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6 Mar 2009 : Column 1878W—continued
| Table 2: Estimate for the percentage of home grown wheat grain milled into flour for bread, cake, biscuit and other uses | |
| Percentage | |
Food: Packaging
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department provided for research into food packaging methods in each of the last five years. [257431]
Jane Kennedy: DEFRA has provided no direct funding for such research but does provide funding to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
WRAP has provided a total of £3,542,000 to fund research into food packaging methods in each of the last five years. This is broken down by year in the following table.
| Funding amounts | |
| Amount (£) | |
Horse Meat: Exports
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many horses were slaughtered for meat to be exported for human consumption in the last 12 months. [258831]
Jane Kennedy: This figure is not available. However, in 2008 3,084(1 )horses were reported as having been slaughtered in the UK for human consumption.
(1 )Data provided by the National Equine Database.
Horses
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2009, Official Report, column 1082W, on horses, in what percentage of the samples taken from horses entering the UK evidence of inappropriate usage of veterinary medicinal products has been found in the last 12 months. [259659]
Jane Kennedy: Samples are taken from a small number of horses entering the food chain. These are taken as part of the UK statutory surveillance programme checking the appropriate use of veterinary medicinal products in accordance with EU legislation. It is a requirement that the sampling officers target animals which they believe may have been recently treated, and which therefore may contain concentrations of authorised veterinary medicines above the maximum residue limit, or treated with an unauthorised substance.
Horses are not tested when they enter the UK. However, some horses selected for sampling under the Veterinary Medicines Directorate's (VMD) surveillance programme may have come from another country.
In 2008, 105 horses submitted for slaughter for human consumption were sampled. 13 of the samples tested were from horses that originated from outside the UK. Three of the 105 samples tested revealed non-compliant residues of a veterinary medicinal product which should
not have been present in horses presented for the food chain. All three were from horses submitted from within the UK.
As indicated in the earlier answer, the VMD requires investigations to be carried out into non-compliant samples.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2009, Official Report, column 1082W, on horses, what percentage of abattoirs in England slaughter horses for human consumption. [259660]
Jane Kennedy: There are 373 approved slaughterhouses in England, Scotland and Wales. Of these, two are licensed to process horses for human consumption, which is 0.54 per cent. of the total.
OSS Group
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Environment Agency has taken to implement the Court of Appeal's ruling in the case of R (OSS Group Ltd) v Environment Agency; and if he will make a statement. [258231]
Jane Kennedy: The Environment Agency and the DEFRA-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) consulted on the quality protocol for the production and use of processed fuel oil from waste lubricating oil (WLO) in 2008.
The quality protocol has been developed using the methodology of the waste protocols project. The Environment Agency has been considering responses to the consultation and hopes shortly to issue a final draft quality protocol. This will be submitted to the European Commission under the Technical Standards Directive where other member states will be consulted.
Packaging: EU Law
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which (a) retailers and (b) manufacturers have achieved compliance with EU regulations on (i) minimisation and (ii) recycling of packaging. [258832]
Jane Kennedy: In 2007, the latest year for which figures are available, overall targets for recovery and recycling of packaging waste were achieved. These targets apply to manufacturers, converters, pack-fillers and sellers of packaging.
Sheep: Electronic Tagging
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on electronic tagging of sheep in the last two years. [259649]
Jane Kennedy: Officials have had extensive discussions with the Commission regarding the electronic identification (EID) of sheep. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs also met with Commissioner Vassiliou in September 2008 to discuss our concerns.
At the end of 2007 we secured a two year extension to the implementation date of EID until 31 December 2009. In 2008 we secured important changes to the timetable for the introduction of individual recording on movement documents up until 31 December 2011 and lifetime changes for sheep born before the implementation of EID which are moving direct to slaughter. The phasing in of the individual recording requirements will reduce the recording burden on industry, particularly in relation to older animals.
We also facilitated a Commission Mission of EID technical experts to the UK between 2-6 February to demonstrate the practical problems and challenges our industry face with implementation. We will be working closely with the Commission to see whether there is scope for further flexibility for the way in which we implement the regulation.
Veterinary Surgeons: Regulation
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legislation regulates the activities of practising veterinary surgeons; and if he will make a statement. [256768]
Jane Kennedy: The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA) confirms the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) as the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the UK with responsibility for regulating the professional education and conduct of veterinary surgeons.
There are no immediate plans to legislate to update the VSA 1966. Following the recent report on the VSA by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (HC 348), the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons is reviewing its own proposals for the reform of the Act. We recognise the need for DEFRA to remain engaged on this issue and have offered the Presidents of the RCVS and British Veterinary Association an opportunity to discuss their ideas and concerns with the Chief Veterinary Officer.
Waste and Resources Action Programme
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) with reference to the answer of 4 November 2008, Official Report, column 401W, on the Waste and Resources Action Programme, what assessment the Waste and Resources Action Programme has made of the effectiveness of using Chelgate to improve engagement outside its established stakeholder group; [259579]
(2) what (a) reports and (b) written briefing documents Chelgate produced for the Waste and Resources Action Programme as part of its engagement exercise. [259580]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait) on 9 October 2008, to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst on 4 and 17 November 2008 and to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 19 November 2008.
The requested data concerns the detailed operational activities of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), and is not therefore held by DEFRA. I understand that the chief executive of WRAP has offered to meet the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst to discuss any issues of concern to him, and I would encourage him to take up that offer.
Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 21 July 2008, Official Report, columns 757-58W, on waste disposal: fees and charges, if he will place in the Library a copy of the dataset and background research obtained by his Department on the distributional impacts of waste charging in Flanders. [252439]
Jane Kennedy: DEFRA purchased data on the distributional impacts of waste charging in Flanders. This was used to inform the Impact Assessment of powers to pilot local authority incentives for household waste minimisation and recycling. The Impact Assessment was published on 15 November 2008 and is available on DEFRA’s website.
Justice
Adoption: Appeals
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons the judgment for refusal of permission to appeal on 22 October 2008 in the case of Rachel Pullen (case number NG07C02187) has not been provided to the appellant; and when he expects to receive a copy of the judgment for the purposes of the European Court of Human Rights. [260693]
Bridget Prentice: The provision of judgments in individual cases is a matter for the judiciary, who are independent of Government.
Courts: Domestic Violence
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many specialist domestic violence courts there are in each constituency; and how many are located in (a) urban and (b) rural areas. [260925]
Bridget Prentice: There are currently 104 specialist domestic violence courts. As court boundaries are not coterminous with constituency boundaries, it is not possible to specify the number in each constituency. Their existence in 39 out of 42 Local Criminal Justice Board areas locates them, however, in urban and rural areas across England and Wales.
Mentally Disturbed Offenders
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2008, Official Report, column 474W, on the Bradley Review, what date he has set for the publication of Lord Bradley’s review. [261385]
Mr. Hanson: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him on 3 March 2009, Official Report, column l507W.
The Government expect to be able to publish Lord Bradley’s report, along with the response, before the end of April 2009.
Offenders: Castle Point
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prisoners on early release and (b) people currently on bail and not living at their previous home are (i) housed and (ii) planned to be housed in Castle Point. [260463]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested could not be provided except at disproportionate cost. Data on release addresses are not collected for defendants released on bail nor for all of those prisoners serving sentences of under 12 months. If the hon. Member is referring to the Bail and Accommodation Support Service for those released on bail or on Home Detention Curfew I can advise that there are still no properties in Castle Point and no plans to provide any there.
Political Parties: Finance
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will refer to the Committee on Standards in Public Life the matter of tax exiles and non-domiciled people who donate to UK political parties; and if he will make a statement. [261358]
Mr. Wills: The Government believe that the issue of the relationship between taxation status and political donations would need to be considered in the wider context of the relationship between taxation status and democratic participation generally.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is independent of Government; it is for the Committee to decide which subjects it examines. We approached the Committee to ask whether they would be open to investigating this matter but have been advised that the work programme of the Committee does not allow them to pursue the matter at this time.
The Government will reflect on how this issue might be taken forward.
Prisoners: Religion
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convicted prisoners in custody in each prison in England and Wales professing each religion have been identified by his Department, the prison authorities or the police as religious extremists. [260547]
Mr. Hanson: The Home Office will shortly be publishing a Statistical Bulletin covering those persons arrested following a terrorist investigation with the resulting charges and convictions. This bulletin will also include information on those remanded or convicted of terrorism act or terrorism related offences at 31 March 2008 broken down by nationality and religion.
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