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17 Mar 2010 : Column 895W—continued
Cattle: Animal Welfare
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which assessment has been made of the effects on animal welfare of keeping dairy cattle in (a) very large herds and (b) herds kept largely under a roof. [321319]
Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA is currently funding a three- year project by the Scottish Agricultural College which is investigating the management and welfare of continuously housed cows. It will compare the health of cows in continuously housed systems with those in summer grazing systems, by using culling and fertility data. Work on this research is at an early stage, and is due to be completed at the end of June 2011.
In relation to herd sizes, in reviewing its risk model for welfare inspections, Animal Health, the body responsible for enforcing animal welfare legislation in England, did
not include the size of the herd as a predictive factor to the model as no correlation was found between the size of the herd and compliance with welfare legislation and welfare advisory codes.
All dairy cattle, in whatever system they are kept, are protected by comprehensive animal welfare legislation. In England, the welfare of cattle is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal. The Act also contains a duty of care to animals-this means that anyone responsible for an animal must take reasonable steps to make sure the animal's needs are met. These general requirements are supplemented by detailed requirements in the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 for calves and cattle such as accommodation, tethering, inspection, feed and water.
Poor welfare can exist in both intensive and extensive systems. The most significant influence on the welfare of livestock is the stock-keeper, not the system in which is it reared.
Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local authorities' statutory responsibilities for stray dog control under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005; [322465]
(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of the dog control provisions in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 on animal rescue centres. [322466]
Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA has made no such assessment.
Dairy Farming
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to introduce a maximum size for dairy herds. [322052]
Jim Fitzpatrick: While we recognise the trend is towards fewer, larger dairy herds, we have no plans to introduce proposals on a maximum size for dairy herds.
Dogs
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received from animal welfare charities on stray dog control services. [322467]
Jim Fitzpatrick: In the past year DEFRA has corresponded with the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes, The Dogs Trust and the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home about stray dog control services.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the total dog population in England; and if he will make a statement. [322468]
Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA has made no such estimate.
Dogs: Crime
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many prosecutions there were for offences of each type under the Breeding of Dogs Act 1991 in 2009; and if he will make a statement; [322459]
(2) how many prosecutions there have been for dog control offences under the Town and Police Clauses Act 1847 in each year since 1997; [322463]
(3) how many prosecutions there have been for dog control offences under the Metropolitan Police Act 1839 in each year since 1997. [322464]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences under, (i) Breeding Dogs Act 1991, (ii) Town and Police Clauses Act 1847, in England and Wales 1997 to 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
The Ministry of Justice Court Proceeding database cannot separately identify offences relating to dogs under the Metropolitan Police Act 1839.
The Ministry of Justice advise that court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn of 2010.
| Number of defendants proceeded against for selected offences relating to dogs, England and Wales 1997 to 2008( 1,2,3) | ||
| Offence description | Offences in relation to dogs | Intentionally obstructing or delaying any person in the exercise of his powers of entry or inspection |
| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July, and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice | ||
Floods: Maps
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the work of his Department in preparing the Ordnance Survey
flood maps first published in April 2010 was funded; and if he will make a statement. [322439]
Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA does not produce Ordnance Survey flood maps. The Environment Agency publishes its maps showing the most up-to-date information available on areas at risk of flooding on a quarterly basis. The next date for publication is the end of March 2010. The map and publication is funded by grant in aid from DEFRA.
DEFRA is aware of a project initiated by Norwich Union working with Ordnance Survey to map flood risk, but this project has not been funded by DEFRA.
Government Car and Despatch Agency
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department paid to the Government Car and Despatch Agency in each of the last five years; how much it has spent on such payments in 2009-10; and what proportion of such payments was made in respect of the Government Car Service. [316785]
Dan Norris: The Department's cumulative spend with the Government Car and Dispatch Agency in each of the last five years and for the current year to January 2010 is shown in the following table.
| Total (£) | |
| (1) Part year to February 2010 | |
Costs to the Department for ministerial cars are reported annually to Parliament by my right. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport through written ministerial statements and are available in the Libraries of the House.
Milk: Imports
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many litres of milk a day were imported on average in each of the last five years. [322357]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 15 March 2010]: Imports of liquid milk are shown in the tables.
Liquid milk is imported into the UK in two forms, as raw milk for processing by dairies (table 1), or as liquid drinking milk (e.g. pasteurised or UHT milk) (table 2).
Raw milk is only traded across the Irish border; imports come from the Republic of Ireland for processing by dairies in Northern Ireland.
| Table 2: UK imports of liquid drinking milk, 2005 to 2009( 1) | ||
| Imported per year (1,000 litres) | Average imported per day (1,000 litres)( 2) | |
| (1) 2009 data is subject to amendments. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000 litres. Source: H M Revenue and Customs | ||
Poultry: Animal Welfare
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were for offences relating to unnecessary pain or distress caused to broiler and battery chickens in each of the last five years. [320407]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 4 March 2010]: The information requested cannot be provided because records are not held centrally.
Rural Payments Agency
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much it cost on average for the Rural Payments Agency to process a single payment in the latest period for which information is available. [322494]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 16 March 2010]: In their report 'A Second Progress Update on the Administration of the Single Payment Scheme by the Rural Payments Agency', the National Audit Office calculated the average cost for administering a single payment scheme claim as £1,743. We are seeking ways of reducing this figure.
Rural Payments Agency: Legal Costs
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Rural Payments Agency spent on legal advice in the last five years. [320380]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The legal expenditure for 2004-09 financial years including costs incurred by all RPA departments as published in the annual audited accounts is shown in the following table. It is not possible to distinguish between legal advice and other legal expenditure.
| Financial year | Total spent on legal fees (£) |
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