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25 July 2007 : Column 1080W—continued
Air Conditioning: Energy
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of recent trends in the use of residential air conditioning in the UK. [150213]
Joan Ruddock: Data from the Energy Saving Trust indicates that sales of domestic air conditioners increased from 32,800 in 2005-06 to 72,300 in 2006-07.
In 2005-06, about 73 per cent. of the units sold were “B” rated under the EU Council directive 92/75/EEC, and only 0.85 per cent. were “A” rated. In 2006-07, the share of “A” rated air conditioning appliances had increased to 15 per cent., and the share of “B” rated appliances dropped to 50 per cent. However, a small number of new air conditioners, which also act as heaters, have appeared on the market. These are less efficient.
A domestic “A” rated air conditioner is expected to use around 320 kWh/year of electricity. For comparison, a three bed-roomed semi-detached house built to 2005 Building Regulations and without electric heating, is expected to use around 4,250 kWh/year of electricity. The purchase of an “A” rated air conditioner, and its associated energy consumption would therefore result in additional carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of around 138 kgCO2 /year. The 72,300 domestic air conditioners purchased in 2006-07 would therefore be expected to increase CO2 emissions by at least 9,900 tonnes CO2 per year.
Domestic air-conditioning equipment is also likely to use fluorinated greenhouse gases as the refrigerant. If this is emitted it will contribute towards global warming. Under the EC Regulation No 842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases, users of air-conditioning equipment must ensure that any detected leakage is repaired as soon as possible. More complex domestic equipment will need to be installed by a qualified person once further European Commission proposals currently under discussion are agreed and implemented.
Under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations (2006), consumers are able to return their residential air conditioning units to a designated collection facility free of charge at end of life, and producers are responsible for financing their subsequent treatment and recycling.
Animal Welfare: Research
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the research projects funded by his Department into issues related to animal health and welfare in each of the last 10 years; and how much funding was allocated to each project. [150632]
Jonathan Shaw: The number of animal health and welfare research projects funded by DEFRA in the last 10 years can be found in the following table:
| Project area | Number of R and D projects |
A full breakdown and funding for each of these projects can be found on the DEFRA website.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance he has issued on the measures that cattle farmers can undertake under EU Council Directive 58/98/EC of 20 July 1998 Annex paragraph 12, to prevent tuberculosis reactors originating from wildlife contaminating cattle on farms; and if he will make a statement. [150567]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA, in partnership with the Bovine TB Husbandry Working Group, has produced guidance for farmers to reduce the risk of TB transmission. This includes a number of measures to reduce the risk of contact between cattle and badgers, one of which is being aware of the risk areas at pasture such as badgers setts and latrines.
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle have been slaughtered as a precaution against bovine tuberculosis in the last five years; and what proportion of those cattle were confirmed to have been infected with the disease. [150625]
Jonathan Shaw:
Following a bovine TB (bTB) breakdown we aim to confirm the presence of the disease at herd level by post-mortem inspection and culture of Mycobacterium bovis in the laboratory. We do not culture samples from every single animal slaughtered, and so it is not possible to identify the proportion of slaughtered animals with confirmed TB. It is also important to note that failure to confirm the disease by post-mortem examination at the slaughterhouse or by culturing the causative bacterium in the laboratory does not mean that an animal was not infected with bTB. In the early
stages of this infectious disease, it is not always possible to see lesions with the naked eye, and due to the fastidious nature of the organism, it is not possible to culture it from tissue samples in every case.
The following table shows cattle TB data for Britain between 2002 and 2006.
| Bovine TB in Britain | ||
| Number of cattle slaughtered under bTB control measures( 1) | Number of cattle in which bTB confirmed | |
| (1) TB reactors, inconclusive reactors and direct contacts. (2) In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. When testing resumed in 2002, resources were concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds tested immediately after the FMD outbreak was greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, the number of confirmed TB reactors in 2002 is not comparable with other years. Note: The table shows provisional data, as downloaded from the Animal Health Data Warehouse. This is subject to change as more data becomes available. | ||
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of bovine TB were recorded in each English region in each year since 2000. [151303]
Jonathan Shaw: The number of confirmed new bovine tuberculosis (bTB) incidents in each Animal Health region in England for each year since 2000 are shown in the following table:
| Number of confirmed new TB incidents( 1) by Animal Health region | ||||
| West | North | East | England total | |
| (1) Table shows provisional data, as downloaded from the Animal Health Data Warehouse. This is subject to change as more data becomes available. (2) In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. When testing resumed in 2002, resources were concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds tested immediately after the FMD outbreak was greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, the number of confirmed TB incidents in 2001 and 2002 are not comparable with other years. Note: When interpreting these statistics, it is important to bear in mind that a proportion of bTB incidents remain unclassified, awaiting the results of culture tests which can take several months. Therefore the number of confirmed incidents will currently be under-recorded. For instance, 21.6 per cent. of new bTB incidents in January to April 2007 were unclassified when the data were extracted. | ||||
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to make a decision on measures to tackle bovine tuberculosis following the final report of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle Tuberculosis. [150761]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 19 July 2007]: There is no timetable for an announcement on this issue. We are carefully considering the issues that the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) on Cattle Tuberculosis report raises, and will continue to work with the industry, Government advisers and scientific experts in reaching a final policy decision on this issue.
Bovine Tuberculosis: South West Region
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many new cases of bovine tuberculosis in the South West were recorded since 1997. [151567]
Jonathan Shaw: The number of confirmed new bovine tuberculosis (bTB) incidents in South West England for each year since 1997 are shown in the following table:
| Confirmed new TB incidents in South West England( 1) | |
| Number | |
| (1) Provisional data, as downloaded from the Animal Health Data Warehouse is subject to change as more data becomes available. (2) In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. When testing resumed in 2002, resources were concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds tested immediately after the FMD outbreak was greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, the number of confirmed TB incidents in 2001 and 2002 are not comparable with other years. Note: South West England comprises Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire | |
When interpreting these statistics it is important to bear in mind that a proportion of bTB incidents remain unclassified, awaiting the results of culture tests which can take several months. Therefore the number of confirmed incidents will currently be under-recorded. For instance, 21.6 per cent. of new bTB incidents in January to April 2007 were unclassified when the data were extracted.
Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in developing a vaccine against bovine tuberculosis for (a) badgers and (b) cows; and if he will make a statement. [150623]
Jonathan Shaw: The research programme for producing an effective vaccine against tuberculosis in (a) badgers and (b) cattle remains broadly in line with the timetable outlined in the Krebs report (1997). This estimated:
Years 1 to 5: Identification of candidate vaccines and development of differential diagnostic tests;
Years 5 to 10: Experimental investigations of vaccination protocols;
Years 10 to 15: Field trials.
The first stage started in 1999 and is ongoing. The second stage has started and work on badger vaccines includes a three and a half year vaccine field trial to gather safety data and assess efficacy on injectable Bacille Calmette-Guerin, and a project on developing oral formulations. The cattle vaccine research programme includes a natural transmission study looking at various candidate vaccines.
Carbon Emissions
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of carbon emissions resulted from large commercial and public sector organisations in the latest year for which figures are available. [151572]
Joan Ruddock: The Public Sector was responsible for 4 per cent.(1) of UK CO2 emissions. Electricity consumption accounted for approximately 10.2 Mt of CO2 emissions in 2005—about 47 per cent. of the public sector's total emission.
The energy service directives to be implemented by 17 May 2008 set a national indicative target of 9 per cent. energy savings in member states by 2017. Article 5 requires the public sector to fulfil an exemplary role in delivering the directive. In fulfilling this role the Government will implement measures relating to the procurement of energy using products and/or buildings. These will be applied across the public sector alongside published guidance on how energy efficiency and energy savings can be used as a possible assessment criterion in procurement.
Emissions from the commercial sector amounted to 9 per cent. of total UK emissions in 2005, including 39.5 Mt CO2 from electricity use, around 76 per cent. of total emissions from this sector.
(1) All percentages and emissions are quoted on a final user basis—emissions from the energy supply (power stations, refineries, mining etc) sector are reallocated to the sector where the electricity or fuels are used. Emissions from the UK Overseas Territories are excluded from these figures.
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