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Agriculture and Fisheries Council

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcome was of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 19 July; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement. [185932]

Margaret Beckett: I represented the United Kingdom at a meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on 19 July 2004.

The new Dutch Presidency presented its work programme for the next six months. Key themes will be sustainable agriculture and its public responsibilities, and initiatives to reduce the administrative burden on the industry.

The Presidency and Commission presented plans for greater member state co-operation on agricultural research in order to maximise value for the money spent. The UK Government strongly supports this initiative.

The Commission reported on negotiations with Russia to renew certification arrangements covering animal and animal product imports from the EU. The negotiations are currently deadlocked and the Presidency indicated that it was planning an intervention at political level in an attempt to unblock them.

Member states were asked whether their views had changed with regard to a Commission proposal to authorise the marketing of a variety of GM maize which had failed to get qualified majority support in the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. The UK has supported this approval on the basis of the safety assessments carried out and our position remained unchanged. Member states failed to give the proposal majority support, but if the Council fails to act within three months the Commission will have the authority to proceed with its approval.

The Commission presented its proposal for a European Fisheries Fund to replace the existing Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG). The main focus will be to eliminate excess fishing capacity and use structural measures to reinforce stock recovery plans.

The Council held a public debate on the Commission's new proposals for changes to the Rural Development Regulation. I stressed the need for more flexibility and better value, for a greater transfer of resources from Pillar 1 to Pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy, for more emphasis on environmental schemes and for a fairer allocation of rural development resources. There will now be detailed negotiation at official level which will extend over a number of months.

The Council also debated a new Commission communication on its preferred option for reform of the CAP sugar regime. The proposal calls for significant cuts in EU price support with a further review of the regime in 2008. I gave a general welcome to the proposals as a step in the right direction, while urging a
 
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swifter end to quotas and emphasising the need to address urgently the impacts on those developing countries which currently enjoy preferential access to the EU market. Again, the proposal will now be remitted for detailed consideration at official level.

The Council was asked to vote on proposals to change the import tariffs for rice which the Commission has been negotiating with India, Pakistan, Thailand and the United States. The Commission had failed to get agreement with the last two countries which felt that the proposals increased tariffs to a degree that breached WTO rules. While welcoming the agreement with India and Pakistan, I voted against the proposal on the grounds that the Commission was seeking to implement the changes on a basis which was contested by some of the parties and that they should instead continue negotiations. The Council, however, voted by qualified majority to adopt the proposal although a number of those voting in favour urged the Commission to continue negotiating with the United States and Thailand with a view to reaching an agreed conclusion.

The Presidency urged the Commission to come forward soon with proposals to address the illegal timber trade. I endorsed this call.

In an informal exchange of views after the Council had ended, the Commission updated Ministers on the latest developments in the current round of WTO negotiations. I supported the Commission's efforts towards securing a framework agreement at the WTO General Council on 27 and 28 July.

Animal Welfare Bill

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to publish the Animal Welfare Bill; and whether it will be a draft bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. [182278]

Mr. Bradshaw: The draft Animal Welfare Bill was published on 14 July 2004 and will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by the EFRA Select Committee.

Auction Marts

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the role of auction marts in rural life; and if she will make a statement. [186096]

Alun Michael: Auction markets play an important role in the marketing of farm animals, particularly between the different stages of production. As part of the wider rural development agenda, we are alert to the opportunities for business diversification in livestock auction markets. Processing and Marketing Grants and the Rural Enterprise Scheme have been used to develop the role of auction markets, such as at the Craven Cattle Market in Skipton.

We also provide funds to the Red Meat Industry Forum which is working on ways of helping industry improve the competitiveness of red meat supply chains. This work includes auction markets.

Biodiversity

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what action
 
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the Government is taking to promote a biodiversity indicator for Europe to measure progress towards halting biodiversity decline by 2010; [186130]

(2) whether the Government intends to make representations to the European Commission to include a biodiversity indicator on the shortlist of indicators presented in its synthesis report to the 2005 EU Spring Summit. [186131]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Department has worked with the Commission, other Member States and stakeholders to agree a set of fifteen headline indicators to be used to measure progress towards the target of halting biodiversity loss in Europe by 2010. At the Council meeting in June, European Environment Ministers welcomed these proposals and urged the Commission to develop, test and finalise this set by 2006. Officials and experts from the UK are now engaged in a process led by the European Environment Agency to develop and test these indicators using the data which are currently available. The Government has advocated that one of the fifteen headline indicators should be used to represent biodiversity in the list of structural indicators reported to the Spring Council of Ministers.

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the robustness of the Pan-European Common Bird Index as an indicator of biodiversity; and whether she will promote this index as the biodiversity indicator for Europe. [186132]

Mr. Bradshaw: My officials, and statutory advisors, will review the suitability of indicators proposed by the Commission with regard to their scientific validity, relevance to the 2010 biodiversity target and public appeal. Provisional versions of a Pan-European Common Bird Index seen by officials appear to offer strong potential and present a similar picture for Europe as the UK farmland bird index.

Biofuels

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on tax on biofuels; and if she will make a statement. [185212]

Mr. Morley: The Department is in regular contact with Treasury Ministers to discuss a whole range of matters related to energy and environmental policy. In addition, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, meets regularly with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a wide range of matters that affect the business of the Department. As with all tax matters, decisions on tax incentives rest with the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Bovine TB

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of whether reported incidence of bovine TB in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 offer a secure statistical baseline against which differences in incidence in 2004 may be measured. [184694]

 
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Mr. Bradshaw: TB testing was all but suspended during the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in 2001 and did not fully recover to pre-FMD levels until February 2002. The effect of this suspension of testing on the underlying trends in TB incidence for 2001 and subsequent years is hard to gauge, for the following reasons:

The TB testing effort in 2002 was initially aimed at high-risk herds.

Disease would have had more time to spread in herds where normally it might have been detected more quickly.

Restocking of herds after FMD led to the disease being spread to areas it had not been found for some time.

The level of testing in 2002 and 2003 required to clear the backlog was much higher than normal (the backlog was reduced to pre-FMD level by spring 2003).

The trends seen in TB herd incidence and number of reactors slaughtered in 2001 and 2002 should, therefore, be treated with caution and are probably not comparable with those of earlier years. TB incidence rates and testing patterns for 2003 and 2004 appear to have settled down enough to make valid comparisons with pre-FMD trends.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the average costs to UK dairy farmers of providing biosecurity to ensure complete separation of cattle and badgers. [184808]

Mr. Bradshaw: Defra has not carried out an assessment of the cost of complete separation. These will vary significantly from farm to farm. Improving biosecurity provides a range of benefits for many diseases. The measures that are taken should be based on a risk assessment approach and the costs of any specific measure balanced against its likely benefits. Complete separation of wildlife and farmed livestock may not be either practical or cost effective, but farmers should consider what measures they can take to reduce the interaction of wildlife with their animals.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidelines her Department (a) issues and (b) plans to issue to secure full biosecurity of grazing pastures in order to ensure complete separation of cattle and badgers. [184809]

Mr. Bradshaw: Complete biosecurity is seldom possible where wildlife is concerned, but farmers are advised to minimise contact between their cattle and wildlife. Currently advice is issued to farmers in the form of the booklet "TB in cattle: reducing the risk." Advice to individual farms that suffer a TB breakdown will normally be offered by a Veterinary Officer of the State Veterinary Service.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidelines her Department issues on when it is appropriate to carry out a survey to establish the adequacy of biosecurity measures on a working farm. [184810]

Mr. Bradshaw: There are no specific Departmental guidelines setting out advice on the conduct of surveys to establish the adequacy of biosecurity measures on a working farm.
 
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The Department has published advice on biosecurity—Better Biosecurity Provides Peace of Mind, Healthy Stock and a More Viable Business, and through the Codes of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock for specific species, which while primarily concerned with welfare, also provide guidance on biosecurity issues. These Codes support the statutory requirements under the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2000, that animals shall be cared for by a sufficient number of staff who possess the appropriate ability, knowledge and professional competence. The Codes give clear recommendations on biosecurity measures and the need for written health and welfare plans, prepared with the farmer's veterinary surgeon and, where necessary, other technical advisers. Farm assurance schemes may require evidence of such health and welfare plans when auditing farms.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the effects on badger population levels should the farming community succeed in securing complete biosecurity of their farms and crops and excluding badgers from these areas. [184811]

Mr. Bradshaw: While no formal assessments have been made, research currently under way at the Central Science Laboratory suggests that badgers exploit growing crops (mainly cereals) close to or at maturity, especially during extended dry periods. Also, they may feed on poorly-stored farm feeds at all times of the year, but particularly during extended dry periods. These represent times when the badgers' natural food sources are of very limited availability and when badger mortality may otherwise be higher.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the change in incidence of bovine TB in cattle is when compared against a baseline of incidence in 1999. [184812]

Mr. Bradshaw: The incidence of TB in cattle herds in Great Britain in 1999, measured as the percentage of tests on unrestricted herds resulting in a confirmed breakdown, was 2.3 per cent. In 2003, the (provisional) incidence was 3.5 per cent. In absolute terms, this represents an increase in herd incidence for Great Britain of 1.2 percentage points.

Source:

National Statistics

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what studies her Department has undertaken of the extent to which the level of bovine TB in cattle reported on the Somerset levels is attributable to the population density of badgers in the same area. [184813]

Mr. Bradshaw: There are no data on the relationship between badger population density and the incidence of TB in cattle, nor are there any published data on the density of badger populations at a county scale. The National Badger Survey reports on estimated badger numbers at a regional level (eg the south-west). Although there are certainly areas of Somerset that are not ideal badger country, it is not possible to categorically state that badger density in Somerset is significantly lower than elsewhere in the south-west.
 
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Since 1997 until earlier this year, investigation of the prevalence of TB in wild badgers has been restricted to the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and the Road Traffic Accident survey of badgers found dead in seven counties (Somerset is not one of the counties selected for this survey). The trial will provide some information on badger numbers within the triplet areas, which could be related to cattle herd breakdown rates. However, badger density estimates may not be very reliable even in trial areas (they would be based on trapping returns and field survey information). This year, an additional limited survey of badgers found dead in Cumbria is being undertaken.

Part of the recent consultation on Defra's proposed short term strategy incorporated surveillance of badgers found dead in emerging TB hotspots (the concept of an emerging hotspot is explained in Chapter 5.3 of the consultation document "Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis" which was published in February 2004).

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to receive results from the Irish trials into Bovine TB. [185195]

Mr. Bradshaw: Defra officials are in regular contact with officials from the Republic of Ireland, and they have undertaken to inform me as soon as a publication date is known.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of deer as a potential source of infection for bovine TB. [185609]

Mr. Bradshaw: A recently published report by the Central Science Laboratory funded by Defra confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium bovis (the causative organism for bovine tuberculosis) in a number of wildlife species. Bovine TB was found in five out of the six deer species in Great Britain, including, for the first time, muntjac deer.

The report adds to the body of evidence on TB in wildlife, but it is not clear what level of risk deer pose as a potential source of bovine TB infection in cattle. Defra is currently considering what future research is required in this area.

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