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Secondments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in his Department and its agencies were seconded from the (a) private and (b) academic sector in each of the last three years. [174824]

Mrs. McGuire: Two staff joined the Scotland Office on secondment from the private sector in 2002–03. No staff have been seconded from the academic sector.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Fixed Penalty Notices

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions Merseyside local authorities have issued a fixed penalty notice for noise disturbance in each year since 1996. [178326]

Alun Michael: Merseyside local authorities have not issued any fixed penalty notices for noise disturbance since 1996.

Animal Movements

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will make a statement about hauliers picking up animals in multi pick-up and drop-off sites; [178448]

(2) how many multiple (a) pick-up and (b) drop-off licences have been issued in each of the last three years; what period they cover; how many have been renewed in each year; and if she will review the need to continue issuing these licences;. [178451]
 
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(3) if she will make a statement as to how hauliers can find out whether the farmers for whom they pick up and drop off animals hold the required licence; and what provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 apply in these circumstances. [178452]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answers 14 June 2004]: Any livestock vehicle taking livestock on to a farm and then off again as part of a multiple pick-up or drop-off movement risks spreading disease, either to the animals if disease is present on the farm, or to animals on the farm if disease is present in the animals on the vehicle.

Each farm wishing to bring stock on as part of a multiple drop-off or to move stock off as part of a multiple pick-up is required to do so only from an approved point on the farm premises. The approved point has to meet standards designed to minimise the spread of disease.

Approvals are not time limited; they remain in force until such time as the approved point ceases to meet the standards set. All approved points are approved both for multiple pick-ups and multiple drop-offs. As at 9 June 2004, there were 14,313 approved multiple pick-up and drop-off points in England and Wales.

Given the need for continued biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of disease there are no proposals to amend the requirement that multiple pick-ups and drop-offs take place only from approved points.

There are two approved methods for loading or unloading stock, one of which involves the use of trailers. These are set out in detail in each of the General Licences for the movement of livestock, and are available on the Department's website at www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/movements/sheep/sheep-

annexesa-c.pdf

It is for each haulier to satisfy himself that the points to which livestock is being delivered in a multiple drop-off, or from which they are collected in a multiple pick-up, are approved for the purpose. This might be done by checking with the keeper of the livestock at the time of agreeing the haulage contract. For these reasons, there are no data protection issues for this Department. My officials would be pleased to consider with the haulage industry how this information might be made more widely available.

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many hauliers have been prosecuted for picking up animals from farms in a multi pick-up vehicle without a licence approved by her Department; and if she will make a statement; [178449]

(2) how many drivers employed by hauling companies have been prosecuted in each of the last three years for failing to adhere to the requirements relating to multiple pick-up licences. [178450]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answers 14 June 2004]: Vehicles do not require a licence from this Department before being used in multiple pick-ups of livestock. Any prosecution relating to failure to comply with the provisions relating to multiple pick-ups or drop-offs is a matter for the local authority.
 
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Information on the number of prosecutions of hauliers for failing to observe the livestock movement provisions relating to multiple pick-ups and multiple drop-offs has been held centrally only since February 2004, since when five prosecutions have been brought. However, this Department has been made aware of five prosecutions of hauliers for offences involving multiple pick-ups or multiple drop-offs in the period between October 2003 and February 2004.

This Department does not hold information as to whether the person prosecuted was the driver of the vehicle concerned.

Bathing Water Quality

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the bathing water quality statistics were for beaches in the UK in each of the last 20 years, broken down by region. [178428]

Mr. Morley: Comparable bathing water quality statistics for beaches are only available from 1987 after the number of bathing waters within the scope of the EC bathing water directive was substantially increased. Percentage compliance with the directive's main microbiological standards was as follows:
Percentage

	England	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland
1987	56	65	57	64
1988	65	52	77	88
1989	75	70	83	100
1990	79	52	70	94
1991	74	65	88	100
1992	79	65	76	94
1993	79	78	82	94
1994	83	70	76	94
1995	89	83	88	94
1996	89	91	91	100
1997	88	78	94	88
1998	90	52	94	94
1999	90	88	99	100
2000	94	85	99	100
2001	98	85	93	81
2002	99	92	100	94
2003	99	95	99	100

A more detailed summary of bathing water quality statistics has been produced every year since 1986 and placed in the Library.

Bovine Brain Diseases

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on recent deaths of cattle from unidentified viral brain diseases. [178674]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 14 June 2004]: Following a post-mortem examination of a suspect case of botulism in a Holstein yearling heifer in September 2003 on a farm in Cumbria, the Veterinary Laboratory Agency (VA) identified a viral-type encephalomyelitis on histological examination. Examination for the most common neurotropic viruses in the UK proved negative. It was decided that veterinary practitioners
 
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should be informed by a letter to the Veterinary Record that suspect botulism cases in cattle might be viral in origin. As background for the letter an examination of VLA records with similar histological findings was carried out. This revealed 21 similar cases of polioencephalomyelitis in cattle and sheep (20 ovine 1 bovine) but with different clinical presentations from 13 premises in England over the past 10 years. The Cumbrian case was reported to the UK Zoonoses Group (UKZG) which considers possible public health action with regard to existing and emerging zoonotic infections. The UKZG suggested that the Health Protection Agency (HPA) be asked to use its recently developed risk assessment algorithm to assess public health implications once more information on the case has been collated. In the light of this decision and the 21 other cases Defra has now asked the HPA to lead a risk assessment to human health on the new condition.

Ceramics Industry

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will urgently provide to the ceramic industry the data on individual installation carbon dioxide allocations needed to assist them in their decisions on Phase I of the European Emissions Trading Scheme. [177453]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 7 June 2004]: In the National Allocation Plan published on 6 May 2004, we explained to stakeholders that installation-level allocations would be made available in late July/early August, once we have had an opportunity to incorporate comments received during the recent consultation. However, in response to a direct request from the European Commission, the UK has provided additional information relating to its NAP, including a list of provisional installation-level allocations to the Commission. This information has been provided to allow the UK NAP to be considered with the first group of NAPs later in the summer and so assist the Commission in adopting a rigorous approach when scrutinising other member state's NAPs.

This list of provisional installation level allocations has been prepared on the basis of information available at the time of submission. We have explained to the Commission that the allocations are likely to be subject to technical revision following the outcome of our consultation exercise.

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