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25 Oct 2004 : Column 958W—continued
Flies
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to (a) reduce the UK fly population and (b) prevent increases predicted to take place from the impact of future climate change scenarios. [192306]
Mr. Bradshaw:
There are over 6,750 different species of flies (Diptera) in Britain, many of which are beneficial insects, being natural enemies of pests, pollinators of plants and decomposers of organic material, thereby playing an essential role in the functioning of ecosystems. Many flies are also important as food for other animals (fish, birds and mammals etc.). There are
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few fly species that cause problems for people, as agricultural pests or vectors of disease, and for these species there are established preventive or control measures that can be taken. It would be both impossible and undesirable to take steps to reduce the UK abundance of flies overall.
Scenarios of climate change published by the UK Climate Impacts Programme indicate that the UK is likely to experience warmer, wetter winters, and hotter, probably drier, summers, with extreme high temperatures and rainfall events likely to occur more often. A Defra-funded research project (MONARCH) used these climate change scenarios to investigate impacts on the UK's flora and fauna. It is unlikely that flies will become more abundant overall under possible climate change scenarios. Some species may increase while others will decline, according to their temperature and humidity preferences etc.
Gangmasters
Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the data collated from the ACU 1 and ACU 2 forms returned to the Inland Revenue Agricultural Compliance Unit by those using the services of a gangmaster or employment agency will be made available to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to be established under the provisions of the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004. [192581]
Alun Michael: The Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 provides for information held by Government Departments to be shared with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, and this will include information collected on the Agricultural Compliance Unit (ACU) forms. Specific information-sharing arrangements will be finalised when the Gangmasters Licensing Authority has been established and determined the conditions to be attached to a licence.
GM Crops
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of Monsanto GM maize 810 in terms of its impact on (a) human health, (b) the environment and (c) agronomics; and what plans she has to place it on the UK seed list. [190092]
Mr. Morley: Monsanto's GM insect resistant maize MON 810 received approval under both directive 90/220/EC 1 on the deliberate release in to the environment of genetically modified organisms and under regulation (EC) No. 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning novel foods and food ingredients in 1998. Both consents were issued after an EU-wide evaluation process. Member States (including the UK) were satisfied that Mon 810 complied with the requirements of regulation 258/97 and directive 90/220 with regard to impact on human health and the environment (including the agri-environment). In the UK the respective advisory committees assessed scientific evidence for the impacts on the environment and on human health.
1 Directive 90/220/EEC was replaced by Directive 2001/18/EC
With regard to what plans the Secretary of State has to place maize varieties containing MON810 on the UK national list, the Secretary of State has no such plans. At the present time there are no UK national list applications for any varieties containing this transformation. However, 17 such varieties have recently been added to the European common catalogue and can be marketed in any Member State. These varieties are bred for the south of Europe, are late maturing and therefore unsuitable for cultivation in the UK where they are unlikely to ripen.
Greenhouse Gases
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research published in EU member states on links between fluoridised greenhouse gases and climate protection her Department has (a) received and (b) studied; and what conclusions she has drawn for UK greenhouse gas policy. [190863]
Mr. Morley [holding answer given 14 October 2004]: The Government monitors European research on the contribution of fluorinated (fluoridised) greenhouse gases to climate change. Research in this area tends to show that the contribution of fluorinated greenhouse gases to radiative forcing over the next century is small in comparison to some other greenhouse gases, and in particular CO 2 , which is expected to be responsible for approximately three quarters of the global warming experienced over this century. However, due to the persistence of fluorinated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere their contribution to climate change will extend well beyond this century.
In light of this the UK has welcomed the European Commission proposal for a Regulation on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases as an important step in meeting the challenge of climate change.
Operation Noah
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has held with representatives of the churches over their launch of Operation Noah to draw attention to the threat posed by climate change. [191108]
Mr. Morley: Officials from the Department were contacted by members of the Operation Noah team with regards to their launch. Unfortunately, diary commitments prevented the Secretary of State from attending the launch event.
The Government welcome all initiatives that aim to draw public attention to the issue of climate change.
Organic Farming
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many organic farmers there were in each county in England in each of the last three years. [191067]
Alun Michael:
The following tables give a breakdown of organic holdings in each county in England for the years 2003 and 2004.
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The figures broken down by county are not available for the year 2002. The total number of farmers and growers for England was 2,608 as at the end of December 2002.
| County | Total holdings |
|---|---|
| Devon | 344 |
| Somerset | 160 |
| Cornwall | 138 |
| Sussex | 131 |
| Yorkshire | 129 |
| Wiltshire | 125 |
| Herefordshire | 120 |
| Gloucestershire | 116 |
| Dorset | 113 |
| Lincolnshire | 92 |
| Shropshire | 91 |
| Kent | 85 |
| Norfolk | 80 |
| Derbyshire | 66 |
| Oxfordshire | 64 |
| Cumbria | 61 |
| Suffolk | 59 |
| Cheshire | 57 |
| Worcestershire | 54 |
| Hampshire | 52 |
| Lancashire | 47 |
| Northumberland | 46 |
| Essex | 45 |
| Cambridgeshire | 40 |
| Berkshire | 36 |
| Leicestershire | 31 |
| Staffordshire | 31 |
| Avon | 29 |
| Warwickshire | 27 |
| Surrey | 21 |
| Buckinghamshire | 15 |
| Durham | 15 |
| Northamptonshire | 15 |
| Nottinghamshire | 15 |
| Bedfordshire | 12 |
| Hertfordshire | 12 |
| Tyne and Wear | 7 |
| West Midlands | 7 |
| Other (1) | 34 |
| Grand total | 2,622 |
(1) Data has been treated to avoid disclosure of information relating to individual holdings
(2) Data has been treated to avoid disclosure of information relating to individual holdings
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