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Badger Carcases: RTA Survey
Baroness Anelay of St. Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- In which areas of the country testing of badgers killed in road traffic accidents has been carried out on a continuous basis over the past five years; and which areas will be brought back into such testing after an interruption of post mortem testing of badgers.[HL3666]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue): The Road Traffic Accident (RTA) survey of badgers was discontinued in August 1990. Since then RTA badger carcases have been collected and tested only on an ad-hoc basis as part of the epidemiological investigation of TB incidents.
The Krebs report recommended a limited reintroduction of the RTA survey, targeting areas with high or increasing herd breakdown rates and nearby areas with low breakdown rates. The Bourne Group endorsed this recommendation and identified the areas to be surveyed as Cornwall, Devon, Gloucester, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Dorset. The Government expect this survey to start in the early part of 1999.
IACS Payments at the Millennium
Lord Burton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether there is likely to be any trouble for IACS (Integrated Administration and Control System) payments resulting from computer problems after the millennium.[HL3612.]
Lord Donoughue: The Agriculture Departments have substantial Year 2000 programmes in place and are on schedule to complete millennium compliance work on all business-critical computer systems, including those relating to payments under the IACS schemes, by April 1999.
Fish Stocks: Protection from Pollution
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Who is responsible (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) elsewhere in the European Union for identifying, monitoring and preventing or minimising possible adverse effects on fish stocks in Northern European waters, including possible damage to the health of the fish and of consumers of fish, from pollutants (whether natural, anthropogenic or combinations of the two) and from the interactions of such pollutants with climatic or other natural processes.[HL3603]
Lord Donoughue: Within the United Kingdom, these responsibilities fall to the Fisheries Departments--that is, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department, the Welsh Office Agriculture Department and the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland--in conjunction with others such as the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland and the Environment Agencies. Elsewhere in the European Union these issues would fall to the government of the state concerned.
Pollution in European waters is also covered by international conventions such as the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and its Annexes.
Imported Foods: Pesticides Surveillance
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they keep records of the pesticides banned or severely restricted in this country that are being marketed and used in developing countries from which we may import food; and, if not, whether they will now do so in the light of the warning issued by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the new convention to control trade in toxic pesticides.[HL3604]
Lord Donoughue: The recent Rotterdam convention controlling trade in certain hazardous industrial chemicals includes 22 chemicals used as pesticides. Most of these are either banned or have never been approved for use as pesticides in the United Kingdom. The Government do not maintain a comprehensive list of which of these pesticides are used in developing countries. However, the Government's wide ranging pesticides residues surveillance programme tests all major types of fresh produce, including produce imported from developing countries. There is no evidence from this programme that overseas use of the pesticides covered by the Rotterdam convention poses a significant risk to UK consumers, but appropriate surveillance will be maintained. Furthermore, statutory maximum residue levels are in place for many of the banned pesticides which effectively prohibit the import of any food treated with them.
Fisheries Council, 22 October
Lord Hogg of Cumbernauld asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was the outcome of the Fisheries Council held in Luxembourg on 22 October.[HL3625]
Lord Donoughue: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 22 October together with my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Scottish Office, Mr. MacDonald.
Major progress was made towards agreeing measures to amend the fisheries control regulation, paving the way for their formal adoption by the end of the year. The proposals are aimed at strengthening control arrangements throughout the fisheries sector, including the more effective monitoring of third country vessels operating in Community waters, improved transparency of enforcement activity, a stronger role for Commission inspectors, and increased co-operation among member states. Importantly, my honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary was able to secure agreement that member states may apply national designated port controls to all vessels landing into their territory along with more rigorous Community requirements for vessels landing abroad where designated port arrangements do not operate.
Political agreement was reached on supplementary measures which may be introduced in those member
states affected by the decision at the June Fisheries Council to phase out the use of high seas drift nets. Such measures must be confined to fishermen who suffer a real loss as a result of the drift net ban. They are additional to the options already available under existing structural provisions. A decision will be taken on implementation in the UK after consultations with the fishermen concerned.The Council had an exchange of views on the future of structural policies in the fisheries sector in the context of proposals tabled by the Commission in March for reform of the EU Structural Funds within the framework of Agenda 2000. Discussion focused in particular on the need for simplification of procedures and for an appropriate balance between measures to achieve restructuring of national fleets and those specific to regional programmes. The Presidency will be reporting these concerns to the General Affairs Council, which is responsible for taking decisions on the Agenda 2000
framework. However, the Fisheries Council will itself return to the subject in the context of a further proposal expected from the European Commission shortly which will set out the detailed proposals for fisheries structural measures.Genetically Modified Crop Consents
Lord Beaumont of Whitley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will list plant breeders' rights applications and consents in respect of genetically modified varieties for each of the National Seed List applications they have received, indicating the application, consent numbers and dates and, if different from the National Seed List applicants, the applicants' names.[HL3582]
Lord Donoughue: The information requested is as follows.
| PBR/NL* Application Number | Species | Date of NL and PBR Application | NL/PBR Applicant | DETR Release Consent Ref. (and holder if different from PBR applicant) and date granted |
| 35/959 | Oilseed Rape | 14/12/95 | Plant Genetics, Belgium | 95/R15/15--Application 20/11/95. Granted--3/1/96 |
| 35/960 | Oilseed Rape | 14/12/95 | Plant Genetics, Belgium | 95/R15/15--Application 20/11/95. Granted--3/1/96 |
| 35/1174 | Oilseed Rape | 28/8/97 | Plant Genetics, Belgium | 97/R15/20--Application 9/6/97. Granted 1/8/97 |
| 35/1175 | Oilseed Rape | 28/8/97 | Plant Genetics, Belgium | 97/R15/20--Application 9/6/97. Granted 1/8/97 |
| 35/1205 | Oilseed Rape | 12/12/97 | Calgene Inc, USA | 97/R28/2--(Kings)--Application 21/10/97. Granted 19/3/98 |
| 35/1206 | Oilseed Rape | 12/12/97 | Calgene Inc, USA | 97/R28/2--(Kings)--Application 21/10/97. Granted 19/3/98 |
| 35/1210 | Oilseed Rape | 12/1/98 | Plant Genetics, Belgium | 97/R15/23--Application 8/12/97. Granted 19/3/98 |
| 35/1211 | Oilseed Rape | 12/1/98 | Plant Genetics, Belgium | 97/R15/23--Application 8/12/97. Granted 19/3/98 |
* PBR = plant breeders' rights NL = national list
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