
Other work is looking at the "perturbation" effects of removing badgers from an ecosystem, innovative ways of estimating badger numbers and a project to derive economic values associated with changes in badger populations. Another project is devising strategies to diagnose M. bovis infection in badgers in the field (such as alternatives to the Brock test with increased sensitivity).
Defra is also part-funding collaborative work on the experimental vaccination of badgers with BCG in the Republic of Ireland through a contract with the Veterinary Laboratories Agency. A recent workshop (April) with the animal pharmaceutical industry discussed possible ways of taking this work forward.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the extra costs, beyond the cost of the test itself, to farmers of using a TB test; and if she will make a statement. [174082]
Mr. Bradshaw: The cost of statutory tuberculin testing by an authorised Veterinary Surgeon is currently paid for by Defra. Cattle keepers are responsible for presenting the animals for testing in a manner in which the test can be performed safely, this includes provision of the necessary cattle handling equipment and labour.
The main cost to farmers incurred for TB testing is labour use. The time spent on testing varies greatly from farm to farm, and will depend on such factors as the size of the herd, the age, breed and sex of the animals, the efficiency of the system employed, the way the cattle are handled, gathering times, preparation and cleaning times and subsequent post-test paperwork.
Some dairy farmers have also reported a reduction in milk yield on testing days.
A full Regulatory Impact Assessment will be required if proposals on pre or post-movement testing outlined in the consultation document "preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis" are taken forward. This will include an assessment of the additional economic burden to farmers.
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