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10 July 2007 : Column 1362W—continued
Armed Forces: Dental Services
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make available the most recent review by the Defence Dental Services of dental treatment for service families in the UK, and place a copy of the review in the Library. [145196]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 25 June 2007]: I will write to the hon. Member.
Armed Forces: Deployment
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of personnel in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force exceeded their separated service guidelines in the last period for which figures are available. [148231]
Derek Twigg: The information is shown in the following table:
| Percentage | |
Departments: Ministerial Powers
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence of which ministerial directions his Department has been notified since 22 November 2006. [148221]
Des Browne: I assume that the hon. Member is seeking ministerial directions since the answer given by the Financial Secretary on 22 November 2005, Official Report, column 1910W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice).
There has been one ministerial direction since 22 November 2005. On 29 June 2006, I directed the Accounting Officer to proceed with the formal underwriting of the Armed Forces Memorial (AFM) in the sum of £3.3 million which represented the balance the AFM Trustees required fully to fund the project.
Military Bases: Wales
John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) military and (b) civilian personnel he expects will be based at MOD St. Athan when the new military academy is complete. [147282]
Derek Twigg: The scale of the facility to be constructed at St. Athan is dependent upon the outcome of further work with the Metrix Consortium which is exploring the possibility of a Whole Programme Solution.
Nuclear Weapons: Transport
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will (a) instigate a moratorium on transporting nuclear warheads to Scotland by road during the current critical security alert and (b) ensure that any warheads currently ready for delivery are disassembled and remain at the Atomic Weapons Establishment. [147861]
Des Browne: The safety and security of the UK nuclear weapons is paramount. Any transportation is kept to a minimum consistent with operational requirements and all such movements are kept under constant review. This includes an advance evaluation of all relevant factors, including the risks and threats prevalent at the time, and involves close liaison with all appropriate stakeholders, including the civil authorities. Each movement is subject to procedures that are robust and sensitive to changing circumstances and priorities, commensurate with national defence and security requirements.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agricultural Products: Prices
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2007, Official Report, columns 2086-88W, on agricultural products: prices, what the farmgate price was of each product; and where there is no equivalent farmgate price, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that such a comparative analysis is available. [147587]
Jonathan Shaw: The answer of 19 June 2007, Official Report, columns 1665-66W, provided the farmgate prices for the nearest equivalent products to those for which retail prices were given in the answer of 21 June 2007, Official Report, columns 2086-88W.
There was a close match for many of the items. The nearest equivalent farmgate products for meat cuts are deadweight whole animals. The nearest equivalent farmgate product for flour is milling wheat. Farmgate prices for eggs by size category are not published because of a risk of disclosure of confidential information.
Agriculture in the United Kingdom (Table 7.2 in the 2006 edition) provides an analysis of farmers share of a basket of food items.
Agriculture: Cornwall
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of Cornwall’s total gross value added was represented by farming in each year since 1996. [147733]
Jonathan Shaw: Please find as follows figures showing the proportion of GVA for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly that is represented by agriculture. Figures for the South West region have also been provided as background information.
Agriculture: Subsidies
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers received single payment scheme payments of (a) between £50,000 and £500,000, (b) between £500,001 and £1 million and (c) over £1 million in 2006. [146243]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 29 June 2007]: The numbers of claimants who have received payments to date for the single payment scheme year 2006 are as follows:
| Number | |
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether all single farm payments for the year 2006 have been paid in full. [146244]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 29 June 2007]: As of 30 June 2007 the total value of payments made under the single payment scheme for 2006 is £1.49 billion, which is 98 per cent. of the estimated total fund of £1.52 billion.
A total of 107,088 customers have received either a full or partial payment. This represents 98.2 per cent. of the estimated total claimant population of 109,000.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of claimants still awaiting payment under the 2005 Single Farm Payment scheme in (a) England, (b) Gloucestershire and (c) Forest of Dean. [148276]
Jonathan Shaw: In England, as of 13 June 2007, 20 claimants have not received a payment for the 2005 Single Payment Scheme (SPS).
As of 30 June 2007 the total value of payments made under the SPS for 2006 is £1.49 billion, which is 98 per cent. of the estimated total fund of £1.52 billion.
A total of 107,088 customers have received either a full or partial payment. This represents 98.2 per cent. of the estimated total claimant population of 109,000.
Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.
Animal Welfare: Dogs
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to bring forward legislation to ban the use of electric shock collars for dogs. [146584]
Jonathan Shaw: There are no plans to ban the use of electric shock collars. However, we recognise that future research into electric shock collars is a priority. The Department has circulated a new call for research, in the form of a Limited Tender Call, with the aim of taking forward any research on or after April 2007. The aim is to obtain independent scientific evidence so that a decision can be taken as to whether or not there is a need for regulation in this area.
We have also asked the Companion Animal Welfare Council, in its role as advisory body to the Government on companion animal welfare matters, to undertake an independent study of available evidence on the use of electronic training devices. The outcome of this study will help inform DEFRA policy and will complement any separate research that DEFRA commissions into these devices.
If regulation were considered necessary there would be a full public consultation before any regulations were drafted and put to Parliament. All research into these areas commissioned by the Government will be put in the public domain.
Animal Welfare: Education
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Department for Education and Skills on introducing animal welfare education classes to schools. [146583]
Jonathan Shaw: No such discussions have taken place. However, I am aware that in Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE), pupils learn to “take and share responsibility”, which can include looking after animals properly. In addition, many local authorities run their own animal welfare education schemes in schools. For example, both Coventry city council and the London borough of Lambeth give regular performances and presentations on animal welfare at primary and secondary schools. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also provides teaching resources for animal welfare education for use in classrooms.
Beef: Brazil
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his officials last visited Brazil to check the traceability and identification procedures required for beef exports to the EU. [147423]
Jonathan Shaw: The conditions that apply to beef imported into the EU are set out in EU law and it is the responsibility of the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) to visit exporting countries to ensure that their procedures are adequate to guarantee compliance with EU import conditions.
The last visit to Brazil by FVO inspectors took place in March this year. Commissioner Kyprianou himself visited Brazil in October 2006.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timescale is for the next stage of work of the bovine TB Vaccine Programme Advisory Group. [146620]
Jonathan Shaw: The Vaccine Programme Advisory Group provides advice on the science needed to progress towards a vaccine for use in the field.
The research programme for producing an effective vaccine against tuberculosis in badgers and cattle remains broadly in line with the timetable outlined in the 1997 Krebs Report. This estimated:
I. Years 1 to 5: Identification of candidate vaccines and development of differential diagnostic tests;
II. Years 5 to 10: Experimental investigations of vaccination protocols;
III. Years 10 to 15: Field trials.
The first stage started in 1999 and is ongoing. The second stage has also started. Work on badger vaccines includes a project on developing oral formulations and a three-and-a-half year vaccine field trial to gather safety data and assess efficacy on injectable Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The cattle vaccine research programme includes a natural transmission study looking at various candidate vaccines.
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