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16 Sept 2004 : Column 1659W—continued
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Abandoned Vehicles
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research has been conducted on the number of vehicles being abandoned; and if she will make a statement. [188724]
Mr. Morley: The most recent data on the numbers of vehicles being abandoned in England has been collated through Defra's Municipal Waste Management Survey of 2002–03 and the Abandoned Vehicle Survey of 2002–03. Although these show an increase in the total amount of abandoned vehicles, the trend has significantly slowed since 2001–02.
Abattoirs
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abattoirs in the UK are licensed to kill over 30 month old cattle. [188491]
Alun Michael: There are currently 20 abattoirs in the UK contracted to slaughter cattle for the over 30 months scheme.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether cattle over 30 months may be transported to slaughter in the same lorry as those under 30 months. [188494]
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Alun Michael: Cattle over 30 months can be transported to slaughter in the same lorry as those under 30 months, providing that all necessary animal movement and welfare legislation is adhered to.
Apples
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what special programmes are in place to support and encourage apple growing in England. [186287]
Alun Michael: There are no programmes specifically to subsidise apple growing, but, Defra funds a substantial research and development programme of benefit to apple and other fruit growers. Growers are also eligible for assistance under the England Rural Development Programme. In particular, Defra's Countryside Stewardship Scheme funds the conservation of about two-thirds of England's traditional orchards.
Bastroe Channel
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2004, Official Report, column 1340W, on the Bastroe Channel, what the findings were of the independent environmental impact assessment of the Bastroe Channel project by experts appointed by the Council of Europe. [187615]
Mr. Morley: The report of the independent on the spot appraisal conducted on behalf of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention on 22–24 July 2004 will propose that the Standing Committee make the following recommendations to the Government of Ukraine:-
1. to immediately suspend ongoing works in the Bystre canal estuary and abandon implementation of phase two of the project, for the purpose of preventing any significant modification of natural habitats of species listed in appendices I and II of the Convention and settled in the neighbouring maritime and shoreline areas; to carry out in-depth monitoring in physical and biological terms of the evolution of the Bystre estuary and canal;
2. to act on the recommendations set out in the UNESCO/Ramsar appraisal report (October 2003), which called for a fuller and more in-depth environmental impact study, analysing and comparing the costs to the public of the possible alternatives and the consequences of the works at transfrontier level;
3. to organise an international workshop in autumn 2004, under the auspices of the Council of Europe, with a view to drawing up a strategic plan for the sustainable development of the Vilkova region. This event, held at the invitation of the Prime Minister of the Ukraine, should bring together, alongside the ministries responsible inter alia for regional planning, environment, tourism and transport, representatives of scientific bodies (Academy of Sciences, Kyiv University, Institute of Ecology etc), local authorities (municipality of Vilkova) and local NGOs, as well as the main international organisations concerned by the project (MAB/UNESCO, Bonn/AEWA, Bern, Ramsar conventions and ICPDR).
4. invite the other two countries signatory to the trilateral agreement on cooperation in the natural reserves of the Danube delta and lower reaches of the Prut, namely Moldova and Romania, to participate in this event.
5. to ask for the assistance of international organisations to draw up this plan, in particular WWF International and IUCN, and that of the multi lateral lending agencies for its implementation (EU, EBRD, World Bank etc);
6. to reinforce protection of the active part of the delta by including the delta isle of Limba, located close to the mouth of the Chilia arm, right bank, in the core zone of the biosphere reserve, as well as the habitats of major ecological interest, lying to the south of Vilkova and currently included in the reserve's buffer and transit zones.
It is expected that the Bureau of the Standing Committee, meeting this month, will request that this report be placed on the agenda of the Standing Committee annual meeting on 29 November for consideration, together with a draft recommendation which the Standing Committee will be invited to adopt.
Chemicals Regulation
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessments she has made of the effect on the number of experiments on animals of the new REACH regulations; and if she will make a statement. [187479]
Alun Michael: The EU proposal on REACH requires information to be gathered on chemicals in order to provide the basis for protecting human health and the environment. This information may come from a number of sources, one of which is animal testing. The Commission has estimated that this draft Regulation will require data to be gathered on approximately 30,000 chemicals. Of these, 20,000 are thought to be produced or imported in quantities of less than 10 tonnes. At this tonnage the current Commission proposal requires 25 animals per chemical, although it should be remembered that in most cases the tests are expected to demonstrate that the chemical concerned is safe and therefore involves no threat to humans or animals. It is a key objective of the UK Government's work on REACH to keep animal testing to a minimum. Discussions are continuing on that basis.
The Commission proposal would require further data as tonnage increases to reflect the greater potential human and environmental exposure. The tests performed need to comply with the relevant requirements for the protection of laboratory animals set out in Directive 86/609/EEC where, among other things, methods used must be refined in such a way as to minimise the amount of suffering caused to the animals concerned. Further, the chemical industry already has some of this data and there are other sources of information such as modelling of data and grouping of chemicals to read-across data from one chemical to another, all of which will reduce the amount of new testing that will be required. If recent experience from a major testing programme in the USA were to be duplicated in Europe, the number of new animal tests that will need to be undertaken will be significantly lower than the estimates talked about to date.
It is an overall objective, for the UK Government, in negotiating this Regulation, to ensure that animal testing is kept to the minimum necessary to protect human health and the environment. One of the ways we aim to do this is by applying an intelligent approach to testing.
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The Government welcomes the Commission's efforts to minimise animal testing and recognises that several provisos have been included in the legislative proposal to encourage maximum use of existing data, avoid duplication of testing and use alternative methods wherever appropriate.
CITES
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species; and what steps the Government can take to influence the EU position on CITES. [188117]
Mr. Morley: The UK has always sought to maintain a balanced approach to CITES issues—basing its decisions on sound science. This means promoting worthwhile and practicable conservation measures while upholding the principle of sustainable development. The views of the UK Government on these issues are widely respected both within the EU and CITES as a whole, and as such have been, and continue to be, very influential in shaping the EU position on CITES issues.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the resumption of a legal ivory trade; and what representations she has made to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on this issue. [188119]
Mr. Morley: The UK Government and the other EU member states take the view that no decision on commercial trade in ivory should be taken outside the framework agreed at the last Conference of CITES Parties in Santiago. This allowed for a one-off sale of ivory stocks held by Botswana, Namibia and South Africa subject to certain strict conditions, which have yet to be met.
It is our view that it would be inappropriate to consider any wider resumption in the commercial trade in ivory until there has been a proper assessment of the wider impact of this proposed one-off sale. This is therefore the line that the UK and other member states will take at the forthcoming CITES conference in Bangkok.
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