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Poultry Farming

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance her Department has issued to poultry farmers about making preparations to comply with any future instruction to contain their poultry under cover; what financial assistance her Department is making available to assist poultry farmers to comply with such an instruction; and if she will make a statement. [37283]

 
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Mr. Bradshaw: The Department has issued guidance, agreed with industry representatives, to keepers on how they might comply with a requirement to keep their birds separate from wild birds, where practicable.

The guidance can be found on the Defra website at: http://defraweb/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/pdf/separating.pdf

There are no plans to provide financial assistance to poultry farmers or others who might be required to separate their birds from wild birds as a result of a threat or the event of an outbreak of avian influenza.

Racehorses (Whipping)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effect of whipping on racehorses; and if she will make a statement. [36157]

Mr. Bradshaw: My Department has not evaluated or commissioned any research on the effect of whipping racehorses.

Rights of Way

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) byways and (b) bridleways have been added to the definitive map in England and Wales since the enactment of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 as a result of (i) a statement of action in a Rights of Way Improvement Plan and (ii) a Definitive Map Modification Order under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. [36827]

Jim Knight [holding answer 12 December 2005]: It is unlikely that any byways or bridleways have been added to the definitive map in England and Wales as a result of a statement of action in a Rights of Way Improvement Plan. These plans do not need to be completed until November 2007.

The majority of authorities have begun work on a plan, but only three have completed their plan—Cambridgeshire county council, Devon county council and the City of York. These plans have only recently been adopted and have not, as yet, resulted in any new byways or bridleways being added to the definitive map.

Information about the total number of Definitive Map Modification Orders under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is not collected by DEFRA. This information is held by local highway authorities and could be gathered only at a disproportionate cost.

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what total area of land has been dedicated for equestrian access under section 16 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. [36828]

Jim Knight [holding answer 12 December 2005]: No landowners in England have yet dedicated land for horse riding under section 16 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. However, I have recently approved a £1.2 million Countryside Agency research project which will explore and demonstrate how the dedication mechanism can be used to improve public access to the
 
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countryside. The project will raise awareness of dedication as well as deliver a number of actual dedications. Most dedications are likely to be for access on foot, but the agency will encourage landowners to consider dedicating suitable land for access by horse riders.

Access for horse riders features strongly in the Strategy for the Horse Industry in England and Wales, which I launched last week, and I am keen to explore with the horse industry a wide range of ways in which opportunities for safe, off-road riding can be increased.

Waterways (Moorings/Marina Berths)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions British Waterways has had with the British Marine Federation on disputes over the provision of moorings and marina berths alongside waterways; and if she will set up a protocol to deal with such disputes. [36931]

Jim Knight [holding answer 12 December 2005]: This is an operational matter for British Waterways. However, I recently met its Chairman who confirmed that both he and his executives have had a number of discussions with the President of the British Marine Federation and its executives to explore their differing views on the interpretation of competition law in respect of British Waterways' marina operations. British Waterways has developed a protocol and put in place a wide range of processes and procedures to demonstrate that its marina subsidiary is operating within the law. There still remain differences of opinion which both sides are working to resolve.

Winter Snowfall (Worcester)

Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the predicted total winter snowfall in Worcester is for (a) 2010, (b) 2020, (c) 2030 and (d) 2050. [32983]

Mr. Touhig: I have been asked to reply.

During the 21st century, snowfall is expected to decrease over the United Kingdom as a whole. This is a consequence of further warming of climate expected as a result of past and future emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols into the atmosphere. However, the predicted changes vary with location, and are subject to considerable uncertainties arising from the natural variability of climate, errors in the representation of physical processes in climate models, and uncertainties in future emissions. Therefore, it is possible that some parts of the UK could experience periods of increased snowfall during the next few decades. During the second half of the century, however, snowfall is very likely to be lower than at present, in all parts of the country.

For Worcester, the latest climate model predictions are expressed as percentage changes relative to the climate of the past 30 years. The predictions show a wide range of possible values, due to the uncertainties previously noted. For a typical year around 2010, snowfall could range from about 15 per cent. above the recent recorded levels to about 30 per cent. below. For 2020, values range from a 10 per cent. increase to a 35 per cent. reduction. For 2030, values range from a five per cent increase to a 40 per cent. reduction. For 2050, values
 
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range from a five per cent reduction to a 60 per cent. reduction. Within these ranges, the best estimates are for reductions of about five per cent, 10 per cent, 20 per cent. and 30 per cent. at 2010, 2020, 2030 and 2050 respectively.

TRANSPORT

Airspace (Extraordinary Rendition)

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers he has to deny access to UK airspace. [34631]

Ms Buck [holding answer 12 December 2005]: UK law on civil air operations is governed by the UK's obligations under the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation 1944. These obligations are translated into UK law principally through the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and the Air Navigation Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1970).

Under the Convention, contracting States may for reason of emergency, military necessity or public safety, restrict or prohibit uniformly the aircraft of other States from flying over the whole or part of its territory (Article 9).

The Convention also provides that scheduled international air services and State aircraft of another contracting State may only fly over or land in UK territory with the permission or authorisation of the UK (Articles 3 and 6),and this can be denied. The UK also requires non-scheduled services where payment is made for carriage, and passengers and cargo are embarked or disembarked, to seek prior permission.

All other aircraft have the right to land in or to fly across UK territory without the need to obtain prior permission from the UK (Article 5). However, the commander of each aircraft operating in controlled airspace in Europe is required to file a flight plan with Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. The flight plan is passed to each air navigation service provider along the route.

Crossrail Project

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the recent progress of the Crossrail Project. [34158]

Derek Twigg [holding answer 6 December 2005]: The motion to appoint the Crossrail Bill Select Committee was passed on 5 December, opening the way for the Committee to start its scrutiny of the Bill shortly.

In preparation for the Committee detailed work is currently under way to consider and, where possible, resolve issues raised by petitioners.

The Secretary of State has recently published an Access Option Policy Paper which has been sent out for consultation with the rail industry. This sets out the principles by which Crossrail will share the capacity with other traffic on the existing rail network.

In parallel, a cross-industry timetabling working group is examining the timetable developed for the introduction of Crossrail services.
 
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