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29 Nov 2007 : Column 609W—continued
(1) Arnold, M. E; Ryan, J. B M; Konold, T.; Simmons, M. M; Spencer, Y. I; Wear, A.; Chaplin, M.; Stack, M.; Czub, S.; Mueller, R.; Webb, P.R; Davis, A.; Spiropoulos, J.; Holdaway, J.; Hawkins, S. A C; Austin, A. R, and Wells, G. A H. Estimating the Temporal Relationship Between PrPSc Detection and Incubation Period in Experimental Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy of Cattle. (2007). Journal of General Virology. 88: 3198-3208.
(2) Wells, G. A. H.; Spiropoulos, J.; Hawkins, S. A. C., and Ryder, S. J. Pathogenesis of experimental bovine spongiform encephalopathy: Preclinical infectivity in tonsil and observations on the distribution of lingual tonsil in slaughtered cattle. (2005) Veterinary Record; 156 :401-407.
(3) Terry, L. A. ; Marsh, S. ; Ryder, S. J.; Hawkins, S. A. C.; Wells, G. A. H., and Spencer, Y. I.. Detection of disease-specific PrP in the distal ileum of cattle exposed orally to the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. (2003); Veterinary Record. 152; 387-392.
(4) Wells, G. A H; Konold, T.; Arnold, M. E; Austin, A. R; Hawkins, S. A C; Stack, M.; Simmons, M. M; Lee, Y. H; Gavier-Widen, D.; Dawson, M., and Wilesmith, J. W. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: the Effect of Oral Exposure Dose on Attack Rate and Incubation Period in Cattle. (2007) Journal of General Virology. 88: 1363-1373.
(5) Masujin, K.; Matthews, D.; Wells, G. A. H.; Mohri, S., and Yokoyama, T. Prions in the Peripheral Nerves of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy-Affected Cattle. (2007) Journal of General Virology; 88:1850-1858.
Animal Experiments: Sheep
Mr. Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what Veterinary Laboratories Agency experiments concerning inbreeding have been carried out on sheep in the last 20 years; and what the results were. [167618]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 27 November 2007]: Although there have been experiments carried out at VLA that involved the breeding of sheep, there have been none concerning “inbreeding”.
Animal Welfare
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to bring forward the codes of practice provided for under the Animal Welfare Act 2006; and if he will make a statement. [167841]
Jonathan Shaw: During the passage of the Animal Welfare Bill, an undertaking was given to issue codes of practice on the welfare of cats and dogs, primates kept in private ownership and the rearing of game birds.
We are currently working on these codes and anticipate introducing them by early 2009. The codes will be subject to public consultation before being put to Parliament for approval.
Animal Welfare: Circuses
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to introduce regulations under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to ban the use of non-domestic animals in travelling circuses; and if he will make a statement. [167769]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 26 November 2007]: On 20 November, the independent Circus Working Group set up by DEFRA published its report on the welfare of non-domesticated animals in travelling circuses.
The Secretary of State's response to the report is available on the DEFRA website.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to bring forward regulations under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 on animals in travelling circuses; and if he will make a statement. [167842]
Jonathan Shaw: On 20 November, the independent Circus Working Group, set up by DEFRA, published its report on the welfare of non-domesticated animals in travelling circuses.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's response to the report is available on the DEFRA website.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much he spent facilitating the Circus Working Group; and if he will make a statement. [167843]
Jonathan Shaw: No central record has been kept of the time spent by DEFRA officials and the other associated costs of facilitating the work of the Circus Working Group.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what response he has made to the wild animals in travelling circuses report commissioned by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [168229]
Jonathan Shaw: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was grateful for the Group's work, which will contribute to the debate on the welfare of wild animals in circuses, and will consider the report's findings carefully.
The Government will now want to hear reactions to the report and consider its position.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition he uses of minimum welfare standards for performing animals, as referred to in the recent Report of the Chairman of the Circus Working Group; and if he will make a statement. [169541]
Jonathan Shaw: Welfare standards are currently set in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925. The recent report prepared by Mike Radford on wild animals in travelling circuses has recommended that additional regulatory protection should be considered.
Animal Welfare: Finance
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding was allocated to local authorities for animal welfare in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2005-06. [168799]
Jonathan Shaw: Additional funding paid to local authorities for work done under the animal health and welfare framework agreement is set out in the following table:
| Funding (£ million) | |
| (1) Estimated | |
Animals: Brazil
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the recently published report by the EU Food and Veterinary Office on animal health controls in Brazil; [167166]
(2) which states in Brazil have (a) reported outbreaks of foot and mouth in the last year for which figures are available and (b) been subject to EU bans on imports of meat. [167168]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA is aware of the concerns being expressed about meat imported from Brazil. However, it is for the European Commission to follow up the recommendations in the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) report through both the Brazilian authorities and further EU FVO missions. We are pressing the Commission for its response to the report.
Brazil has reported no outbreaks of foot and mouth disease to the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) during 2007. However, evidence of virus circulation in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul was detected through serological surveillance and this was reported to the OIE in February 2007.
Imports of de-boned and matured fresh meat (including chilled and frozen) are currently permitted only from the following states, or parts of states, of Brazil:
i. Espíritu Santo;
ii. Goias;
iii. Rio Grande do Sul;
iv. Santa Catarina;
v. Parts of Mato Grosso;
vi. Parts of Minas Gerais.
Badgers: Disease Control
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to cull badgers. [169547]
Jonathan Shaw:
No decision has been made on whether badger culling has a role to play in controlling bovine TB in cattle. We are currently considering this complex issue, taking into account all the available evidence, including the final report of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) and the assessment of the scientific evidence made by the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir David King. We will be discussing the matter with interested parties, including Professor John Bourne, former Chair of the ISG, and Sir David King, and will take account
of the views of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee following its inquiry into badgers and bovine TB.
While we are keen to make progress on reaching a decision, there is no specific timetable for doing so.
Bovine Tuberculosis: Gloucestershire
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the prevalence of bovine TB in Gloucestershire and measures to counter bovine TB. [167856]
Jonathan Shaw [h olding answer 26 November 2007]: There are currently 1,140 cattle herds in Gloucestershire. On 30 September, 249 herds (17.3 per cent.) of herds in the county were under TB movement restrictions.(1)
We recognise that the level of bovine TB (bTB) in cattle in Gloucestershire and across Great Britain is unacceptably high, and that some areas of the country are becoming more affected. In line with the ‘GB Strategic Framework for the Control of Bovine TB’, we are tailoring our policies to take account of the regional variation of disease risk as well as reflecting emerging evidence. Working on these principles, we have introduced measures such as pre-movement testing for cattle moving out of high risk herds. We have also extended the use of the gamma interferon blood test (alongside the TB skin test) to improve the sensitivity of our testing regime and identify more infected animals more quickly.
We will continue to work in partnership with interested parties to embed and monitor these measures. We have also recently developed revised TB husbandry guidance in association with the Bovine TB Husbandry Working Group, and published two free guidance booklets for farmers, to help them prevent bTB in their herds.
Looking ahead, DEFRA funds a wide-ranging bTB research programme and we will continue to use emerging evidence to inform our policies for the future. In June, the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB published its final report which adds to the scientific evidence base. We are now considering carefully the issues raised in the report and we will work with farmers, Government advisers and scientific experts in reaching final policy decisions on these.
(1) TB movement restrictions imposed for any reason (TB incident, overdue TB test etc.). Provisional data subject to change.
Circuses
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether new primary legislation would be necessary to amend the regulation of travelling circuses; and if he will make a statement. [168230]
Jonathan Shaw: Primary legislation would be required if it was proposed to place a prohibition on the use of animals in circuses.
Departmental Correspondence
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of inquiries received by his Department from the public were responded to within (a) one week, (b) 14 days, (c) 28 days, (d) two months and (e) three months in the last period for which figures are available; and in what percentage of cases it took (i) over three months and (ii) over one year to respond. [167383]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA aims to reply to the public's letters within 15 working days. So far this year, 92 per cent. of our responses have met this target.
For ministerial correspondence, I refer the hon. Member to the latest annual report on Departments' and agencies' correspondence-handling. This was published on 28 March 2007, Official Report, column 101WS. Information for 2007 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the calendar year.
Departmental Foreign Workers
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) EU foreign nationals and (b) non EU foreign nationals are employed by his Department. [168109]
Jonathan Shaw: Although information on the nationality of candidates is collected as part of the recruitment process, the nationality of members of staff is not held electronically and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisors
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the office costs for his Department's special advisers for 2007-08 are expected to be, including costs of support staff; and how many full-time equivalent civil servants work in support of such special advisers. [164928]
Jonathan Shaw: Three civil servants support the special advisers. They all provide administrative support of a non-political nature in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. They also provide support to the private offices.
Individual civil servants' salary details are not disclosed in order to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned.
Departmental Secondment
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many secondments of staff were made (a) to and (b) from his Department in each year since 1997; which organisations staff were seconded (i) to and (ii) from; how many staff were seconded in each year; for how long each secondment lasted; and what the cost was of each secondment in each year. [167274]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA was created in June 2001 and the information provided relates to the period since then.
The number of secondments made to or from DEFRA since June 2001 and the total number of secondments each year was as follows:
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