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Milk (Farmgate Prices)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the farmgate price of milk in Lancashire was at the most recent date for which information is available. [194761]

Alun Michael: The average price for milk delivered in August 2004 (the most recent month for which figures are available) is 18.43 pence per litre. This figure is for the whole of the UK as we do not hold milk price information for specific areas of the UK.

Nappies

Mr. Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the tonnage of disposable nappies used in England in each of the last five years; and whether disposable nappies will be eligible to be disposed of in landfill sites when EU restrictions on landfill use are introduced. [196967]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 8 November 2004]: Defra does not collect information on the amount of disposable nappies used.

The Strategy Unit report, "Waste Not Want Not", estimated that in 2000–01 nappies comprised around 2 per cent. of household waste, equivalent to 350,000 tonnes.

Nappies are considered to be bio-degradable waste so can still be disposed of in landfill. The Landfill Directive requires progressive reductions in the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled until 2020—in the UK.

New Forest

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on (a) commoning in the New Forest and (b) the character and landscape of the New Forest of the single farm payment regime; and if she will make a statement. [194673]

Alun Michael: In discussing how best to apply the new single payment scheme on commons, we have been mindful of the effects on commoning and environmental effects in general and on the specific situation of the New Forest.
 
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Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what account she plans to take of the inspector's recommendation for specific safeguards for verderers when she publishes her circular on the New Forest National Park; and whether this circular will be published before the park authority begins work; [197815]

(2) when she will publish a circular specific to the New Forest National Park in accordance with the recommendations of the inspector's report; whether the guidance in the circular will inform the process by which appointments are made to the park authority; and if she will make a statement. [197817]

Alun Michael: I intend to write to the New Forest National Park Authority, giving guidance on the way it might approach its responsibilities in good time for the formal commencement of its role in April. My letter will be made public and will be and sent to local organisations.

Local authorities and parish council nominations will be sought shortly, while the recruitment process for Secretary of State members of the Authority is already under way.

Night Flights

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions (a) she and (b) her Department has held with counterparts overseas on the environmental effects of night flight arrangements at airports overseas; and if she will make a statement. [196033]

Mr. Morley: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, nor Defra officials have held discussions with counterparts overseas on the environmental effects of night flight arrangements at overseas airports.

The specific environmental impacts of air transport fall under the remit of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. The DfT are currently reviewing the night flight restrictions at airports designated under s.78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted) and this review will no doubt consider the wider implications of such restrictions.

The DfT's stage 1 consultation on night restrictions from 30 October 2005 closed on 29 October and the second stage of this consultation process will be undertaken in due course.

Nitrates Directive

Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when her Department or its predecessor applied to the EU Commission for a derogation from the Nitrates Directive to allow applications of 210 kg/ha on arable land and 250 kg/ha on grass land. [193442]

Mr. Morley: The Nitrates Directive permits member states to allow applications of 21 kgN/ha for the first four-year action programme. Member states do not have to submit an application to the EU Commission in this regard.
 
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Member states may allow a different application limit than the baseline of 170 kgN/ha set by the Nitrates Directive, though they must justify that decision to the Commission. As a result of earlier discussions with the Commission, the Department has initiated research to support the UK justification for the inclusion of a higher application limit within its action programmes.

Organic Fertiliser

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the Government did not apply for a derogation on the spreading of organic fertiliser in nitrate vulnerable zones within the deadline specified; and what the implications are of not applying within the specified deadline. [193461]

Mr. Morley: Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources does not specify a deadline within which member states are required to submit any application for a derogation on the spreading of organic fertiliser in nitrate vulnerable zones.

Pesticide Residues

Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Department takes to ensure that pesticide residue levels on fruits are within (a) UK and (b) EU standards. [196907]

Alun Michael: We undertake an extensive programme of surveillance for pesticide residues in food. The programme involves the collection of 4,000 samples from retailers or other points in the distribution chain and their analysis for up to 149 different pesticides, at a cost of approximately £2.2 million a year. The programme covers around 40 different commodities each year. In 2003, 25 different fruits were surveyed.

The surveillance programme is overseen by an independent advisory committee—the Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC). The results are all published each quarter on the PRC website, at www.prc-uk.org, along with the names of the suppliers of the relevant produce. The UK surveillance programme contributes to a wider EU residues surveillance programme.

If residues are found above statutory maximum residue levels (MRLs), then a scientific risk assessment is carried out to check that there is no concern for consumers. These risk assessments are also published by the PRC. The supplier is informed and, for imported produce, the relevant authorities in the exporting country.

In cases where there are persistent exceedances of the MRL, or evidence of the use of non-approved products, an enforcement programme is undertaken, involving the collection of samples with a view to prosecution if breaches of the regulations are found.

Pet Shops

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legislation governs the inspection of pet shops in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement. [192616]

 
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Mr. Bradshaw: Under the Pet Animals Act 1951 all pet shops in Great Britain have to be licensed by the local authority. The Act provides local authority officers with powers of inspection. Pet shops in Northern Ireland are similarly regulated under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972.

The draft Animal Welfare Bill would allow for secondary legislation to be introduced, to update the 1951 Act.

Radiation Risks

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the minority report of two members of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters; and if she will make a statement. [196497]

Mr. Morley: I am aware of a report published by two members of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks from Internal Emitters (CERRIE), although a copy has not been provided to the Department. I understand that those two members attended all of the meetings of CERRIE; that their views, which they have subsequently published separately, were discussed extensively during those meetings; and that the CERRIE report addresses the points that they have raised. CERRIE was set up jointly by Defra and the Department of Health under the auspices of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), which is the Government's independent expert advisory committee in this area. CERRIE published its report on 20 October, and on the same day COMARE published its own report endorsing CERRIE's conclusions. We are currently considering with the Department of Health, COMARE, the National Radiological Protection Board and the Environment Agency how CERRIE's conclusions should be accounted for in future decisions on radiological protection.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she received the final report on the hazards of radiation from the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters; what plans she has to take action on its recommendations; and if she will make a statement. [194911]

Mr. Morley: Ministers received copies of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters' final report on 20 October, along with advice on it from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment, whose report was also published on 20 October. These are complex reports on important technical issues, which we are currently considering in conjunction with colleagues in the Department of Health, the National Radiological Protection Board and the Environment Agency to ensure that the points made by CERRIE are fully taken into account in future assessments of radiation risks from internal emitters.

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