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14 Mar 2006 : Column 2088W—continued
Illegal Meat Imports
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to prevent illegal meat imports. [57719]
Mr. Bradshaw: Since 2003–04, an additional £25 million has been allocated by Government to tackle illegal imports of products of animal origin and plants and plant based goods.
HM Revenue and Customs has enforcement responsibility at the frontier to reduce illegal imports of products of animal origin from countries outside the European Union. Defra assists them in deploying their resources according to risk, by providing information on the animal health disease situation around the world, including the risks from new disease outbreaks. Defra and HMRC also undertake joint publicity campaigns within GB, at the border, and overseas to raise public awareness.
HMRC has doubled the number of staff who check passengers, freight and post from H5N1 affected countries. Defra and HMRC are also launching publicity campaigns on avian influenza on top of existing campaigns on illegal imports.
Lisbon Agenda
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what policies her Department has adopted to assist the United Kingdom's fulfilment of the Lisbon agenda criteria. [55682]
Mr. Morley: The Government strongly supports the renewed Lisbon focus on jobs and growth" as the best way to meet the challenges of globalisation and boost prosperity and living standards for all. The UK national reform programme details our policy response to these challenges. My Department has particular responsibilities for encouraging the sustainable use of resources and for strengthening the synergies between environmental protection and growth. Our role in promoting environmentally friendly technologies is also a component of achieving growth that is orientated towards employment and the efficient allocation of resources.
We expect the spring council in March to emphasise the importance of implementation of national commitments to reform.
My Department is also responsible for co-ordinating the Government's input into the European Council's undertaking to revise the EU's Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS) by June 2006. A major aim of our approach to the revision will be to emphasise and clarify the coherence and synergies between the EU SDS and the Lisbon agenda as agents for sustainable change.
Livestock Movements (Testing)
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the likely annual cost of Government funding of pre-movement testing of cattle. [57445]
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Mr. Bradshaw: Pre-movement testing will be introduced in England on 27 March, subject to the findings of a rapid independent survey of veterinary capacity and preparedness to deliver the new policy. All pre-movement tests must be arranged and paid for by the herd owner. Government will continue to fund routine TB surveillance tests, at a cost of approximately £40 million per year. These will qualify as pre-movement tests if the animals are moved within 60 days of testing.
Pesticides
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 11W, on pesticides, what the outcome was of her request to officials and the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) to examine whether more information on the ACP's proceedings could be made available. [56768]
Mr. Morley: The review announced in my previous reply is ongoing. I will report the outcome to the House as soon as it is concluded.
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answers of 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2670W, on pesticides, if she would consider changing Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) practice to provide for (a) full disclosure of the interests of members of the Medical and Toxicology Panel and (b) prompt publication of a detailed record of discussions held at ACP meetings. [56781]
Mr. Morley: I have no plans to change the current arrangements for the publication of the interests of the Medical and Toxicology panel. The interests of all Members of the ACP, including those on the Medical and Toxicology panel, and the affiliations of the non ACP members of the Medical and Toxicology panel are currently published in the ACP annual report.
I also refer my right hon. Friend to my answer to UIN 56785 in relation to prompt publication of the ACP minutes.
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 11W, on pesticides, if she will require the Advisory Committee on Pesticides to publish on its website (a) a list of members' interests and for such a list to be updated within a fortnight of any change and (b) its minutes and relevant papers in full within one week of each meeting. [56785]
Mr. Morley: I have no plans to change the current arrangements for the publication of the ACP Members' interests described in my earlier response.
The summary minutes of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides are currently published in draft three weeks after the date of each meeting and most Committee papers are available on request from the ACP Secretariat. This timescale is necessary to provide for adequate consultation with the Committee's members in order to ensure that the record reflects accurately the discussion that takes place.
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Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 2015W, on pesticides, what meetings with (a) pesticide companies and (b) trade associations the Government (i) has had and (ii) plans to have, since the meeting with the Crop Protection Association on 11th January 2006. [56811]
Mr. Morley: My noble Friend Lord Bach is the Minister with responsibility for pesticides. Lord Bach met with BASIS (Registration) Ltd on 13 February. BASIS is an independent organisation set up at the suggestion of the government to establish and assess standards in the pesticide industry relating to storage and sale. Lord Bach also addressed a conference organised by the Amenity Forum, which includes representatives from trade associations linked to the pesticides industry, on 1 March. No other meetings with pesticide companies or trade associations are planned at this time.
Pesticides/Chemicals
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons (a) chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis and (b) multiple chemical sensitivity are not included in the Advisory Committee on Pesticides' risk assessment process when setting exposure limits for pesticides and other environmental chemicals. [56327]
Mr. Morley: The Advisory Committee on Pesticides has considered the possibility that exposure to pesticides could cause complex multi-system disorders in a minority of individuals who are unusually susceptible and accepts that this cannot be completely ruled out. However, the Committee considers it unlikely that pesticide toxicity contributes significantly to conditions such as these because there are currently no known toxic mechanisms that would explain the patterns of symptoms reported by people with these disorders, nor is there any information about the limits on exposure that would be needed to prevent such illness occurring. Other regulatory and standard-setting bodies in the UK and internationally similarly do not include possible risks of these illnesses when setting exposure limits for pesticides or other environmental chemicals.
The Committee does believe that these types of disorders warrant further research but it does not believe that the appropriate new animal models suitable for use as regulatory tools can be developed in the near future. This is because the lack of evidence for any mechanism of action inhibits sound research in this area.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will extend the range of health issues dealt with by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. [56345]
Mr. Morley:
Ministers place no constraints on the range of health issues dealt with by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides; this is for the Committee to
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decide. The Committee looks at a wide range of health issues and continuously reviews emerging health and scientific developments related to pesticides. When the Committee feels the need for additional expertise in any area there is scope for it to seek the advice of other scientific committees with relevant expertise.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will require the Advisory Committee on Pesticides to publish full statements of their deliberations. [56346]
Mr. Morley: A summary report of all Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) discussions is published. The Department has previously considered the feasibility of publishing the detailed record of the ACP's discussions but this was not taken forward due to the fact that certain commercially confidential information is included. We have recently asked officials to look again at this issue in consultation with the ACP to see whether more information could be made available.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were employed in the Pesticides Safety Directorate in each of the last 12 months; and how many vacancies there were in each month. [56424]
Mr. Morley: The information is provided in the following table.
The vacancies recorded are the difference between the budgeted directorate's compliment and the actual number of staff in post. They will not necessarily reflect the level of recruitment conducted in any month
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