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4 Oct 2004 : Column 1928W—continued
GM Seed Directive
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discretion the Government have not to implement a GM seed directive that has been added to the European common catalogue. [188621]
Mr. Bradshaw: The European Common Catalogue, established under Council Directive 2002/53/EC on the Common Catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species, is an amalgam of individual member states' national lists. Varieties that have been added to the Common Catalogue can normally be freely marketed throughout the EC.
The Common Catalogue Directive makes provision for a member state to apply to the European Commission for authorisation to prohibit the use of a GM variety within its own territory, or to lay down appropriate conditions for cultivation of the variety, where either;
(a) it has established that cultivation of the variety could pose a risk to plant health of other cultivated varieties or species, or there are valid reasons for considering that it may pose a risk to human health or the environment, or
(b) official growing trials, undertaken within that member state's territory, clearly show that the variety does not have a Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) within that member state.
I assume my hon. Friend's question relates to the recent addition of 17 GM maize varieties to the European Common Catalogue. The maize varieties in question all contain the same GM transformation event, which was given EU wide approval for commercial cultivation in 1998. The approvals process addresses plant and human health and environmental safety issues.
These varieties have not undergone any official UK growing trials, as referred to in (b) above. Therefore at present there is no basis for the Government to seek a prohibition on the marketing of these varieties in the UK. However, they are not suited to UK conditions and it is not anticipated that any UK farmer would attempt to grow these varieties.
Hazardous Waste
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make monthly statements over the following 12 months on the number of hazardous waste producers contacting her Department and the agencies for which she is responsible who have been unable to find a waste contractor able to take the hazardous waste they produce, giving details of the (a) type of waste and (b) amount of waste concerned. [187172]
Mr. Morley: The Department, the Environment Agency and Envirowise each have arrangements in place to deal with inquiries from business and industry on hazardous waste, and in particular on the changes brought in by the Landfill Directive. The agency has set up a national call centre, and Envirowise has established a dedicated helpline. Inquiries to the respective organisations are on a range of issues. I have asked my officials to collate information on the inquiries received, and place this data on the Department's website. Waste producers who cannot find a waste contractor able to take their waste are encouraged to follow a number of options including contacting the agency or Envirowise. Other options are to contact a member of the Environment Services Association, their own trade association, or check the options available to them to reduce or eliminate the hazardousness of the waste.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2004, Official Report, column 250W, on hazardous waste, if she will provide full details of the sampling process used to obtain the cross section of small businesses that received the survey; how many businesses were sent the survey; how many businesses returned the survey; and if she will place a copy of (a) the survey and (b) the full responses received in the Library. [187174]
Mr. Morley:
The survey, about awareness of hazardous waste issues, was distributed to 199 small businesses through the Institute of Directors (54) and the Small Business Service (95 electronically and 50 by post). Approximately 37 businesses returned the survey direct to Defra (17 electronically and approximately 20 by post). The 20 hard copies were not retained, but the
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original survey has been placed in the Library along with the 17 electronic returns and the compiled results for all 37 responses returned as percentages.
Hydrofluorocarbon Emissions
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what revisions, indicating amounts of increase or decrease, have been made in 2004 to the estimates of UK emissions of hydrofluorocarbons occurring in 2000 which were first reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2002 from (a) mobile air conditioning, (b) commercial refrigeration and (c) metered dose inhalers; and if she will make a statement. [188777]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 15 September 2004]: The following table shows the emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, expressed in kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, for the year 2000 that were reported by the UK to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in i) 2002; and ii) 2004.
| Sector | Emissions for year 2000 reported in 2002 (kt CO2 eq.) | Emissions for year 2000 reported in 2004 (kt CO2 eq.) | Change: [reported 2004]- [reported 2002] (kt CO2 eq.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Mobile air conditioning | 481 | 785 | +304 |
| (b) Commercial refrigeration | 2265 | 2640 | +375 |
| (c) Metered dose inhalers | 325 | 894 | +569 |
This upward revision in each of these sectors is the result of recent work undertaken for Defra on emissions estimates of hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride. The reasons for the change in emissions in the specific sectors include:
(a) In the mobile air conditioning (MAC) sector, a faster penetration of MAC in the UK vehicle fleet than previously estimated and changes to emission factors used in the emissions model;
(b) For commercial refrigeration, revised activity and equipment lifetime data for certain sub-sectors and changes to the calculation methodology and emission factors used in the emissions model; and
(c) For metered dose inhalers, revised estimates of the hydrofluorocarbons bank size based on new data from manufacturers.
Imported Primates
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many primates, broken down by species, have been imported into the UK in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement. [188716]
Mr. Morley: The following table shows the numbers of species imported. Current records commenced in 1997.
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Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) rhesus macaques and (b) long-tailed macaques of (i) wild-caught origin, (ii) first generation captive bred and (iii) second generation or more captive bred have been imported into the UK in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement. [188717]
Mr. Morley: The following tables show the numbers of animals imported. None of them were wild caught. Current records commenced in 1997.
| First generation captive bred | Second generation or more captive bred | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 0 | 184 |
| 1998 | 0 | 96 |
| 1999 | 0 | 124 |
| 2000 | 0 | 153 |
| 2001 | 0 | 46 |
| 2002 | 0 | 74 |
| 2003 | 0 | 2 |
| 2004 | 0 | 20 |
| Total | 0 | 699 |
| First generation captive bred | Second generation or more captive bred | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 628 | 76 |
| 1998 | 2,338 | 104 |
| 1999 | 927 | 259 |
| 2000 | 1,376 | 223 |
| 2001 | 1,581 | 386 |
| 2002 | 1,574 | 578 |
| 2003 | 1,474 | 385 |
| 2004 | 517 | 138 |
| Total | 10,415 | 2,149 |
| Grand total | 12,564 |
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