| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Foot and Mouth Slaughter Policy: Legal Challenge
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- On how many occasions the legality of decisions of Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs officials to slaughter livestock was challenged by animal owners during the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease.[HL1575]
Lord Whitty: Defra headquarters has been involved in, or made aware of, 131 cases where animal owners challenged decisions to slaughter livestock. Not all were challenged on the legality of the decision. Information is currently being sought from the regions on additional cases that were dealt with locally so that a full picture can be established.
Foot and Mouth: Imported Meat
Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Given that over the past 12 months the United Kingdom has imported meat from six countries with endemic foot and mouth disease, subject only to local veterinary inspection prior to slaughter and inspection at the United Kingdom border, whether they are seeking similar arrangements in respect of the export of meat by the United Kingdom.[HL1768]
Lord Whitty: All six countries in question control foot and mouth disease (FMD) by means of a vaccination programme. As a result, the EU maintains demanding conditions for the importation of meat from those countries in accordance with internationally recognised standards. These conditions go far beyond veterinary inspection prior to slaughter and among other things require the farm of origin and the slaughterhouse to be in an area free from cases of FMD and require any meat exported to be matured for a specified period and de-boned before dispatch. Pigmeat cannot be imported from these countries.
Although the conditions under which we may currently export meat are also demanding, we can expect them to be removed once we are considered free of FMD. We will then be able to approach third countries to ask them to accept UK meat in accordance with the accepted international standards for a country free of FMD. Restrictions due to BSE will continue to limit exports of beef.
Refrigerators: Disposal
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When EC Regulation 2037/2000, in its draft form, was first amended to make the recovery and treatment of HCFC-containing foam in refrigerators mandatory; and when this amendment was first known to the Government.[HL1793]
Lord Whitty: The European Commission's proposal for an EC Regulation on substances that deplete the ozone layer published in August 1998 did not include mandatory recovery of ozone depleting substances from refrigerators and other equipment, including rigid foams. It proposed that such recovery was only to take place "if practicable". Following discussion by officials in Environment Working Group in November 1998, the Presidency proposed an amendment to the draft regulation to make recovery of ozone depleting substances mandatory but specifically excluding domestic refrigerators and removing the
reference to foams. Since Germany, Luxembourg, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands objected to the exclusion of refrigerators, the Presidency proposed a further amendment to make recovery from such equipment mandatory from 1 January 2002. The amendment did not reinstate the reference to foams. The Council of Environment Ministers in December 1998 reached political agreement on the regulation as amended.The amendment to the draft regulation was formally adopted as part of the common position reached at the Environment Council meeting in February 1999. Following this it became clear that there were different views between member states on the effect of the draft regulation in respect of the need to recover chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) from insulating foam in domestic refrigeration. The UK Government's interpretation was that the amended article only required ozone-depleting substances used as refrigerants to be recovered. Between 1999 until mid-2001, the UK, at the request of the refrigeration and foams industries, sought a definitive legal interpretation from the Commission. In the meantime the new regulation was adopted by the European Parliament and Council in June 2000 and became EC Regulation 2037/2000.
In February 2000, the Commission circulated a table of clarifications which included an interpretation of the requirement in the regulation to remove CFCs and HCFCs from refrigeration equipment. It stated that this requirement did not cover foams in commercial refrigeration as "it was the Commission's understanding that the clarification proposed here is in line with the intention of the Council during the negotiations of the new Regulation". As the effect on domestic refrigerators was not settled, officials raised the issue at the EC Management Committee meeting on the implementation of the regulation on ozone depleting substances in March and again in October 2000. In October it was agreed that foam containing CFCs was classified as a "product" rather than a "controlled subtance" and therefore recovery of ozone depleting substances from commercial refrigeration need only be done "if practicable". However, as some member states emphasised the practicality of effective recovery from fridges the issue of recovery of CFC from foam in domestic refrigerators remained unclear. But in June 2001 the European Commission provided a final interpretation that Regulation 2037/2000 did in fact require the recovery of controlled substances from the insulating foam of domestic refrigerators.
Defra Website: Environment Section
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they intend to update the environment pages of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website which were last updated on 25 June; and whether it is their policy to keep these pages up to date.[HL1889]
Lord Whitty: It is the policy of the department to keep all of the information on its website up to date. Pages within the environment section of the site have been updated since 25 June wherever appropriate. It is only the initial page linking material from Defra's predecessor departments which has remained unchanged since 25 June. Our aim is to integrate these pages more fully as part of an overall review of the department's website, at which point this link page will be removed.
Genetically Modified Salmon
Lord Moran asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman on 14 March about genetically modified salmon (WA 96), whether they have received clarification from the United States authorities and have been able to consider the problem further; and, if so, whether they are confident that the risk of irreversible damage to the wild Atlantic salmon has been removed.[HL1918]
Lord Whitty: No information has yet been received from the United States authorities. As soon as this is available we will consider the matter further.
Incinerator Bottom Ash
Baroness Howe of Idlicote asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, as processed incinerator bottom ash is used as an aggregate substitute for road base, they have now concluded that this process can be classified as "recycling" in the same way as the similar use of crushed glass cullet (CGC) is so classified.[HL1931]
Lord Whitty: The Government consider waste to be recycled if it has been subjected to a recycling process, ie, has been reprocessed in a production process for the original purpose or for other purposes. When the incinerator bottom ash has gone through such a process, the Government would consider that the ash has been recycled.
Foot and Mouth: European Parliament Inquiry
Lord Inglewood asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they support the European Parliament holding a committee of inquiry into the outbreak of foot and mouth disease across Europe in 2001; and, if so, why.[HL1980]
Lord Whitty: It is for the European Parliament to take its own decisions on whether it wishes to set up a committee to inquire into the foot and mouth disease outbreak. We understand that this will be a temporary committee rather than a committee of inquiry, but the Parliament has yet to take a final decision.
Fisheries Grant-in-aid
Lord Moran asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will act on the recommendation of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review that they should provide a substantial increase in fisheries grant-in-aid by increasing the additional £3 million announced in December 2000 and restoring fisheries grant-in-aid to at least the 1992 level.[HL2089]
Lord Whitty: In their formal response to the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review Group report, the Government accepted the recommendation to substantially increase fisheries grant-in-aid to the Environment Agency and announced an increase of £3 million in England for the financial years 2002–03 and 2003–04. For each of these years grant-in-aid will be set at £6.2 million.
Levels of grant-in-aid for the years 2004–05 and 2005–06 will be determined in the light of the outcome of the current spending review, to be completed in 2002.
E-enabled Whole Farm Plans
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, against the background of foot and mouth disease and falling rural incomes, they intend to offer grants to farmers in order that they can establish appropriate computer links to Whitehall to comply with the request by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that they should produce "e-enabled whole farm plans"; and[HL2091]
Whether the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' proposal that farmers should produce "e-enabled whole farm plans" is compliant with the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Data Protection Act 1998; and[HL2092]
To what extent the viability of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' proposal that farmers should produce "e-enabled whole farm plans" is dependent upon delivery of broadband computer links to rural areas.[HL2093]
Lord Whitty: As mentioned in the Oral Answer of 26 November (Official Report, col. 8), the Government and Policy Commission are considering many options to help build a sustainable modern, farming industry. E-enabled whole farm plans are among them. The details mentioned are among many which would need to be addressed before this particular option could be pursued. No decisions will be taken before we have received the recommendations of the Policy Commission or without full consultation with stakeholders.
| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |