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22 Mar 2010 : Column 137W—continued
Animals: Smuggling
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) country of export and (b) purpose of importation was of each importation of a species listed in the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauner and flora imported from outside the EU in each of the last three years. [322597]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The information available regarding the country of export and purpose of import for CITES listed species imported into the UK from outside the EU in each of the last three years has been placed in the Libraries of the House. The information given is for imports of live specimens of animals and plants.
Auditory Bird Scarers
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has plans to review the Code of Practice for farmers on the use of auditory bird scarers. [323435]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The National Farmers Union produced the code of practice on auditory bird scarers on which the Department was consulted. DEFRA do not currently have plans to carry out further research into the issue of auditory bird scarers.
Biodiversity
Andrew Rosindell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his
Department spent on biodiversity conservation in (a) England and (b) the UK Overseas Territories in each of the last five years. [322616]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Details of expenditure on biodiversity conservation in England are provided in the following table. These figures represent DEFRA programme spend and spend by the wider DEFRA network but do not include staff costs. They also include total agri-environment scheme expenditure, of which a major share is judged to be spent on biodiversity.
| Estimated public expenditure by DEFRA network organisations on biodiversity conservation in England (figures are given in £ million) | |||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Note: Totals may not add due to rounding | |||||
Details of spending commitments on biodiversity conservation in the UK Overseas Territories are provided in the following table. These include commitments under the Darwin Initiative and other additional support for projects to address invasive non-native species, in each of the last five financial years. They also include spend by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. They do not include spend by others, for example the Governments of the Overseas Territories themselves, who are principally responsible for biodiversity conservation in their territories.
| (£) | |
In addition, DEFRA spent approximately £19,000 and £10,000 on biodiversity conservation in the UK Overseas Territories through the Flagship Species Fund in the calendar years 2005 and 2008 respectively.
Biofuels
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what sustainability criteria will apply to the use of B30K oil in domestic boilers. [322831]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
The Renewable Energy Directive, published in 2009, includes sustainability criteria that bioliquids used for heat and electricity generation must meet in order to receive financial support and to count towards the directive's renewable energy targets. The criteria include a requirement for a minimum greenhouse gas savings threshold of 35 per cent., rising to 50 per
cent. in 2017, and 60 per cent. in 2018 for new installations starting production from 2017; and controls over land use change to protect land important on biodiversity or carbon grounds, such as primary forest, wetlands and peatlands. In light of this, the Department of Energy and Climate Change will make an announcement later this month, setting out what actions the Government can take to introduce sustainability standards for biomass in the UK.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of bovine tuberculosis were recorded in (a) West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, (b) Cornwall, (c) the South West and (d) England in each of the last 10 years. [322729]
Jim Fitzpatrick: We are unable to give data for areas smaller than county level due to data protection reasons. These reasons include identification of individual herds. We are therefore unable to provide data for West Cornwall. However, we can confirm that there have been no cases of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in the Isles of Scilly during the last 10 years. The following table shows the number of cases of bTB in Cornwall, the South West, and England in each of the last 10 years.
| Cornwall | South-west (GO region)( 1) | England | |
| (1) The south-west Government office region includes; Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, the Isles of Scilly, Somerset and Wiltshire. Notes: 1. Data from VetNet are produced three months in arrears and the latest report available is for December 2009. Therefore data cannot be provided for the last three months. 2. Data from VetNet are provisional and subject to change as more data become available. Source: VetNet | |||
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to tackle bovine tuberculosis in Devon. [323209]
Jim Fitzpatrick: This Government remain committed to working with industry to reduce bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in all parts of England, including Devon.
We have a package of measures in place to reduce the further spread and incidence of bovine bTB including regular testing of cattle, zero tolerance of overdue tests, pre-movement testing and extended use of gamma interferon. We are also continuing to make significant investment in vaccines. £20 million will be spent on
vaccine development during the current spending period. A Badger Vaccine Deployment Project will take place in six high incidence areas (each of 100km(2)) in England, two of which are in Devon. The aim is that the vaccination of badgers will commence this summer and continue for at least five years in each area.
Since November 2008, DEFRA has worked alongside the farming industry and veterinary profession through the Bovine TB Eradication Group for England to tackle bTB and move towards eradication. On 8 October 2009, the Group published a progress report including a number of recommendations now being implemented.
In November 2009 the EU Commission formally agreed to the UK's Eradication Plan and to provide funding of up to €10 million for 2010. This funding will be shared between DEFRA and the Welsh and Northern Irish administrations.
Cattle: Diseases
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle have been culled as a result of contracting (a) bovine tuberculosis and (b) other diseases in (i) Cornwall, (ii) the South West and (iii) England in each of the last 10 years. [322728]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table displays the number of reactors slaughtered as a consequence of bovine tuberculosis in each of the last 10 years.
| Cornwall | South West Region (GO)( 1) | England | |
| (1) The South West Government Office region includes; Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, the Isles of Scilly, Somerset and Wiltshire. Notes: 1. Data from Vetnet are produced three months in arrears and the latest report available is for December 2009. Therefore data cannot be provided for the last three months. 2. Data from Vetnet are provisional and subject to change as more data becomes available. Source: Vetnet | |||
The following table shows the number of cattle killed on suspicion of being affected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in England in each of the last 10 years.
| England | South West Region | Cornwall | |
| Source: Veterinary Laboratories Agency's BSE Database | |||
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