| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
BSE
Lord Mountevans asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the latest progress report on bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Lord Lucas: A further Report on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was placed in the Library of the House on 18th December.
The report gives an update on new variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease cases and explains the new measures taken on cattle identification and animal feed. Reference is made to the five-point plan agreed in Florence for the resumption of exports and explains that all the preconditions, with the exception of the accelerated slaughter programme, have been complied with. It also details the sustained improvement in the handling of
Specified Bovine Material in slaughterhouses. The report also announces the occurrence of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy in a domestic cat born after the extension of the Specified Bovine Offal ban in September 1990.The number of clinically suspect cases of BSE reported in Great Britain has continued to fall and at 31st October 1996 was 36.1 per cent. less than at the same time in 1995 and 63.3 per cent. less than the same time in 1994. A continued improvement is expected for the future.
Agriculture Council, 16th and 17th December
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 16th and 17th December.
Lord Lucas: My right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food represented the United Kingdom at the Agriculture Council in Brussels on 17th December, accompanied by my noble friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Scottish Office. The department's Permanent Secretary represented the United Kingdom on 16th December.
My right honourable friend reported to the Agriculture Council the decision of the Government, which he had announced to the House on 16th December, to proceed with the selective cull of cattle at most risk of BSE. He also informed the Council of our progress in implementing the other conditions laid down in the Florence agreement and our intention to submit proposals for a certified herds scheme to the Commission early in the New Year.
The Council reached agreement by qualified majority on a Commission proposal, brought forward at UK instigation, to amend the directive laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves. In the modified terms agreed by the Council, the amended directive will bring in significantly improved conditions for the housing of calves. Calves up to eight weeks old will have to be given enough space to turn round, and calves over eight weeks old will have to be housed in groups, with more space allowed as they grow in size. In addition, the Commission undertook to set rules requiring the inclusion of at least a minimum amount of iron in calves' diet, and the inclusion of fibre for all calves over two weeks old. As to timing, the Council agreed that all new calf housing must conform with the revised rules with effect from January 1998, and that existing installations must meet the new rules by 31st December 2006. On the latter, my right honourable friend argued for a shorter transition period but received no support. This agreement will lead to
significant improvements in the way veal calves are treated throughout the European Union. The proposal on which Italy voted against and Spain abstained, will be formally adopted early in the New Year.The Council reached agreement on a number of other veterinary and plant health measures, including the conclusion by qualified majority (Finland voting against) of a veterinary agreement on trade between the European Union and New Zealand in live animals and animal products. The Council considered, but failed to agree on, a proposal banning the use of specified risk materials in the manufacture of animal feed and food stuffs. The Commission undertook to consider making further proposals in this area in the light of advice from the EU Scientific Veterinary Committee.
The United Kingdom welcomed the Commission's announcement of early proposals on the welfare of animals in transport, specifically in respect of staging points for animal journeys. The United Kingdom opposed proposals to modify the arable area payments scheme in ways which would have weakened the penalties falling on arable products for excess production. In the beef sector, the Council held a wide-ranging discussion of the operation of the beef early marketing scheme and the calf processing scheme. The United Kingdom pressed the Commission to review the rates of aid payable under the latter so as to prevent undesirable distortion of the markets.
Firearms-related Deaths: International Statistics
Lord Windlesham asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What are the annual statistics over the most recently available 12-month period for the number of (i) homicides, (ii) other gun-related deaths, and
(iii) non-fatal injuries to the person, resulting from the misuse of firearms in (a) England, Wales, and Scotland, (b) Australia, and (c) the United States of America, expressed both as the total number of incidents and as the number per head of population.
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch): The following table gives the information requested for Great Britain for 1995. While statistics for Australia and the United States of America are not the responsibility of Her Majesty's Government, figures for homicide and other gun-related deaths are included which were gathered by the Canadian Department of Justice in 1995 and published as A Review of Firearms Statistics and Regulations in Selected Countries. Information on non-fatal injuries in the United States of America from Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, published by the United States Department of Justice, has also been included.
| Great Britain | Australia | United States of America | |
| Homicide | |||
| Number | 81 | 64 | 16,704 |
| Rate per 100,000 population | 0.14 | 0.36 | 6.42 |
| Other gun-related deaths(1) | |||
| Number | 178 | 453 | 19,967 |
| Rate per 100,000 population | 0.35 | 2.55 | 7.68 |
| Non-fatal injuries to the person(2) | |||
| All weapons excluding air weapons | |||
| Number | 605 | n/a | 58,485 |
| Rate per 100,000 population | 1.06 | 22.50 | |
| Air Weapons | |||
| Number | 1,761 | n/a | n/a |
| Rate per 100,000 population | 3.09 |
(1) Accidents and suicides. (Figures for Great Britain supplied by the Office for National Statistics and the General Register Office for Scotland);
(2) Great Britain figures are for recorded crimes in which injury was reported to have been caused by a firearm. Figures for the USA include only those where hospital treatment was sought and exclude air weapons, etc.
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Blatch: Responsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter to Lord Avebury from the Director of Services of the Prison Service, Mr. Hugh Taylor.
Lady Blatch has asked me in the absence of the Director General to reply to your recent Question about the Kairos Prison Ministry and whether they have been given access to any prisons in England and Wales.
A trial offending behaviour course is to be run by the Verne prison from 3 April based on the Kairos 18-week step programme. Volunteers drawn from local churches will be used as mentors and only employees of the Kairos Prison Ministry will be used to train them. It is not expected that Kairos personnel will be given access to prisoners.
The course will be voluntary. Prisoners and prison staff will not be expected to be on the wing assigned for the course against their will. Although the course is open to prisoners of all religions, it is firmly Christian based. This is explained to prisoners before they join. The wing will be run by prison staff and at no time will the volunteers have control. The scheme is to run for six months, after which time there will be a full evaluation of the course's merits.
The Prison Service believes that allowing members of Kairos access to prisons to train staff and prisoners willing to hear what they have to say does not breach Section 10(5) of the Prison Act 1952.
The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Blatch: The Immigration Service detention estate has space for some 515 detainees. The cost of detaining persons in these centres in the financial year 1995-96 was some £12.2 million. This figure includes the cost of administrative support from headquarters.
Information on the average length of stay at immigration detention centres is not readily available.
Whether they have allowed, or intend to allow, the Kairos Prison Ministry, of Winter Park, Florida, into any prison in England and Wales; and whether granting a proselytising organisation unrestricted access to prisoners would be compatible with the provisions of Section 10(5) of the Prison Act 1952.
What is the annual cost of Immigration Act detention centres in the United Kingdom such as Campsfield House, near Oxford; and what is the total number of detainees held and the average length of stay at these centres.
Next Section
Back to Table of Contents
Lords Hansard Home Page