| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
8 Jan 2008 : Column 386W—continued
Livestock: Disease Control
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with trading standards departments on the movement of livestock in restricted areas; and if he will make a statement. [174440]
Jonathan Shaw: Throughout the recent animal disease outbreaks, DEFRA has worked closely with the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS), which represents trading standards officers in local authorities. Trading Standards are updated on changes to movement restrictions by LACORS, which is a key operational partner that always participates actively in the National Disease Control Centre. They have been closely involved in changes to the movement regimes and have advised DEFRA on enforcement and licensing regimes.
Livestock: Transport
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance he has issued on legislative requirements for farmers who wish to move livestock by road to take a written test on the welfare of animals during transport; and if he will make a statement. [174246]
Jonathan Shaw: Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations came into force in January 2007. It is implemented in the UK by The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 and parallel legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The regulation requires that by 5 January 2008 those that transport cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and poultry by road on journeys over 65 km in connection with an economic activity must have passed an examination (set by independent examiners) on their competence.
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the (a) implementation and (b) enforcement of EC legislation on the welfare of animals during transport in EU member states; [174247]
(2) what assessments were made of the likely effects of the requirement for a written test on the welfare of animals during transport prior to its introduction; what the findings were of such assessments; and if he will make a statement; [174248]
(3) what criteria he has established to assess the contribution of the written test on the welfare of animals to (a) animal welfare and (b) road safety; and if he will make a statement. [174249]
Jonathan Shaw: In 2006, DEFRA conducted a public consultation on proposals for the implementation of Regulation 1/2005 in England (with the devolved Administrations conducting similar consultations in their territories). This was sent to over 1,400 interested organisations, key stakeholders and individuals and published on our website. For competence assessment, DEFRA proposed that assessment for short journeys under eight hours would be by means of a theory test with assessment for journeys over eight hours having an additional practical element for demonstration of animal handling and driving skills. None of the consultation responses necessitated deviation from the broad principles outlined. Consultation findings were sent to those who had responded and posted on our website.
The regulation's provisions relating to competence testing and certification do not come into effect until January 2008 and so it would be premature to conduct an assessment of the regulation at this stage. However, the regulation includes a provision for a Europe-wide review on its impact on the welfare of animals during transport in 2011. Early indications are that this is likely to be brought forward to 2009.
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to exempt experienced drivers from the requirement to take a written test on the welfare of animals during transport; and if he will make a statement. [174250]
Jonathan Shaw: There are no proposals to exempt experienced drivers from the requirement to have their competence assessed. Such an exemption would be contrary to the requirements of Regulation 1/2005.
Livestock: Wales
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the movement to Wales of livestock ordinarily pastured on Welsh farms but temporarily pastured in the Shropshire bluetongue protection zone; and if he will make a statement. [174251]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA has worked closely with the Welsh Assembly Government and has had a range of discussions on this and a number of other issues concerning bluetongue.
It may be possible during a vector free period, should that be declared, to move animals out of the zone following pre-movement tests, at the farmers' expense.
The issue of whether to extend the bluetongue surveillance zone into Wales to enable free movement across the border is a devolved matter for the Welsh Assembly Government, but we are working closely to co-ordinate our disease control strategy to prevent the spread of bluetongue.
Nitrate Sensitive Areas
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to the agricultural industry of the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation; [175227]
(2) what estimate he has made of the (a) financial costs and (b) environmental costs of proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation; and what assessment he has made of the compatibility of those proposals with other schemes to establish wintered cover crops. [175232]
Mr. Woolas: The regulatory impact assessment (RIA) published in support of the consultation on the implementation of the nitrates directive in England sets out my Department's assessment of the likely financial and environmental impacts of the proposed action programme measures.
The partial RIA estimates that the likely financial impact on agriculture of implementing the proposed measures would be within the range of £52.8 million to £105.5 million per year. This assumes that the action programme is applied within proposed nitrate vulnerable zones covering 70 per cent. of England, and costs would be higher if the decision is taken to apply the action programme to the whole of England. These costs could be reduced if DEFRA is successful in obtaining a derogation from the 170kgN/ha/yr whole farm limit for livestock manures—one of the more burdensome requirements of the proposals.
Estimates of the impact of the main measures on losses of pollutants from agriculture are provided in the following table.
| Percentage change in pollutant losses | |
This assessment does not cover all the action programme measures, and therefore the anticipated reduction in nitrate and phosphorus is expected to be greater.
My Department is aware of links between the proposed cover crops measure and the maintenance of overwintered stubbles, as required by some environmental stewardship agreements. Officials are working with stakeholders to ensure that implementation of this measure is compatible with the requirements of existing agreements.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what basis areas are to be selected for inclusion in the nitrate vulnerable zone designations. [175228]
Mr. Woolas: The nitrates directive requires all known areas of land to be designated as nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs) if they drain to:
surface freshwaters or groundwaters which contain or could contain, if preventative action is not taken, nitrate concentrations greater than 50mg/l; or
natural freshwater lakes, or other freshwater bodies, estuaries, coastal waters and marine waters which are eutrophic or may become so in the near future if protective action is not taken.
The document ‘G1—Summary of methodology for identifying NVZs 2006’, which is available on the DEFRA website, provides a description of how water quality monitoring data, collected by the Environment Agency from a network of monitoring points and boreholes, are assessed against the above criteria to identify nitrate-polluted waters, and how areas of land draining to these waters were identified for designation as NVZs.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether Government grants will be available to meet the costs of implementation of proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation, with particular reference to winter slurry storage. [175229]
Mr. Woolas: No new central Government money will be made available to assist farmers with the costs of constructing any new or additional manure storage capacity required under the proposed action programme. This position was set out in the public consultation on the implementation of the nitrates directive in England.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the effect of ammonia emissions into the atmosphere from the additional winter slurry storage likely to result from proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation. [175230]
Mr. Woolas: The regulatory impact assessment and paper ‘D5—Impact of the proposed NVZ Action Programme measures’, published in support of the consultation on implementation of the nitrates directive in England, provide details of my Department's assessment of the likely environmental impact of the proposed measures. This is available on the DEFRA website.
It is estimated that the closed period for organic manure, which requires the storage of slurry over the autumn and winter, would increase ammonia emissions from agriculture by between 0.5 per cent. and 2 per cent. However, this is likely to be an overestimate as the assessment did not reflect the impacts of all the proposed action programme measures, some of which are expected to reduce ammonia emissions (for example, the incorporation of manure within 24 hours of application).
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the possible loss of habitat of overwintered stubbles as a result of proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation. [175231]
Mr. Woolas: The regulatory impact assessment, published in support of the consultation on the implementation of the nitrates directive in England, sets out my Department's assessment of the likely environmental impact of proposed Action Programme measures.
It is likely that one of the principal benefits of the proposed Action Programme would be improved natural habitats due to a reduction in the nutrient enrichment of waters and associated eutrophication.
My Department is aware of links between the proposed cover crops measure and the maintenance of over-wintered stubbles. Officials are working with stakeholders to ensure that implementation of this measure does not lead to the loss of habitat.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation on organic farms. [175233]
Mr. Woolas: The partial regulatory impact assessment and paper ‘G4— Assistance on the partial RIA including extended Nitrate Vulnerable Zones’, published in support of the consultation on implementation of the nitrates directive in England, provide details of my Department's assessment of the likely cost to all farmers of the proposed nitrates action programme measures. This document is available on the DEFRA website.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure that no additional requirement over and above those in the EU directive is being made in relation to proposals arising from the nitrate vulnerable zone consultation. [175234]
Mr. Woolas: The proposed action programme measures, as set out in our consultation on the implementation of the nitrates directive in England, represent what my Department considers as the best way to fulfil our obligations under the nitrates directive while maintaining a sustainable agricultural industry. The measures were developed to reflect good agricultural practice and the best available science.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice the Government have received from the Environment Agency on the proposed nitrate vulnerable zones directive. [175754]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 7 January 2008]: The Environment Agency is the competent authority for the enforcement of the action programme established in England under the nitrates directive. The Environment Agency also advises the Government on technical and scientific issues regarding water quality and how this affects the designation of nitrate vulnerable zones.
The Environment Agency responded fully to DEFRA’s recent consultation on proposals to implement the nitrates directive in England. The response is available to view on their website.
Produce Prices
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent assessment he has made of the trend in chicken (a) meat and (b) feed prices in the UK; and if he will make a statement; [173973]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the trend in grain prices in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [173974]
Jonathan Shaw: The increase in UK grain prices reflects the rise in global wheat prices following two successive smaller world harvests and increasing demand for cereals for food, feed and fuel purposes. Current high grain prices, combined with policy changes such as the removal of the set-aside requirement for the 2008 harvest, will undoubtedly stimulate production and lead to a moderation of prices, but it may take a number of years to rebuild stocks to levels that markets are comfortable with, and periods of price volatility are likely to occur for the foreseeable future.
In the poultry (and pig) sectors, feed costs, and by implication, total production costs, are largely determined by world prices for cereals, oilseeds and other commodities (recognising that there is some limited scope to reformulate feed in response to relative price movements to reduce costs). The latest set of animal feed statistics contains details of the price of poultry feed up to June 2007 and can be found at:
Estimates of poultry feed costs through to September 2007, which will cover the period of significantly rising grain prices, are due to be published on 17 January 2008.
Weekly wholesale prices for poultry can be found at:
but it should be recognised that these represent only a small proportion of the overall market.
A fuller and wider assessment of the rise in commodity prices can be found in our report “Implications of rising agricultural commodity prices” published at the end of September which can be found at:
The first full set of farm income statistics, including an estimate of the income for specialist poultry farms, will be published at the end of January 2008.
Rural Payments Agency: Redundancy
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost has been of recent redundancies made by the Rural Payments Agency; and if he will make a statement. [174449]
Jonathan Shaw
[holding answer 17 December 2007]: No compulsory redundancies have been made in the Rural Payments Agency since its creation in 2001.
However the cost of the voluntary exit of staff during the Agency's recent Change Programme ending in 2006 has been £38.9 million.
Severn Estuary: Nature Conservation
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Severn estuary was notified to the European Commission as a candidate special area of conservation as defined under the Habitats Directive; and if he will make a statement. [175045]
Joan Ruddock: The Severn estuary was notified to the European Commission as a candidate special area of conservation, as defined under the habitats directive, on 31 August 2007.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |