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Written Answers to Questions

Monday 5 July 2004

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Environmental Information Regulations

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reason is for the delay in introducing the Environmental Information Regulations that were consulted upon in draft in the autumn of 2002 and which were intended to come into force in spring 2003. [180620]

Mr. Morley: European Directive 2003/4, which ensures all member states have equal access to information and puts the Aarhus Convention into law, was published in January 2003. We have therefore had to ensure the EIRs are consistent with the Directive, which must be implemented by February 2005. In November 2003, Ministers agreed to align the EIRs with the Freedom of Information Act as far as possible.

We have also been taking into account views of Government Departments and other stakeholders raised in response to the consultation on the Environmental Information Regulations.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Environmental Information Regulations that were consulted upon in draft in the autumn of 2002 will (a) be laid before Parliament and (b) come into force. [180621]

Mr. Morley: The Environmental Information Regulations will be laid shortly, and will come into force by February 2005, in order to implement European Directive 2003/4/EC.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that the civil justice system in England meets the requirements of (a) Article 9(4) of the Aarhus Convention that review procedures must not be prohibitively expensive, (b) Article 9(2) of the Aarhus Convention that organisations promoting environmental protection should have a guaranteed right of access to a review procedure before a court of law in environmental matters; and (c) Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention that members of the public have access to administrative or judicial procedures to challenge acts and omissions by private persons which contravene provisions of national law relating to the environment. [180617]

Mr. Morley: We believe that these requirements as expressed in the terms of Articles 9(2), 9(3) and 9(4) of the Convention are already reflected in the civil justice system in England and Wales.

The Convention covers a field of competence shared between the European Community and its member states. The final form of our implementation of the
 
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access to justice provisions must therefore be determined through negotiations with our European partners. We are, however, concerned to ensure that the Community has the best possible arrangements in place to give effect to the access to justice pillar of the Convention.

The Commission's current proposals on the access to justice element of the Convention, which are still subject to negotiation, may ultimately introduce enhanced rights of access for particular organisations from other member states.

Access to Justice

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when the United Kingdom will ratify the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; [180652]

(2) if she will place in the Library her Department's assessments of the UK's compliance with each of the obligations placed upon it by the Aarhus Convention. [180618]

Mr. Morley: The Convention covers a field of shared competence between the European Community and its member states. The UK is considering the implications of existing and proposed Community, and domestic, legislation, and before ratifying, we will need to ensure that we can give effect to all the obligations in the Convention that fall within our area of competence.

We hope that it will be possible to complete ratification of the Convention in the first half of 2005.

As usual, information about the UK's implementation of these measures will be provided to Parliament when the relevant implementing measures come before it.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the findings of the report funded by her Department published on 24 March by the Environmental Justice Project entitled Environmental Justice. [180653]

Mr. Morley: The report of the Environmental Justice Project was published in November 2003. It was one of five independent studies into justice in environmental matters, which were wholly or partially funded by Defra.

Its main conclusions are that the civil law system could be improved by the establishment of an environmental court, alteration of rules on costs and improved public access to information about environmental law. The report also concluded that under criminal law the punishment of environmental offences is too low and that more judicial guidance and training is needed, along with greater powers for enforcement agencies.

The Department is currently considering these conclusions alongside the findings of the other research undertaken.
 
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Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's policy towards the proposal for an EU Directive on Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. [180654]

Mr. Morley: The Department welcomes the proposals. They provide an opportunity to consider what more is needed to complete implementation in the European Community of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. They could also support general compliance with EC environmental law. The Government's general stance in further negotiations on the proposals will be to seek alignment of Community law with the Convention. At the -same time, we will aim to ensure that the Directive is flexible enough to suit the individual requirements of each member state, and in no way restricts access to justice where it currently exists.

Animal By-products

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received about the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003. [180612]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Department undertook an extensive consultation process on the draft Animal By-Products Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003 No. 1482). Copies of the responses received are available in the Defra Library, and can be obtained on request.

Departmental officials have held regular discussions with those industries and other interested parties who have been affected by the Regulations.

Department Ministers answered over 220 PQs and 350 MCs between January 2001 and December 2003 in relation to the Regulations.

Antibiotics (Pigs)

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what amount of antibiotics is used per 1000 tonnes of live pig in the UK; and what the average figure is in the whole EU. [180371]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) publishes an annual report on the sales of antimicrobial products in the UK. The latest report, for 2002, shows that 98 tonnes (active ingredient) of antibiotics were sold for products authorised only for use in pigs. 998,000 tonnes of pigs (liveweight) were slaughtered in the UK in 2002. However, 283 tonnes (active ingredient) of antibiotic were sold for multi-species products. It is not known how much of these were for pig use. Using the pig only sales tonnage, 98.2 kg (active ingredient) of antibiotic were sold per 1000 tonnes of pigs slaughtered liveweight. As some of the multi-species products may have been used in pigs this figure is likely to be an underestimate. The VMD is working on a system to collect data that will enable the multi-species tonnage to be broken down by species but this is not yet available.
 
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The UK is one of a small number of EU member states that publish data on antibiotic sales. It is not, therefore, possible to give a whole EU equivalent.

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what restrictions exist on the use of antibiotics in pigs; and if she will make a statement. [180372]

Mr. Bradshaw: Antibiotics for use in animals are authorised either as veterinary medicinal products or as zootechnical feed additives (which include antimicrobial growth promoters). These work by increasing the efficiency of the absorption of feed in the animal's gut thereby allowing them to reach slaughter size more quickly.

The use of zootechnical feed additives in the EU is subject to Directive 70/524/EC, as amended. No feed additive may be authorised unless it satisfies criteria set out in that Directive, including a requirement that at the level permitted in feedingstuffs it does not adversely affect human or animal health or the environment. Such additives may be used only within the terms of their entry in the annexes in the Directive.

Antibiotics are also used as veterinary medicines but no antibiotic is authorised in the UK for the treatment of food producing animals unless it has first been considered by the independent, Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) which advises the Government on the safety, quality and efficacy of veterinary medicines. All such antibiotics authorised in the UK are classified as prescription only medicines. They may be administered only on the basis of a prescription issued by a veterinary surgeon who has the animals under his or her care.

In addition anybody incorporating veterinary medicines or zootechnical feed additives into animal feedingstuffs, or distributing these products, must be inspected, approved and registered by the Animal Medicines Inspectorate (AMI) of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain or the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.

A new EU Regulation 1831/2003/EC on additives for use in animal nutrition comes into force on 18 October 2004. Among other things this Regulation will ban the use of all veterinary antibiotic growth promoters from 1 January 2006.

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