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14 Jun 2005 : Column 238W—continued
Departmental Union Representation
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many trade union learning representatives there are in his Department. [3313]
Alan Johnson: DTI has eight trade union learning representatives.
Inward Investment
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of levels of inward investment into the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [1461]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 6 June 2005]: On 29 June I will be making a written statement to the House on inward investment into the United Kingdom in 2004–05 updating the one that was laid before the House last July. A copy of UKTI's 2004–05 annual report on UK inward investment will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Patio Heaters
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of outdoor patio heaters imported into the United Kingdom in each year since 1997. [4526]
Ian Pearson: The information requested is not available because the system of classification used to record trade does not separately identify outdoor patio heaters.
Race Relations Amendment Act
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of employees in the agencies in his Department are members of ethnic minorities that are (a) included and (b) not included in the schedule for the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000. [978]
Alan Johnson:
DTI agencies included in the schedule for the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 (category a) are: Patent Office, Companies House, Employment Tribunals Service, Small Business Service, Insolvency Service and National Weights and Measures Laboratory.
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There are no DTI agencies excluded from the schedule for the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 (category b).
DTI HQ does not have access to the data requested. Agencies listed under (a) were asked to supply the data requested, and have responded with the following information:
As part of the schedule for the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, the following percentages of staff have registered themselves as from an ethnic minority background:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Patent Office | 4 |
| Companies House | 4 |
| Employment Tribunals Service | 21.2 |
| Small Business Service | 7 |
| Insolvency Service | 15 |
| National Weights and Measures Laboratory | *0 |
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Abandoned Vehicles
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by councils on clearing abandoned vehicles in each year since 1997. [2414]
Mr. Bradshaw: Figures on local authority expenditure on abandoned vehicles are not recorded centrally. However, the Defra Abandoned Vehicle Survey for 2002–03 estimated that the direct costs to local authorities of investigating, removing and disposing of abandoned vehicles was £25 million.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of abandoned vehicles were investigated within (a) 24hours, (b) a week and (c) a month of a complaint being registered in the last year for which figures are available. [2426]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Government has introduced a new Best Value Performance Indicator 218 on abandoned vehicles. From April this year, local authorities are required to record and supply data on both:
(a) the percentage of new reports of abandoned vehicles investigated within 24 hours of notification and
(b) the percentage of abandoned vehicles removed within 24 hours of the local authority becoming legally entitled to do so
Figures for 2005–06 will be available later in 2006.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abandoned vehicles have been identified in each year since 1997; and how many have been cleared. [2427]
Mr. Bradshaw: Estimates for abandoned vehicles removed and destroyed were first compiled in the Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey for 2000–01.
Annual results for England are listed in the table.
14 Jun 2005 : Column 240W
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 223,539 |
| 2001–02 | 284,421 |
| 2002–03 | 291,710 |
| 2003–04 | 221,424 |
Angling Revenues
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what use is made of revenues raised from National Rod Licence fees. [2915]
Mr. Bradshaw: All rod licence revenue is used to protect, conserve and enhance freshwater fisheries and other salmonid fisheries. Actions which this revenue funds include enforcement activities, monitoring, research and development, and habitat improvement works. The Environment Agency also uses the revenue to promote the social and economic benefits of fisheries. The Government also fund EA fisheries activities in the order of £6.2 million per year.
Auction Marts
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the future of auction marts. [3639]
Jim Knight [holding answer 13 June 2005]: Auction marts continue to be important for livestock farmers, particularly for store and breeding stock. As part of the wider livestock and meat marketing chain they are not immune from change and evolution, but this can have positive impact too. New and/or redeveloped markets will include the one now being built at Cirencester which is p art funded by the Defra Rural Enterprise Scheme. In other markets there may be opportunities for business diversification. We continue to monitor the network of auction markets, and remain in regular contact with the Livestock Auctioneers Association and the Meat and Livestock Commission. The Red Meat Industry Forum, with significant contributory Government funding, is working on finding ways of helping industry improve the competitiveness of the red meat supply chain. This includes livestock auction markets.
Avian Flu
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what precautionary measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of the avian influenza virus H5N1 to the United Kingdom. [2270]
Mr. Bradshaw: If there is an outbreak of disease in an exporting country Defra takes appropriate emergency safeguard action in accordance with Community legislation. This may include a ban on imports of animals and animal products from all, or parts, of that country.
Safeguard measures in relation to Avian influenza (Al) were put in place for effected Asian countries in January 2004 and have since been extended to 30 September 2005. Restrictions were placed on South African imports in August 2004 and have now been extended to 31 December 2005.
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The situation in affected countries is kept under review and controls on imports are modified in line with community decisions. Safeguard measures are currently in place to ban or restrict imports of animals, meat and other products of susceptible species in respect of highly pathogenic Avian influenza (HPAI) in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, including the territory of Hong Kong, North Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and South Africa.
All poultry meat and birds imported into the EU from third countries must enter at designated border inspection posts where they are subject to veterinary inspections. All consignments are subject to documentary and identity checks. These checks ensure that these import conditions are met.
From the time of import, live poultry, or eggs once hatched, must be held in quarantine for six weeks in an approved establishment to ensure that they are not carrying disease.
Canada Geese
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the impact of Canada geeseon (a) the environment and (b) other forms of wildlife. [3401]
Jim Knight: Canada geese were introduced to this country to add interest to parks and are another example of unwise introductions. They are large aggressive birds, now resident and breeding in Britain. The population estimate is 96,000 in England, with a suggested annual increase in population of 10 per cent. Its size and aggressive nature enables it to dominate other native species in terms of feeding and nest site selection, which can result in other species being unable to breed. There are also reports that breeding success of other birds is affected by trampling of nests, eggs and young. The Canada goose can also interbreed with other goose species, resulting in hybrids.
Large congregations of Canada geese in parks can lead to local problems of bank erosion, fouling and intimidation of other park users, both human and wildlife.
Being resident, Canada geese may extend the period during which damage to agricultural crops may occur which can lead to conflict with farmers.
The Canada goose is not a rare species, and the numbers in England are not significant in terms of the world population.
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