Developing Countries: Females
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the opportunities to support the empowerment of women through his Department's Private Sector Department. [67849]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development's (DFID) vision for girls and women has economic empowerment as a central pillar. DFID's Private Sector Department is working with, on and through the private sector to help women gain direct access to, and control over, economic assets, serving in turn to boost their status in communities and households. The Private Sector Department is developing programmes to support women by improving employment opportunities and increasing their access to financial and basic services.
Across DFID, we plan to improve access to financial services for over 18 million women, help 2.3 million women attain employment, and secure land rights for 4.5 million women.
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the contribution of the CDC business plan to addressing gender disparities in developing countries; and if he will make a statement. [67850]
Mr Duncan: The Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) recognises the importance of addressing gender disparity in terms of employment, training and opportunities for women in the developing world.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 32W
Under its new high-level business plan, CDC capital will be focused on the poorest countries and parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia where it will help support and create better and more equal opportunities for women through, for example, the provision of microfinance, where 70% of borrowers are typically women.
CDC provides its fund managers with comprehensive guidance on environmental, social and governance issues. The guidance provides specific detail to managers on how to improve investee company performance on gender, including advice on pay, maternity and paternity leave, health matters, harassment and safety of women employees and appointing women to company boards.
Ethiopia: Health Services
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many additional (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) midwives and (d) other health workers his Department estimates will be required in Ethiopia to achieve his Department's target to increase the number of births delivered with the help of nurses, midwives or doctors to 500,000 by 2015. [64719]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) is scaling up UK support for health service delivery in Ethiopia. One of the targets for this support is to ensure that 500,000 additional births are delivered by a skilled birth attendant by 2015.
DFID plans to support the delivery of the Government of Ethiopia's five year health sector programme to achieve this target. The Government of Ethiopia estimate the following projected need for additional health workers across Ethiopia in 2015.
|
|
Baseline (2010) | Projected need (2015) | Additional health workers needed |
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure that health workers are deployed to the parts of Ethiopia identified as being in greatest need. [64721]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) is providing support for health service delivery across Ethiopia. At the district level, this includes financing for the salary costs of government health workers. To 2015, the UK plans to support almost 3,000 community level Health Extension Workers who are providing a package of preventative and basic curative services to more than 7 million people in rural communities across the country.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 33W
Despite these efforts, some parts of Ethiopia are lagging behind others in terms of access to health services. To respond to this, DFID is currently designing a ‘Peace and Development Programme' (PDP) focusing initially in the Somali Region of Ethiopia which has the lowest health indicators in the country. PDP will include a service delivery component focussed on expanding people's access to health workers and services.
Liberia: Health Services
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate his Department has made of the number of health workers required in Liberia to achieve the objectives of its operational plan in respect of reducing (a) maternal and (b) infant mortality rates by 2013; and how many (i) doctors, (ii) nurses, (iii) midwives and (iv) other health workers his Department plans to support to meet these objectives. [64861]
Mr O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central (Anas Sarwar) on 11 July 2011, Official Report columns 163-4W.
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that health workers are deployed to the parts of Liberia in greatest need. [64862]
Mr O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 163-4W, to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central (Anas Sarwar).
Libya: Armed Conflict
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports on post-conflict planning in Libya have been produced by the Stabilisation Unit. [65073]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Stabilisation Unit has not itself produced any report as such on post-conflict planning in Libya. It facilitated the deployment of an International Stabilisation Response Team (ISRT) to eastern Libya, on behalf of the Secretary of State for International Development. The International Stabilisation Response Team was composed of experts from the UK, US, Italy, Denmark, Canada, Australia and Turkey. The report they produced is intended to support Libyan-led stabilisation planning, and its analysis has informed the ongoing planning in Whitehall Departments as well as the National Transitional Council (NTC) and UN experts engaged in work on this.
Maldives: Overseas Aid
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to help the Government of the Maldives to promote economic growth in that country. [67496]
Mr Duncan:
As a middle-income country without large numbers of people living on less than a dollar a day/the Maldives does not receive development aid directly from the UK. The UK does however support
5 Sep 2011 : Column 34W
the Maldives indirectly through our contribution to multilateral partners such as the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank including with climate change funds.
The Secretary of State recently wrote to UK Trade and Investment encouraging them to do more to help the Maldivian Government as a Commonwealth country working hard to make democracy function after decades of dictatorship.
John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money was contributed to the Maldives from his Department's budget in 2010-11; and how much he plans to contribute to the Maldives in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [67741]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development has now reduced its bilateral focus to 27 countries with huge burdens of poverty, of which the Maldives is not one. The Maldives has now graduated to middle income status and has achieved five out of the eight Millennium Development Goals ahead of the 2015 deadline.
The UK does however support the Maldives through the British high commission in Colombo and indirectly through our contribution to multilateral partners such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The Maldives is also a pilot country in the Climate Investment Funds Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme, which the UK supports, and can access the Special Climate Change Fund and Adaption Fund (which recently approved a $10 million freshwater supply project in the Maldives). The UK supports both these funds.
Maputo Declaration
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations his Department has made to African governments on implementation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States Maputo Declaration. [67853]
Mr O'Brien: Britain routinely discusses factors affecting economic growth and food security with partner governments in Africa. UK Government officials also participate in twice yearly meetings of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme. We use these meetings, and our country level work, to review the programme with the African Union and member states and urge progress towards the Maputo productivity and expenditure targets.
National Security Council
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what role and responsibilities he has in relation to the National Security Council; and what recent contribution he has made to its work. [67415]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: I am a member of the National Security Council, which meets regularly, in some cases several times a week. I contribute fully to the consideration of the wide-ranging domestic and international security questions tackled by the National Security Council.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 35W
Overseas Aid
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of his Department's systematic reviews into the effectiveness of its 10 key policy interventions. [65032]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The aim of Department for International Development (DFID) funded systematic reviews is to identify the effectiveness of key policy interventions of interest to DFID. Systematic reviews enable evidence to be neutrally mapped out, quality assured and synthesised, in order to inform policy and practice decisions, and increase value for money by basing decisions on a rigorous understanding of what works.
By the end of March 2011, the 10 systematic reviews had been completed and were available on the Department for International Development's Research for Development website at a cost of £329,849. The groups that carried out the reviews were supported and peer reviewed by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation and the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre.
Sierra Leone: Education
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support he is providing to development in Sierra Leone in 2011-12; and how much support has been allocated to (a) education and (b) education of girls in that country. [68022]
Mr O'Brien: In 2011-12, UK aid will support improved governance, economic growth and natural resource management and the delivery of better services, such as education, health care, security and justice across Sierra Leone. This support will enable 20,000 more births to be attended by trained health personnel, provide access to sanitation to nearly 400,000 people and support 168,000 children in primary and junior secondary school, of which 82,000 are girls. In order to achieve this £58 million has been allocated for development in Sierra Leone, of which £5 million is for education.
While the UK's current education programme supports the general provision of education, new UK projects will begin in late 2011-12 and 2012-13 with specific activities targeting girls. These include piloting the provision of food packages to families on condition that their daughters attend school, teacher training and supervision and providing separate sanitation facilities at schools.
Sierra Leone: Health Services
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what objectives he has set for his Department's support for health sector salaries in Sierra Leone. [64802]
Mr O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central (Anas Sarwar) on 7 July 2011, Official Report, columns 1383-4W.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 36W
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how his Department plans to ensure that health workers are deployed to the parts of Sierra Leone in greatest need. [64803]
Mr O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central (Anas Sarwar) on 7 July 2011, Official Report, column 1384W.
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many additional health workers his Department estimates will be required in Sierra Leone to achieve the targets in his Department's operational plan for (a) reducing maternal mortality rates and (b) increasing the proportion of births delivered by skilled health personnel by 2015; and how many (i) doctors, (ii) nurses, (iii) midwives and (iv) other health workers his Department plans to provide support to meet these targets. [64804]
Mr O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central (Anas Sarwar) on 7 July 2011, Official Report, column 1384W.
South Sudan: Poverty
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department is providing to (a) poverty reduction and (b) education programmes in South Sudan. [68274]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development's (DFID) four-year operational plan for South Sudan was published on 28 July 2011. DFID is aiming for ambitious results including: one million people getting enough food to eat; increased private sector investment and trade by reducing cross-border transport costs by up to 15%; 240,000 more children completing primary school; and 12 million textbooks printed and distributed to almost two million children.
A total budget allocation of £375 million has been approved for South Sudan over the current AF period. In 2011-12 alone we are looking to spend nearly £90 million.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Agriculture
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is providing for the creation of new jobs in the agriculture sector in sub-Saharan Africa. [67654]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development is supporting the agricultural sector in countries such as Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe and by doing so is creating employment opportunities. For example, in Somalia the UK's support to the European Commission and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation is expected to create 45,000 agricultural and trade-related jobs by 2015, many of which will be taken up by women.
Britain also supports the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) which was established in 2008 and has already supported a million farmers through the provision of grants or interest free loans to commercial enterprises
5 Sep 2011 : Column 37W
to innovate and find profitable ways of improving market access for small farmers. In south Sudan, AECF has supported SAB Miller to work with small-holder farmers to grow cassava for beer production. This will improve market opportunities for around 2,000 farmers and create much needed employment in Africa's newest country. In Zimbabwe, AECF support is expected to create around 1,400 agriculture-related jobs by 2015.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Sanitation
Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to assist in the provision of clean water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa. [68306]
Mr Duncan: As set out in “UK Aid: Changing lives, delivering results” the UK Government aim to give 15 million people access to clean drinking water; improve access to sanitation for 25 million people; and improve hygiene for 15 million people.
The majority of our effort will be in Africa, which is where the needs are greatest and progress is in danger of stagnating. Subject to the preparation of robust business cases that demonstrate value for money, we plan to have five new major bilateral programmes on water and sanitation in Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe). We will also continue to support existing programmes in four countries that have among the largest numbers of people without access to water and sanitation in Africa (Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sierra Leone).
Sustainable Development: International Co-operation
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will promote international systems for payment for ecosystem services as part of preparatory discussions for the Rio 2012 Conference on Sustainable Development. [67382]
Mr O'Brien: The UK is currently working on options for the Rio conference. The agenda item at the conference on the "green economy" offers a key opportunity to deepen global understanding of the complex interactions between natural resources, climate change and poverty eradication through a strong economic growth lens, and to act on this understanding.
We expect to support options for the conference that command the support of a wide range of countries and deliver real progress and benefits to developing countries. Promotion of international systems for payment for ecosystem services will be considered in this context.
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will bring forward proposals to reform the governance of the World Bank to give greater weight to sustainability issues as part of the preparatory process for the Rio 2012 Conference on Sustainable Development. [67383]
Mr O'Brien:
The UK's Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) highlighted areas where the World Bank is performing well and others where further reform is needed. These reforms will underpin an improvement in the bank's
5 Sep 2011 : Column 38W
performance and overall effectiveness. A key area identified for reform is the need for the bank to step up its efforts to further integrate climate change and environmental sustainability across all its operations. We are already working with the bank and using a range of platforms to advance this agenda, in particular, our own seat on the bank's board and other focused technical level discussions.
The forthcoming Rio 2012 conference offers a further opportunity to deepen global understanding of the reasons why such integration is necessary and to act on this understanding, through all multilateral and bilateral institutions, governments, civil society and the private sector. The UK expects to support options for the conference that command the support of a wide range of countries and deliver real progress and benefits to developing countries. Any outcomes relating to the World Bank's work will be considered in this context.
Wales
Broadcasting Programmes: Welsh Language
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether she has met (a) Welsh Ministers and (b) the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport to discuss the future of Welsh language broadcasting, including the devolution functions; and if she will make a statement. [68693]
Mr David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales and I have regular meetings with the First Minister and with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), on a range of issues including Welsh language broadcasting.
We remain committed to a strong and independent Welsh language TV service and believe that arrangements set out in the spending review last year will deliver a secure future for S4C. We therefore have no plans to devolve broadcasting matters.
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether she has met (a) Welsh Ministers and (b) the Secretary of State for the Home Department regarding the scrutiny of and support required by police commissioners in Wales; and if she will make a statement. [68695]
Mr David Jones: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Wales and I have met Welsh Government Ministers to discuss Police and Crime Commissioners in Wales.
We have also met with Home Office Ministers and are continuing to work constructively with them to ensure that Police and Crime Commissioners are introduced effectively in Wales.
We have discussed many aspects of the policy including scrutiny and support. The Government remains fully committed to the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners policy. Preparatory work has commenced to ensure that we get implementation right in Wales.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 39W
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Air Pollution
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to publish data on road transport emissions in 2010. [68615]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA will publish national statistics on UK emissions of five major air quality pollutants for 2010 in December. The underlying data published at the same time will provide emissions for different source sectors, including road transport. Data on emissions of other air quality pollutants for 2010 by source sector will be published in February 2012.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change will publish national statistics on UK greenhouse gas emissions for 2010 in early February 2012.
Animal Welfare
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what training (a) farmers and (b) landowners will receive to ensure that cull operators are competent to (i) conduct a cull, (ii) minimise perturbation and (iii) do so with high regard to animal welfare. [68415]
Mr Paice: Operators would be required to demonstrate competence and attend an approved training course in order to obtain a licence to carry out culling. Training would comprise attendance at a Government-approved course which would cover anatomical and behavioural characteristics of badgers and how these differ from those of other species. Additional marksmanship training and assessment would be required for those who may have experience but no formal qualification. The licence conditions would also require all operators to adhere to Best Practice Guidance issued by DEFRA/Natural England.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Wildlife Crime Unit on the unlawful persecution of badgers since September 2010; and on what dates. [68989]
Mr Paice: I met with representatives from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), including the Wildlife Crime Unit, on 7 February 2011 to discuss the proposed badger control policy.
Animals: Disease Control
George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on measures to prevent animal diseases entering the UK; and if she will make a statement. [68671]
Mr Paice: DEFRA Ministers and officials have continual contact, through various means, with their EU counterparts in Animal Health and Welfare teams across Europe to discuss issues relating to the prevention of animal diseases entering the UK.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 40W
Most recently for example, amongst other issues, discussions have taken place in relation to rules surrounding the movement of pets and tapeworm controls.
George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking (a) domestically and (b) at EU level to prevent the spread of disease (i) between and (ii) within wild animal, livestock and domesticated animal populations; and if she will make a statement. [68721]
Mr Paice: Control policies for dealing with exotic disease are developed and reviewed in close partnership with delivery agents, core groups of stakeholders and specialists. This ensures they are proportionate and evidence based within the framework of European and national law. Our contingency plans for dealing with outbreaks, if they occur, are regularly reviewed. Plans are regularly tested at local and national level, working closely with delivery partners and industry. We closely monitor outbreaks of high impact disease around the world and assess the risk to the UK. All of these measures rely very much on vigilance by farmers and animal keepers in identifying and reporting possible disease. Monitoring animals for signs of disease and following good biosecurity and hygiene practices are essential ways of reducing risk of disease in the first place and then preventing spread. Further information is available through DEFRA’S website at:
www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/
Badgers
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to publish the names of the independent scientific experts who are to be asked to evaluate the two badger cull pilots. [68980]
Mr Paice: Further details regarding the independent panel of scientific experts that will evaluate the two pilot areas will be published alongside an announcement on the outcome of the current consultation.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria she has established for the (a) monitoring and (b) measurement of the effectiveness of the proposed badger cull pilots. [68982]
Mr Paice: Controlled shooting would be initially piloted in two areas, to test our assumptions about its effectiveness and humaneness. The evaluation of these pilots would be overseen by an independent panel of scientific experts. In parallel with the current consultation, we are drawing up details of how the pilots will be monitored and measured. These are likely to include monitoring humaneness via field observations and post mortems, and measuring the rate of badger removal. We expect the expert panel to advise on the exact specification of the monitoring work.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of badgers to be culled (a) per cull area and (b) in total in the next four years. [68983]
5 Sep 2011 : Column 41W
Mr Paice: We would expect around 1,000 to 1,500 badgers to be culled in a 150km(2) area over four years. This is based on data available from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT). The total number of badgers culled will depend on the number of licences issued, and the size of area being culled. The number of licences issued will be limited to a maximum of 10 per year. Natural England will work with licence co-ordinators to assess the badger population in the control area and will set an upper limit on the percentage of the estimated badger population that may be killed each year in each control area.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the advice her Department has received from the Bern Convention Secretariat on the effect of a badger cull. [68984]
Mr Paice: The Bern Convention operates a “case file” system where, in response to a complaint received, it may raise a file for discussion at the Bern Standing Committee. The contracting party against whom the complaint has been made will need to satisfy the Committee of action taken to address the issue and the Committee may advise what that action should be. The Bern Standing Committee will not take action before a complaint has been received.
In 2010, the Bern Bureau considered a complaint from the Badger Trust about proposed badger control action in Wales. Having considered the reasons for the action proposed, the Bureau decided to take the case off the list of the complaints in stand-by.
We are not aware of a complaint having been passed to the Bern Secretariat on the current proposal (published for consultation on 19 July 2011) for badger control in England as part of a package of measures to tackle TB in cattle.
The UK is obliged under Article 9.2 of the Bern Convention to report every two years to the Bern Standing Committee any action taken in accordance with the derogations provided for under Article 9.1. Any control of badgers undertaken would need to be included in this report.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much a badger cull licence will cost. [68986]
Mr Paice: Under our current proposals applicants would not be charged for licences.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will publish the undertakings she has provided to the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the funding of the policing costs associated with a badger cull; [68990]
(2) whether she has considered the provision of armed police to (a) protect those contracted to conduct the badger cull and (b) to police any public protests arising from culls; [68991]
(3) what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of (a) policing the two badger cull pilots and (b) policing for all culling activity in the next four years. [68992]
5 Sep 2011 : Column 42W
Mr Paice: I am afraid we cannot share the Home Office advice but I can assure the hon. Lady that we are in discussion with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and with the Home Office during the consultation period regarding the police response and associated costs related to badger culling.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average monetary guarantee groups of farmers and landowners will be required to provide to her Department for the grant of a cull licence. [68993]
Mr Paice: Participants would be required to deposit sufficient funds to cover the total expected cost of the four-year cull (plus a contingency sum) before culling begins. The amount that would be required to be deposited would vary according to the size and nature of the culling operation in each area so it is not possible at this stage to provide a figure for the average sum. The Government would be able to access these funds in the event that it needed to intervene, and be able to levy additional funds from the original participants should that be necessary.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the likely reduction of bovine TB levels (a) in cull areas and (b) nationally after (i) four and (ii) nine years from the start of culling. [69043]
Mr Paice: The average effects seen during and post culling in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) can be used to estimate the average net effect of culling over different sized areas over a nine year period (average five years' culling and four year post cull period). For example, the estimated average net benefit of culling over an area of 150 km(2) and the surrounding 2 km ring is a 16.0% reduction in confirmed TB incidence (95% confidence interval: 7.9% reduction to 24.2% reduction), equating to the prevention of 47 cattle herd breakdowns. What is seen in reality will vary greatly depending on local conditions including the size of the area, local background incidence of TB, the relative contribution that badgers make to the disease and the degree to which the culled area is surrounded by barriers or buffers to minimise the perturbation effect. Any estimates of overall beneficial effect are illustrative for a defined set of circumstances.
The Government are not proposing culling over the whole endemic area at the same time. We are proposing reductions of local badger populations in order to have a local impact in high incidence areas. A controlled reduction of badger populations in the worst affected areas can make an important contribution as part of a comprehensive and balanced package of measures to tackle TB in cattle.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what areas her Department plans to use as comparators to assess the local impacts of badger culls. [69044]
Mr Paice:
The Government will take responsibility for monitoring the effectiveness, humaneness and impact of badger control, which will include monitoring of TB incidence and other epidemiological measures in cattle.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 43W
This is likely to include the examination of historical data and future incidence of TB in cattle within licensed areas and comparative areas where no badger control is taking place. Efforts will be made to match comparative areas to licensed areas on as many epidemiologically relevant characteristics as possible, e.g. geographical location and historical cattle TB incidence.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment her Department has made of the rate of survival of badgers injured but not killed in its previous trials of badger shooting; [68275]
(2) if she will make an assessment of the effects on the suffering experienced by badgers of (a) cage shooting and (b) free shooting. [68408]
Mr Paice: The only two culling methods that we are proposing to permit are cage-trapping and shooting, and controlled shooting, on the basis that they are both considered to be humane. The Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) provided evidence on the humaneness of cage-trapping and shooting. No badgers were injured but not killed in this trial. Controlled shooting was not part of the RBCT, but has been effective in controlling other wild animal populations such as deer and foxes. This method has not been used to date in any trial or field test on badgers, which is why (if the Government decide to proceed with the policy following the current consultation) we intend to pilot it in two areas, to test our assumptions about its effectiveness (at removing badgers) and humaneness. These pilots would be overseen by an independent panel of scientific experts.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence her Department has assessed of the likely effects of perturbation in conjunction with the practice of free shooting in plans for badger population control. [68409]
Mr Paice: There is no reason to believe that controlled shooting will have any greater effect on perturbation than cage trapping and shooting. Provided controlled shooting adheres to the same strict licence criteria, and the same number of badgers are removed during a similar period of time, there is no reason to suppose the effect seen will be any different to that observed in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT).
As there are no empirical data available on the effect of controlled shooting on perturbation, this assessment is based on consultation with experts on badger ecology.
We propose to take a precautionary approach through a pilot of the policy, initially licensing two areas in the first year.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department plans to take to ensure the continuity of badger culling under a licensing scheme for the duration of the trials. [68412]
Mr Paice:
To ensure continuity that any culling would be carried out for a minimum of four years, we propose that all participants would be required to enter into agreements with Natural England, which would set out
5 Sep 2011 : Column 44W
participants' obligations and, if necessary as a last resort, allow Government to intervene, access participating land, take over responsibility for a culling operation and recover costs from the participants, should the participants fail to meet the conditions of the licence.
Participants would also be required to deposit sufficient funds to cover the total expected cost of the four-year cull (plus a contingency sum) before culling begins. Government would be able to access these funds in the event that it needed to intervene, and be able to levy additional funds from the original participants should that be necessary.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals her Department has for vaccination around a badger culling area. [68414]
Mr Paice: As set out in our draft guidance to Natural England, vaccination could be used in combination with culling, for example as a buffer for areas where vaccination may help reduce the risks to vulnerable livestock of increased TB incidence, both within and surrounding a control area, as a result of perturbation from the local badger population.
Where the use of vaccination in combination with culling is proposed, the following best practice is recommended:
a. Where vaccination is to be used as a buffer, it should be used at active badger setts found on, or adjacent to, land where vulnerable livestock are present and which fall within 2km of the edge of a control area;
b. Vaccination should take place at least 4 weeks prior to culling to allow immunity to develop in uninfected vaccinated animals;
c. To mitigate any ongoing perturbation effect and begin to build up “herd immunity”, vaccination should be carried out annually, continuing for at least the same length of time as any culling on adjacent land; and
d. Where culling and vaccination are taking place on adjacent land, boundary cage-trapping (designed to cull badgers resident on inaccessible land) should be avoided.
We also intend to make available up to £250,000 a year of new funding to support farmers and landowners who plan to vaccinate badgers. More details will be published shortly.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what requirements (a) farmers and (b) landowners will be required to meet in order to receive licences for culling badgers. [68416]
Mr Paice: Applications for a culling licence must meet a range of criteria. These are set out in the draft guidance to Natural England, on which we are currently consulting with key stakeholders, at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/consult/files/bovinetb-guidance-ne-110719-annexa.pdf
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to tackle bovine tuberculosis borne by badgers outside culling areas. [68417]
5 Sep 2011 : Column 45W
Mr Paice: The Government's TB control programme is focused on reducing the incidence of TB in cattle (and other vulnerable livestock) across the whole of England. The proposed badger control policy aims to reduce the incidence of TB in cattle in areas with a reservoir of disease in badgers and where infection is cycling between the species. In such areas the transmission risks can be reduced by badger culling and/or badger vaccination. In areas without a reservoir of disease in badgers, the main TB risk is from cattle movements. DEFRA's recently published “TB Eradication Programme for England” outlines a comprehensive range of cattle measures to address bovine TB which remain the cornerstone of our efforts to control the disease right across the country.
Biofuels
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Rapid Response Forum of G20 agriculture ministers plans to consider a temporary adjustment of biofuels policies. [68624]
Mr Paice: The Rapid Response Forum, which is a body of senior officials, will respond to particular crises as and when they occur or threaten to occur. It is thus not possible to say in advance what measures might be considered, since particular measures are likely to be relevant to some situations and not others. However, the action plan agreed by G20 Agriculture Ministers provides for further work on the relationship between biofuels production and the response of agriculture to price increase and volatility, and I expect the results of that work to be available to the forum in due course.
Boats
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many boats with (a) a home mooring licence and (b) a continuous cruising licence have moored on average in (i) the Rivers Lea and Stort and (ii) the Regent's Canal in the last five years. [69075]
Richard Benyon: This information has been recorded since 2007 by British Waterways as follows:
| Average boats observed during licence checks | ||||
|
|
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| (1) Includes boats for whom no mooring declaration was received, trailed boats and boats with home moorings on a non British Waterways navigation. | ||||
5 Sep 2011 : Column 46W
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has for expenditure on research into combating bovine tuberculosis in each of the next four years. [68404]
Mr Paice: The Bovine TB research budget for the financial year 2011-12 is £7.9 million.
For 2012-13 it will be £7.5 million.
For 2013-14 it is anticipated to be between £6.6 million and £7.5 million.
For 2014-15 it is anticipated to be between £5.4 million and £7.4 million.
The budget has not yet been set for 2015-16.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of implementation of her Department's policy on the badger population in England on the transmission of bovine tuberculosis (a) between badgers and (b) from badgers to cattle in areas adjacent to designated culling areas. [68407]
Mr Paice: The results of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) showed that incidence of TB in cattle on land immediately surrounding the culling area had a temporary increase, which then tailed off. With the latest post-trial analysis showing that 12-18 months after culling stopped the level of TB in cattle in the surrounding area was compatible with the survey-only areas. This is thought to be due to the disruption of the organisation of badger social groups, called perturbation, causing remaining badgers to range more widely. However, measures can be put in place to mitigate the negative effects seen in the surrounding area, including making use of barriers such as coastlines and major rivers, to limit badger movement. Vaccination could also be used to mitigate the negative effects of culling. Our proposal (on which we are currently consulting) therefore requires participants to take reasonable, proportionate and appropriate measures to minimise the risk of potential negative effects.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what scientific evidence has been made available to her Department on the effects on control of bovine tuberculosis of individual licensing of badger culls. [68410]
Mr Paice: The results of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) demonstrate that badger culling, done on a sufficient scale, in a widespread, coordinated and efficient way, and over a sustained period of time, would reduce the incidence of bovine TB in cattle in high incidence areas.
The proposed policy is for groups of farmers/landowners covering areas of at least 150 sq km to apply for a single licence. One of the criteria for a licence is that the group would be required to co-ordinate culling across the whole area, for a six-week period, each year for four years.
Mr Bain:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the potential differences
5 Sep 2011 : Column 47W
in the relative magnitude of the change in increased incidences and reduced incidences of bovine tuberculosis which will occur through the variation of any areas culled in comparison to those used during the random badger culling trial. [68411]
Mr Paice: In the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), an average five years of proactive culling over 100 sq km was associated with an average 23.2% decrease in confirmed TB incidence in the culled area, and an average 24.5% increase in the surrounding 2 km-wide ring of land, relative to survey-only areas.
As the size of a culled area increases, the relative impact of any detrimental effects in the surrounding ring diminishes compared to the benefits seen in the culled area, so the overall net benefit increases. The size of this effect also depends heavily on other factors, including the local background incidence of TB, the density of cattle herds and the degree to which the culled area is surrounded by barriers or buffers to minimise the perturbation effect.
The effects seen during and post culling in the RBCT can be used to estimate the average net effect of culling over different size areas.
For example, the estimated average net benefit of culling over a culled area of 150 sq km and 2 km surrounding ring is a 16.0% reduction in confirmed TB incidence (95% confidence interval: 7.9% reduction to 24.2% reduction) over a nine-year period (based on an average five years' culling and four year post cull period). This estimate assumes a higher initial TB incidence in the culled area relative to the surrounding ring.
For comparison, for culling over a 100 sq km area (as in the RBCT), the estimated average net benefit over a nine-year period would be a 14.0% reduction (95% confidence interval: 5.3% reduction to 22.8% reduction).
Brown-Tailed Moth Caterpillar
Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has (a) considered the merits of and (b) assessed the efficacy of nucleopolyhedrovirus as a biological control of the brown-tailed moth caterpillar. [68645]
Mr Paice: The chemicals regulation directorate (CRD), which operates the approvals system for plant protection products, has not received an application for the approval of the use of nucleopolyhedrovirus to control the brown tailed moth caterpillar and no assessment has therefore been made. There is, however, a range of pesticide products approved for use against moths.
While there is no approval for nucleopolyhedrovirus as a biological control of the brown-tailed moth caterpillar, the CRD has approved other viruses for the control of moths such as the granulosis virus on the codling moth. The CRD operates a Biopesticide Scheme which offers applicants advice and reduced fees to help in securing approval for such types of biological pesticides. The amount of scientific data required to support applications for such viruses has been reduced in line with international guidance.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 48W
Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects on agricultural production of the brown-tailed moth caterpillar; and what steps her Department is considering to address the issue. [68734]
Mr Paice: The brown-tailed moth caterpillar is not a significant agricultural pest. Therefore we have not made an assessment of the caterpillar's effect on agricultural production, and are not considering steps to address the issue.
Coastal Erosion
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make funding available to Hartlepool borough council to secure coastal defences in the borough of Hartlepool between Crimdon Dene and Newburn Bridge; and if she will make a statement. [68019]
Richard Benyon: In February 2011, the Environment Agency provided nearly £400,000 to Hartlepool borough council to undertake a strategic review of the coastal frontage from Crimdon Dene to Newburn Bridge. This coastal strategy, which is due to be completed by the end of the year, will identify and categorise the risk of coastal erosion and coastal flooding along the frontage, and will identify strategic options to address any areas at immediate risk.
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the coastal defences required to ensure that The Headland in the borough of Hartlepool is safeguarded against (a) flooding and (b) rising sea levels; and if she will make a statement. [68020]
Richard Benyon: Hartlepool borough council is the Coastal Erosion Risk Management Authority leading on coastal protection for the Hartlepool headland.
In November 2010, Hartlepool borough council secured £70,000 of funding from the Environment Agency to undertake a study into the coastal defences around the Hartlepool headland, as recommended by the approved River Tyne to Flamborough Head Shoreline Management Plan 2. The study is considering the existing condition of the defences, the assets at risk and options for securing the defences into the future.
Cormorants
Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the number of cormorants which roost and feed inshore; and what steps she (a) has taken and (b) is considering to control their numbers. [60133]
Richard Benyon
[holding answer 16 June 2011]: The most recently published figures from “The Wetland Bird Survey” relating to cormorants counted outside the breeding season are for the year 2008-09. Coastal and inland counts are not reported separately so figures for the number of cormorants which roost and feed inshore are therefore not available. Maximum counts
5 Sep 2011 : Column 49W
outside of the breeding season were reported of 17,149 in Great Britain in September 2008, and of 1,619 in December 2008.
No steps have been taken to control cormorant numbers at a national level. Where cormorants come into conflict with inland fisheries Natural England may issue licences to lethally control cormorants. Licences to shoot cormorants, typically as an aid to scaring, are issued on a case by case basis at sites where there is evidence of serious damage to fisheries, or a risk of serious damage occurring, and all other practical alternatives have been tried and have failed.
Recognising concerns raised by anglers and fishery managers, I announced at the Angling and Fisheries summit on 25 January that the Government are to carry out a review of the current policy in relation to managing the impact of predation on inland fisheries from fish-eating birds, including cormorants. Once completed the outcomes of the review will be made publicly available.
Departmental Correspondence
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many letters her Department received from hon. Members in June 2011. [68757]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA received 988 letters and 11 invitations directly from hon. Members in June 2011. 88 of the letters were on subjects for which DEFRA is not responsible and so were transferred to the relevant Departments. Just over 100 letters on DEFRA's subjects were transferred in by other Departments.
Catering
Natascha Engel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) each Government Department auditing the welfare
5 Sep 2011 : Column 50W
assurance of each of its catering contracts and
(b)
making it mandatory through Government Buying Standards for Departments to buy products that meet an existing, recognised farm assurance label. [68838]
Richard Benyon: The Department has made no direct assessment of the cost of auditing the welfare assurance of its catering contract. The welfare assurance factors of the catering contracts would be reviewed in the ongoing management of the catering contracts on a daily and weekly basis by the supplier and the Department.
The Department has now centralised its catering contract provision covering 11 sites in England. The mandatory use of the Government Buying Standards to buy products that meet an existing, recognised farm assurance label is included in this managed catering service.
NDPB Manpower
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people have been (a) recruited and (b) made redundant from (i) her Department and (ii) each non-departmental body for which she is responsible since May 2010. [66326]
Richard Benyon: The number of staff who have been (a) recruited, (b) made redundant and (c) taken voluntary redundancy or left on a voluntary exit scheme from (i) the Department, and (ii) each NDPB since May 2010 is set out in the following table. The NDPBs recorded here are DEFRA's executive non-departmental public bodies.
Please note that the Commission for Rural Communities and the Sustainable Development Commission have closed since May 2010, while Food From Britain closed in 2009. The Agricultural Wages Board and the Agricultural Wages Committee do not employ any staff.
| Department /NDPB | Number of staff recruited | Number of staff made compulsorily redundant | Number of staff taking voluntary redundancy or leaving on voluntary exit scheme |
| Note: Numbers of less than five are not disclosed for reasons of confidentiality | |||
5 Sep 2011 : Column 51W
Redundancy
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much (a) her Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which she is responsible has spent on redundancies since May 2010. [66345]
Richard Benyon:
The amount spent on (a) compulsory redundancy payments and (b) voluntary redundancy
5 Sep 2011 : Column 52W
payments and compensation paid to staff leaving on voluntary exit schemes since May 2010 in (i) the Department, and (ii) each NDPB is set out in the following table. The NDPBs recorded here are DEFRA’s Executive NDPBs.
Please note that the Commission for Rural Communities and the Sustainable Development Commission have closed since May 2010, while Food From Britain closed in 2009. The Agricultural Wages Board and the Agricultural Wages Committee do not employ any staff.
| £ | ||
| Department/NDPB | Amount spent on compulsory redundancy payments | Amount spent on voluntary redundancy payments and voluntary exit scheme compensation |
| (1) Amount not disclosed for reasons of confidentiality | ||
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on redundancy costs since May 2010. [67543]
Richard Benyon [holding answer 19 July 2011]:The amount spent on (a) compulsory redundancy payments and (b) voluntary redundancy payments and compensation paid to staff leaving on voluntary exit schemes since May 2010 in (i) the Department, and (ii) each NDPB is set out in the following table. The NDPBs recorded here are DEFRA’s Executive NDPBs.
Please note that the Commission for Rural Communities and the Sustainable Development Commission have closed since May 2010, while Food From Britain closed in 2009. The Agricultural Wages Board and the Agricultural Wages Committee do not employ any staff.
| £ | ||
| Department/NDPB | Amount spent on compulsory redundancy payments | Amount spent on voluntary redundancy payments and voluntary exit scheme compensation |
| (1) Amount not disclosed for reasons of confidentiality | ||
5 Sep 2011 : Column 53W
Farming Regulation Task Force
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when she expects to respond to the recommendations of the Independent Farming Regulation Task Force; [69115]
(2) what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills conducting the Employment Law Review on the Independent Farming Regulation Task Force's recommendations on reform of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority; [69116]
(3) what discussions she has had with (a) trades unions and (b) the Association of Labour Providers on the Independent Farming Regulation Task Force's recommendations on reform of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. [69117]
Mr Paice: The Government are considering the recommendations made by the independent task force on farming regulation and will publish an initial response this autumn and a final response early in 2012. The response will take account of other reviews, including the employment law review.
DEFRA officials are working closely with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on the review of Government enforcement of workplace rights, which forms part of the employment law review. The independent task force recommended changes in respect of Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) processes and communications but not on reform of the authority. These recommendations have been discussed by the GLA board, on which trade unions, the Association of Labour Providers, DEFRA and BIS are represented.
Fisheries
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the UK fixed quota allocation is held by non-active fishermen. [60234]
Richard Benyon: Information in terms of the holdings of Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) units by members of each UK fishermen's Producer Organisations is available as part of the information released each year as part of the process of allocating the overall UK quota out to various parts of the industry. The latest information available is on holdings as at 1 January 2010 used to distribute quotas for 2010, and it is available from the Marine Management Organisation's internet site at:
http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/fisheries/management/quotas.htm
Similar information for the position as at 1 January 2011 is currently being finalised as part of final allocations of quotas for 2011.
These reports do not include details of holdings by non-active fishermen. Such information would include personal data as defined in Section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act as information relating to living persons, and thus disclosure would breach the principles within the act. In addition, the information requested is effectively details of a commercial (or personal) asset held by the owner and is thus regarded as commercially sensitive, in
5 Sep 2011 : Column 54W
that if others gain knowledge of their quota ownership (or possibly lack of ownership), it may potentially affect business agreements they might enter into.
The commercial sensitivity and personal nature of the information also prevents the provision of the information. In addition, a significant proportion of quota is held by producer organisations themselves on behalf of their members or other individuals. The actual beneficial holder of the quota is known by the producer organisation involved but this information is not routinely collected by fisheries administrations. As such it is not possible to determine to what extent these holdings may be held by those who are not-active fishermen.
An exercise was carried out in 2007 to look at the details on the ownership of the quota allocation units held by Producer Organisation (PO) on behalf of others. This indicated that for the total holdings of FQA units in the UK, the proportion held by POs themselves rather than linked to individual vessels was 18.6%. Of this, 3.1% was being held by the PO itself on behalf of its members as a collective asset, 5.5% on behalf of individual active members of the PO, 4.4% held on behalf of vessel agents or salesmen, 2.0% held as part of Community Quota Schemes and 3.5% on behalf of other types of owner.
Fisheries: Foreign Nationals
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many foreign fishing vessels with historical rights of access have access to the six to 12 nautical miles UK coastal zone. [56421]
Richard Benyon: Full details of the access arrangements for foreign fishing vessels in the UK six to 12 mile coastal zone are set out in Article 17.2 and Annex 1.1 of Council Regulation 2371/2002. Under these arrangements, all fishing vessels from France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Ireland have either full or limited access to some parts of the UK six to 12 mile limits. The Government do not keep records of the number of vessels that actually exercise these rights of access.
Fisheries: Safety
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to safeguard the under-10-metre fishing fleet in (a) the North East and (b) Hartlepool; and if she will make a statement. [68029]
Richard Benyon: The proposals set out in the recently conducted consultation on domestic fisheries management reforms seek to create a more profitable, sustainable, unified fishing industry in the long term, which will benefit the under-10-metre fishing fleet.
The responses to the consultation are currently being analysed, and will be used to inform future policy decisions. Any decisions that are made will be for the benefit of the industry as a whole and with due regard to the impacts on the under-10-metre fleet fishermen around the coast, including in the North East, and specifically Hartlepool.
The Government's response to the consultation will be published at the end of September.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 55W
Food: Procurement
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will consider encouraging local authority care homes to comply with Government Buying Standards for the public procurement of food and food services. [68106]
Mr Paice: Although Government Buying Standards (GBS) will only be mandatory for central Government, GBS is also being promoted to the wider public sector including local authorities, which control procurement in many public bodies care homes and schools. There is a balance to be struck between the need to ensure food procured by the public sector is healthier and more sustainable and the need for local public sector bodies to make their own decisions on how best to spend the public money that they are allocated. Given the current financial pressures on all public expenditure it is essential that the measures are affordable and deliver real benefits in terms of sustainability and improved nutrition.
There are many examples of public bodies finding good, healthy and sustainable food that is no more expensive right on their doorstep and I know that many people would like to see this happen more. In keeping with the Government's localism approach, we want to give people and communities power to make changes on issues like this that are important to them. We would like to see all public sector bodies procuring at least to GBS standards and we will encourage them to do so. But many people want to go further than this, and our approach to public sector procurement has been designed to support them. We want local people to be able to express their own preferences and for their voices to be heard.
LIFE
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions she has had with the European Commission on the eligibility for the next programming round of LIFE+ of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the EU member states; [68860]
(2) what discussions she has had with her (a) French and (b) Dutch counterparts about opening up the next programming round of LIFE+ to the Overseas Countries and Territories of the EU member states; [68861]
(3) what her policy is on the opening up of the next programming round of LIFE+ to British Overseas Territories. [68862]
Richard Benyon: The European Commission is yet to make its proposal for a new EU financial instrument for the environment. Discussions with the European Commission or other member states are not currently planned in advance of seeing the European Commission's proposal. Once this is available we will develop a UK position.
Livestock: Transport
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will bring forward proposals to amend the Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 to allow the owner of a port to refuse its use for the live export of animals; and if she will make a statement. [68857]
5 Sep 2011 : Column 56W
Mr Paice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning), on 19 July 2011, Official Report, column 956W.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to reply to the letters of (a) 24 May 2011 and (b) 22 June 2011 from the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed to the Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, concerning the over-breeding of low-valued ponies. [68804]
Mr Paice: I replied to the right hon. Member's letters to Lord Henley on 27 July 2011. This was due to the high volume of correspondence received during this period.
Milk: Prices
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of European Commission data on farm gate milk prices in pence per litre in EU member states; and if she will make a statement. [68426]
Mr Paice: The milk price in pence per litre in EU member states recorded by the European Commission for the last five years is given as follows (some data are unavailable).
Recent monthly figures from the Commission show that the UK has the lowest average raw milk price of all EU member states.
| Member state | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Source: DG Agri and DairyCo | |||||
5 Sep 2011 : Column 57W
UK dairy farmers are among the most efficient and competitive in Europe. I have challenged the industry to capture more of domestic and export markets, given the low farmgate price paid relative to our European competitors.
Nature Conservation: Voluntary Work
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding her Department plans to provide to (a) the Muck In4Life campaign and (b) any other element of the Change4Life campaign in each of the next four years. [61555]
Richard Benyon: We have made initial commitments to fund some community activity for Muck In4Life in 2011-12, but have not made any commitments on any other element of the Change4Life campaign over the next four years as this would be led by the Department of Health. It is possible that some further funding may be available in the future, but in keeping with the principles of big society and the commitments of the Natural Environment White Paper we will be looking to promote Muck In4Life using partner networks and sponsorship.
Plants: Diseases
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will put in place measures to improve the protection of indigenous plants from diseases and pests borne on foreign plant imports. [68061]
Mr Paice: Under the EU Plant Health Directive, the UK implements a series of measures to prevent the entry of plant pests and diseases. These include the requirement to inspect plant imports and for consignments of plants to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. These certificates confirm that the exporting country has attested to the health of the plants and that they meet the EU's import requirements. Despite this regime of inspection and other statutory requirements, there are frequent findings of pests and diseases in imports both from within and outside the EU. The weaknesses of the current regime in providing adequate protection for the UK and other member states from plant pests and disease has prompted a review of the EU's plant health regime, which we are actively supporting.
The UK and other member states are pressing for improved controls so that import inspections are focused on trades presenting the highest risks, and so that new trades, particularly those involving plants for planting, are subject to assessment of risk in advance of import. Other issues, such as the tightening of the concession which allows travellers to import limited quantities of plants and plant material for personal use are also under consideration. We anticipate these will be consulted on next year after the EU publishes its draft proposals for change.
To strengthen controls at our borders, there is also a programme of research at the Food and Environment Research Agency to improve methods of detection of pests in consignments of plants. This includes the development of quick test kits to detect the DNA of plant pathogens and the use of acoustic technology to detect insect larvae within the stems of plants.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 58W
Third Sector
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the name is of each charity and voluntary organisation Ministers in her Department have visited since May 2010. [67542]
Richard Benyon [holding answer 19 July 2011]: DEFRA already publishes a list of ministerial meetings with all external organisations, including charities and voluntary organisations. This is published on a quarterly basis and is placed on the DEFRA website.
Trees: Disease Control
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to prevent the spread of sudden oak death in English woodlands. [68238]
Mr Paice: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish) on 3 May 2011, Official Report, column 611W.
Attorney-General
Consultants
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Attorney-General how many senior civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments at each grade had worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, Deloitte or KPMG immediately prior to taking up their appointment in each of the last four years; what consultancy agreements these Departments had with those firms in each such year; and how many consultants from those firms have advised those Departments in each such year. [68965]
The Solicitor-General: During the last four years the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) recruited one individual directly into the senior civil service (SCS). This person had worked for Pricewaterhouse Coopers and was recruited at SCS1.
No other individuals previously working for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), Ernst and Young, Deloitte or KPMG have been employed by the Law Officers' Departments at SCS grade during this period of time.
Deloitte were engaged by the Attorney-General's Office for consultancy work in connection with the Fraud Review and establishment of the National Fraud Authority in the financial year ending 31 March 2008. Two consultants were engaged.
KPMG LLP were engaged by the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) for consultancy work on the development of the TSol Finance and Vision Strategy in the financial year ending 31 March 2009. One lead consultant was engaged; it is not recorded whether any or how many consultants worked in support of the lead consultant.
In addition, PWC and Ernst and Young have been engaged by Tsol to provide expert witness reports for eight cases in the last four years.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 59W
One other individual from PWC undertook some consultancy work at the SFO for four months in December 2008 to March 2009.
Departmental Correspondence
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Attorney-General how many letters the Law Officers' Departments received from hon. Members in June 2011. [68765]
The Solicitor-General: The information requested is contained in the following table:
| MPs letters in June 2011 | |
|
|
Number |
Telephone Services
Nia Griffith: To ask the Attorney-General how much funding he has allocated to each telephone helpline operated by the Law Officers' Departments in 2011-12; and what the purpose is of each such helpline. [68545]
The Solicitor-General: The only dedicated helpline operated by the Law Officers' Departments is a telephone inquiry line operated by the Bona Vacantia Division of TSol. This deals with general inquiries and provides information and advice to callers on Bona Vacantia cases. There is no separate budget to run this inquiry line. The cost is subsumed within the general running of the Bona Vacantia Division which is itself funded through the revenue it generates.
Prosecutions
John Mann: To ask the Attorney-General on what dates the Director of Public Prosecutions has discussed possible prosecutions of police officers or journalists with (a) other staff of the Crown Prosecution Service, (b) Ministers, (c) the Metropolitan Police and (d) other interested parties since 2003. [68659]
The Solicitor-General: There are regular and frequent meetings and discussions between the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff, police and Ministers on a range of issues. Case-related meetings are not recorded in a way that allows the interrogation of the central records to identify the defendant's occupation. Cases might also be discussed as part of meetings on other topics.
The CPS's case management system records cases under defendants' names. It does not specifically identify the occupation of defendants. While the CPS's special crime division deals with serious cases, including those involving police officers as defendants, cases involving more minor allegations against police officers may be dealt with by any of the CPS's area offices throughout England and Wales. Cases involving journalists could also be dealt with by any of the area offices. Defendants' occupations could be identified in every case only by examining individual case files.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 60W
The CPS, like all Government Departments, operates a carefully controlled policy under the Public Records Acts, which ensures that paperwork is retained for as long as is necessary, but no longer. Since 2003, some of the case files relating to police officers or journalists as defendants will therefore have been destroyed in accordance with their departmental policy in relation to the retention and destruction of files.
John Mann: To ask the Attorney-General how many requests to prosecute journalists for offences related to receiving information from police sources the Crown Prosecution Service discussed with the Metropolitan Police in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005. [68669]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) case management system records cases under defendants' names. It does not specifically identify the occupation of defendants. Defendants' occupations could be identified in every case only by examining individual case files, which would incur a disproportionate cost.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Bahrain: Historic Buildings
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to the Government of Bahrain on the recent demolition of mosques, places of worship and places of cultural and historical significance in that country. [68592]
Alistair Burt: We continue to make representations to the Government of Bahrain related to human rights abuses. However, although we are aware that some structures were removed during the unrest, we have not made specific representations about alleged demolition of mosques, places of worship or places of cultural and historical significance.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: War Crimes
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had recent discussions with representatives of the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. [68690]
Mr Lidington: The Government's most recent contact with representatives of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre took place on 11 July in Srebrenica at the commemoration marking the 16(th) anniversary of the genocide there. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) asked my noble Friend Baroness Warsi, Minister without Portfolio, to represent the UK. Her presence at the event (which she also attended on behalf of the Government in July 2010) underlines the importance the UK attaches to marking the anniversary, to honouring the victims and to expressing sympathy with their friends and families. In addition, the Prime Minister issued a statement marking the occasion. He reiterated his conviction that the world must never again allow such atrocities to occur unopposed.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 61W
The UK has committed considerable programme funding to Srebrenica-related projects since 2000, including contributing to construction of the memorial complex in Srebrenica, support to the International Commission for Missing Persons and legal secondments to the team in the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) State Prosecutor's Office dealing with Srebrenica-related crimes. My noble Friend Baroness Warsi visited partners in British embassy project activity relating to Srebrenica during her visit. The Foreign Secretary and I have also taken the opportunity to learn more about this work during our own visits to Sarajevo over the past year.
There has been considerable progress towards regional reconciliation in recent years, and many of those responsible for war crimes in the Balkans have already faced justice. The recent arrest of Ratko Mladic underlines the international community's commitment to bringing to justice those responsible for war crimes. While this judicial process can never compensate the bereaved for the losses they continue to bear, the arrest of Mladic, and the subsequent arrest of the last remaining International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indictee, Goran Hadzic, should mark a turning point for all the countries of the Western Balkans and the start of a new chapter of cooperation and reconciliation.
British Nationals Abroad: Death
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department plans to finalise the new Memorandum of Understanding on the deaths of UK citizens abroad. [64230]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) is co-ordinating drafting of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in respect of both the deceased and their family when a British national dies as a result of murder, manslaughter or infanticide abroad. The MoU clarifies the role of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Victim Support National Homicide Service and Coroners Society of England and Wales. I hope it will be available for agreement by the various signatories within the next month.
The NPIA will issue the final version for signature.
Burma: Political Prisoners
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to help secure the freedom of political prisoners in Burma; and if he will make a statement. [69144]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The immediate and unconditional release of Burma's estimated 2,000 political prisoners is an important benchmark by which the UK judges the Burmese Government. We are encouraged that Aung San Suu Kyi met the Burmese President on 19 August and we have called for tangible progress from this dialogue including the release of all political prisoners.
Our ambassador to Rangoon regularly raises with the Burmese authorities the need for the release of all political prisoners. Officials pressed the Burmese President's Chief Political Adviser on 18 August to take such action. The Government also repeatedly raise this issue during discussions with our international partners and in the UN. We are currently working to secure the
5 Sep 2011 : Column 62W
toughest possible resolution at the UN General Assembly, which we hope will repeat calls for Burma to release all political prisoners and work towards national reconciliation.
Redundancy
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much (a) his Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible has spent on redundancies since May 2010. [66334]
Mr Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) plans to reduce its work force over the next four years in line with our settlement in the comprehensive spending review. This has not required any spending on compulsory redundancies, which we hope to avoid through careful work force planning and voluntary exit rounds. The FCO will only consider making redundancies when its requirements for members of staff to carry out work of a particular kind or at a particular location have reduced, ceased or are expected to do so. We have run four voluntary exit rounds since May last year. We expect to run a further two voluntary exit rounds this year and further rounds over the spending review period. None of the non-departmental public bodies for which we are responsible have made compulsory redundancies.
Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on redundancy costs since May 2010. [67456]
Mr Bellingham [holding answer 19 July 2011]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) plans to reduce its work force over the next four years in line with our settlement in the comprehensive spending review.
This has not required any spending on compulsory redundancies, which we hope to avoid through careful work force planning and voluntary exit rounds. The FCO will only consider making redundancies when its requirements for members of staff to carry out work of a particular kind or at a particular location have reduced, ceased or are expected to do so. We have run four voluntary exit rounds since May last year. We expect to run a further two voluntary exit rounds this year and further rounds over the spending review period.
Telephone Services
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding he has allocated to each telephone helpline operated by his Department in 2011-12; and what the purpose is of each such helpline. [68546]
Mr Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s Consular staff in London and overseas regularly answer phone calls from British Nationals seeking our help, including through our 24 hour Global Response Centre. Consular Directorate also provides the following telephone helplines:
Travel Advice telephone line—This service offers access to Foreign Office travel advice to those who are unable to view it online, or who wish to inquire in person. The service is currently
5 Sep 2011 : Column 63W
provided by a commercial partner and we have budgeted £180,000 for 2011-12. We continue to improve our online travel advice, and hope to reduce this cost by making online advice easier to use.
Overseas Crises—In a crisis affecting British Nationals overseas the FCO may activate a call handling capacity to take calls from affected members of the public, either in-house or outsourced to a commercial partner or the police. This depends on the scale of the incident. These call handlers usually respond to calls to a dedicated emergency hotline number. Funding for operational costs is not allocated in advance, but these costs can be claimed for from the Treasury held Emergency Disaster Reserve should the total costs of our crisis response surpass £150,000.
Legalisation, and Births, Deaths and Marriages Inquiries—This service is currently being provided by a commercial partner, to enable the Legalisation Office staff to process documents as efficiently as possible and ensure calls are always answered promptly. The budget for 2011-12 is £80,000. Within the same contract, there is an inquiry line for British Nationals looking to register a birth or death or with questions about getting married or arranging a civil partnership overseas.
Passport Inquiry line—Between 1 June 2009 and 1 April 2011, Consular Directorate employed Careline, a UK based company, to provide a telephone inquiry and tracking service for customers applying for passports overseas. Careline continue to provide this service but the contract is now managed by the Identity and Passport Service, an executive agency of the Home Office. The FCO did not pay for this service; customers are charged direct by Careline. Exceptionally, the FCO covered the cost of calls to Careline, from 15 July to 31 July 2011 for customers served by the Regional Passport Processing Centre in Dusseldorf and from 15 July until 31 August for customers served by the Processing Centre in Washington because of delays in passport production. The final amount of these exceptional costs is not yet known.
Consular Directorate provides specific telephone numbers for certain customers requiring FCO support. These are regular FCO phone lines manned by Consular staff at no additional cost:
The Child Abduction Section helpline to answer urgent questions from British Nationals involved in a parental child abduction, residence or contact dispute overseas;
The Forced Marriage Unit helpline, for British Nationals who are worried about a possible forced marriage. This is a joint initiative with the Home Office; A helpline for MPs wishing to speak to a member of Consular Directorate about constituency cases.