| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
14 Mar 2007 : Column 335W—continued
Nimrod Aircraft
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average age is of Nimrod aircraft in the UK fleet. [126590]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 October 2006, Official Report, column 985W to the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Bone).
Peace Keeping Operations: Democratic Republic of Congo
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current establishment level is working with UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and what the future establishment is likely to be. [126967]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 13 March 2007]: The UK currently has six military officers working in the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the post of chief of staff in the Eastern division in Kisangani. We have no plans to change our contribution, but would consider any requests to do so, should the UN declare a review of its commitment at some future point.
Red Arrows
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) recruitment to and (b) morale of the RAF of maintaining the Red Arrows. [127004]
Des Browne: No specific study has been undertaken to assess the effect on recruitment and morale of maintaining the Royal Air Force Acrobatic Team, popularly known as the Red Arrows. That said, many potential recruits mention that one of the motivating factors for their interest in joining the RAF is the Red Arrows.
Warships: Procurement
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the 28 new ships referred to by the Minister for the armed forces on 26 February 2007, Official Report, column 660, as having joined the fleet since 1997, together with the dates on which each of them (a) was ordered and (b) joined the fleet. [126228]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 12 March 2007]: Details of vessels taken into service since 1997 are as follows:
| In-service date | Year ordered | Description |
|
Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary), Mounts Bay, Largs Bay, Cardigan Bay |
The total number of vessels that have entered service since 1997 now stands at 29, following the acceptance into service of RFA Cardigan Bay in December 2006.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Avian Influenza: Halton
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who paid the catchers of the H5N1 infected turkeys at Halton; and what (a) briefing and (b) instructions they were given prior to undertaking that task. [126244]
Mr. Bradshaw: The majority of catchers used at Holton were either employees of, or contracted to, Bernard Matthews. In addition to these individuals, a team of catchers directly contracted to my Department, but working under the supervision of Bernard Matthews were deployed to the site on Sunday 4 February. Their briefing and instructions covered health and safety, biosecurity and animal welfare considerations.
The State Veterinary Service (SVS) supervised the catching and culling operation.
The Health Protection Unit was fully engaged with human health risk assessments for SVS staff, farm workers and those involved in the control operation. As a precautionary measure, those involved in disease control were offered the appropriate preventive treatment with antiviral drugs (oseltamivir), seasonal flu vaccine and avian influenza personnel protective equipment, in line with established protocols.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timescale is for the development of a new strategy on bovine tuberculosis. [126284]
Mr. Bradshaw: The ‘Government strategic framework for the sustainable control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in Great Britain’ was published in March 2005 with the aim of bringing about a sustainable improvement in the control of bTB over a 10 year timeframe. In accordance with the strategic framework, the Government are working in partnership with interested organisations to reduce bTB by tailoring policies to reflect regional variation in disease risk and emerging evidence.
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what change there has been in the incidence of TB in the badger population in the last 12 months; [126598]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of change in the incidence of TB in the badger population on the incidence of TB in cattle. [126599]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 March 2007, Official Report columns 2005-06W.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment his Department has made of the impact of bovine tuberculosis testing on small scale sales of livestock, including auction marts; [127455]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the cost of tuberculosis testing of farms with small numbers of livestock. [127456]
Mr. Bradshaw: The impact of pre-movement testing on livestock markets and small herd owners was considered in a regulatory impact assessment (RIA), which is available on the DEFRA website at:
I have arranged for copies of this document to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Options are available to obviate the need for pre-movement testing. Exempt markets and exempt finishing units provide a route for moving and marketing cattle that normally should be pre-movement tested without being tested. Herd owners can also discuss with their local Animal Health Divisional Office the possibility of utilising their routine surveillance test as pre-movement tests by moving it forward to coincide with the time of year that they make their peak cattle movements.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to improve the management of private vets in their undertaking of state-funded tuberculosis testing since the DNV Consulting report on veterinary surgeons within the Meat Hygiene Service. [126237]
Mr. Bradshaw: Staff from the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) do not carry out TB testing on live cattle. The DNV consulting report, “Review of TB Testing”, considered testing by local veterinary inspectors and staff within the State Veterinary Service (SVS) only.
A CD-rom training package is being prepared for use by all veterinary surgeons undertaking TB testing, which will be rolled out shortly. The instructions for carrying out the test have also been revised. The management of
private veterinary surgeons in relation to TB testing is being reviewed as part of the “Official Veterinarian” Reform programme. The aim of this programme is to create a more formal relationship with the practitioner in terms of quality assurance etcetera. A pilot is due to start next month.
EU Emissions Trading Scheme
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of allowances under the UK national allocation plan of the EU Emissions Trading scheme he plans to be (a) auctioned, (b) sold without auction and (c) distributed free to account holders in the Emissions Trading Registry under (i) the first phase of the scheme and (ii) the second phase of the scheme; and if he will make a statement. [125286]
Ian Pearson: The EU Emissions Trading scheme directive requires 95 per cent. of allowances to be allocated for free in Phase I and 90 per cent. of allowances to be allocated for free in Phase II.
The UK’s Phase I National Allocation plan (NAP) states that we intend to sell or auction any surplus allowances remaining in the new entrant reserve (NER). The original NER consisted of 6.3 per cent. of the total allocation and most of this has now been allocated, so the UK has been able to quantify the surplus available for auction or sale. On 23 February, DEFRA announced that we would sell some surplus allowances through brokers. The exact number of allowances to be sold is market sensitive information.
The UK’s Phase II NAP states that we will auction 7 per cent. of allowances plus any surplus NER and allowances from closures. Should the total which makes up this “auctioning pot” reach more than 10 per cent. we will cancel allowances so that we don't exceed the maximum allowed in Phase II. “Auction” encompasses sale, auction and any other routes to market for charge. The route to market will be dependent on market conditions. We expect to hold the first Phase II auction early on in this phase.
Foot and Mouth Disease: Disease Control
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what controls are imposed on imported food from countries where foot and mouth disease has existed in the last five years. [124983]
Mr. Bradshaw: Before a third country is approved to export to the European Union (EU), the exporting country must have:
(i) an acceptable disease status
(ii) a recognised standard for relevant control authorities
(iii) guarantees with regard to compliance with EU import rules; and
(iv) results of European Commission missions to the country.
All meat imported from third countries must be accompanied by veterinary certification. This must confirm that the meat is derived from animals that have been subjected to a veterinary inspection during the 24 hour period prior to slaughter and showed no signs
of foot and mouth disease. The meat must enter the UK at designated border inspection posts, where it is subject to veterinary inspections.
All consignments are subject to documentary and identity checks and at least 20 per cent. of consignments undergo physical checks by an official veterinary surgeon. These measures ensure import conditions are met and that the products remain in a satisfactory condition during transport.
Meat imported from other member states is not checked at the frontier, but is subject to random checks at the point of destination.
If there is an outbreak of disease likely to present a risk to human or animal health, Community legislation allows us to take appropriate safeguard action, which may include a ban on imports of meat from all, or parts, of that country.
National Coastwatch Institute
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department makes use of information gathered by the National Coastwatch Institute as part of its work assessing coastal shores. [126199]
Dr. Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Transport and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency value the contribution the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) make in informing Her Majesty’s Coastguard about any potential or actual incidents relating to safety at sea and on the coast. The Coastguard will take appropriate action in response to reports of people in difficulty received from the NCI.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not use information gathered by the NCI as part of its work in assessing coastal shores.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |