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12 Sept 2005 : Column 2300W—continued

Animal Experimentation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the division of responsibilities in respect of animal experiments between her Department and the Home Office. [14220]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 makes provision for the protection of animals used for experimental or other scientific purposes in the United Kingdom. The 1986 Act is administered and enforced by the Home Office in England, Scotland and Wales and by the Department of Health, Social Security and Public Safety in Northern Ireland.
 
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In cases where animals are kept at establishments designated under the 1986 Act but do not otherwise fall within scope of the Act (eg because they are not being kept for breeding purposes under the 1986 Act, or are not actually undergoing experimental or scientific procedures), the Protection of Animals Act 1911 applies, in England and Wales. Similar legislation exists in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Defra is responsible for the 1911 Act in England.

Animal Fairs

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of the role of animal fairs on illegal trade in wildlife; and whether related prosecutions have taken place in the last three years. [14087]

Jim Knight: Animal fairs, like any other legal trade fora, can provide an opportunity for illegal transactions to take place. We have not assessed whether such fairs encourage the illegal trade and prosecution statistics do not identify which, if any, illegal trade cases have arisen from this type of event.

Bovine TB

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of badgers killed due to (a) road vehicles, (b) illegal action, (c) Government-organised badger culling programmes and (d) other causes in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [13033]

Mr. Bradshaw: It is not possible to provide an estimate for each of the categories requested as no data is centrally held for the number of badgers killed due to illegal persecution or other causes. However, seven suspected incidents of illegal badger culling activities have been identified since February 2002 and reported to the police authorities.

(a) Between 2000 and May 2005 3,897 badgers were collected, killed due to road vehicles, within the Road Traffic Accident survey area which operates in the seven counties of Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Dorset. Outside of the seven counties no data are collected.

(b) 9,758 badgers have been dispatched since 1998 under the Government-organised Randomised Badger Culling Trial.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle have been culled as a consequence of bovine tuberculosis infection in each year since 1997, broken down by county. [14231]

Mr. Bradshaw: The number of cattle culled as a consequence of bovine tuberculosis infection in each year from 1997 to 2004 by county is provided in eight tables, which will be made available in the Library in the House.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many bovines tested positive for bovine tuberculosis as a
 
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percentage of the total number of bovines in each of the counties of England and Wales in the past 12 months for which figures are available. [14451]

Mr. Bradshaw: The information is not centrally held in the format requested. However, the following table provides data on the number of confirmed new herd incidents, broken down by county for 2004.
Confirmed new herd incidents—1 January to 31 December 2004

RegionTests on unrestricted herdsConfirmed new herd incidents (CNIs)CNIs as percentage of tests on unrestricted herds
England and Wales total43,3931,7233.97
England total34,2871,4074.10
Wales total9,1063163.47
England
Avon1,053464.37
Bedfordshire51
Berkshire89
Buckinghamshire204
Cambridgeshire93
Cheshire1,173161.36
Cleveland5911.69
Cornwall3,4692096.02
Cumbria2,223170.76
Derbyshire1,147403.49
Devon5,5203967.17
Dorset994222.21
Durham39910.25
East Sussex26583.02
Essex89
Gloucestershire1,5441358.74
Greater London—East9
Greater London—South East17
Greater Manchester166
Hampshire281
Hereford and Worcester2,1152009.46
Hertfordshire55
Humberside34161.76
Isle of Wight54
Isles of Scilly3
Kent217
Lancashire676
Leicestershire45651.10
Lincolnshire39730.76
Merseyside33
Norfolk30910.32
North Yorkshire (48)1,23460.49
North Yorkshire (50)5811.72
Northamptonshire26251.91
Northumberland656
Nottinghamshire17731.69
Oxfordshire24731.21
Shropshire1,705633.70
Somerset2,008723.59
South Yorkshire11710.85
Staffordshire1,779693.88
Suffolk18210.55
Surrey127
Tyne and Wear30
Warwickshire32051.56
West Midlands34
West Sussex17610.34
West Yorkshire29610.34
Wiltshire1,378705.08
Total34,2871,4074.10
Wales
Clwyd54940.73
Dyfed4,4241543.48
Gwent895364.02
Gwynedd58640.68
Mid Glamorgan16921.18
Powys2,1611044.81
South Glamorgan82
West Glamorgan240125.00
Total9,1063163.47




Source:
Provisional data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service Data Warehouse on 19 May 2005. Subject to change as more data become available.





 
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Cattle

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the over thirty months scheme will end; and if she will make a statement. [13175]

Jim Knight: We believe that the lifting of the OTM Rule for cattle born after 1 August 1996 will bring a much needed boost to the income of the livestock industry through increasing the market return on cull cows.

We are hopeful that the replacing of the OTM rule with a robust BSE testing regime will only serve to increase consumer confidence in the safety and quality of UK beef.

We expect the changes to the OTM rule to happen towards the end of this year, subject to Government being satisfied that the BSE testing regime is robust. The over thirty months scheme will then be replaced by a three year Older Cattle Disposal Scheme to dispose of cattle born before 1 August 1996.

Climate Change

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what decisions were reached by the recent meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on the impact of climate change. [14171]

Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply.

The decision of the 30th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on the impact of climate change is set out as follows. The UK will play an active part in realising this decision through support to an expert working group.


 
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Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which actions required of the UK Government in the G8 Plan of Action on climate change are not already being undertaken by the UK Government. [14995]

Mr. Morley: We have already started work on all aspects of the G8 Gleneagles Plan of Action on climate change. Discussions of the more formal arrangements for implementation will take place with other countries through the G8 climate change Dialogue and it's first meeting on 1 November 2005.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which items of the G8 Plan of Action are not (a) already part of agreements made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and (b) already being undertaken by other international bodies of which the UK is a member. [14996]

Mr. Morley: The Gleneagles Plan of Action is a new agreement between G8 partners to take action on climate change, clean energy and sustainable development through a series of items on transforming the way we use energy, powering a cleaner future, promoting networks for research and development, financing the transition to cleaner energy, managing the impact of climate change and tackling illegal logging. We will be utilising existing networks to achieve our goals, as well as setting up new agreements.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate has been made of the change in carbon dioxide
 
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emissions that would result from the full implementation of the G8 Plan of Action on climate change. [14997]

Mr. Morley: Assessments of the change of carbon dioxide emission have been made throughout the drafting and negotiation of the G8 Gleneagles Plan of Action on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development. Although it is very difficult to quantify the impacts of the package as a whole our assessment of the final Plan of Action suggests that if implemented fully, with full participation from all the countries involved, those measures that can be more easily quantified will deliver annual savings of around 550 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2010—approximately equivalent to the emissions of the UK. By 2030 this is expected to rise to 4,500 MTCO2e—this is equivalent to around 19 per cent. of current global emissions.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much additional investment in clean energy technologies from (a) public and (b) private sources is guaranteed under the G8 Plan of Action on climate change. [14998]

Mr. Morley: The G8 Plan of Action on climate change is a comprehensive programme of specific actions on clean energy and energy efficiency. The World Bank has agreed to lead on developing a framework for investment to finance these changes, which will be discussed at the first meeting of the G8 Climate Change Dialogue meeting on 1 November 2005.


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