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National Asylum Support Service

Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will list by number, title and the date the National Asylum Support Service policy bulletins which are currently in force. [HL3080]

Lord Rooker: I have placed in the Library a list of the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) policy bulletins which are currently in force. All policy bulletins issued by NASS are included on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's website.

Human Rights

Baroness Hayman asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they intend to review the United Kingdom's position under the various international human rights instruments. [HL3218]

The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg): My department will conduct a review with the following terms of reference: "To review the United Kingdom's position on international human rights instruments in the light of experience of the operation of the Human Rights Act, the availability of existing remedies within the UK and law and practice in other EU Member States; and to report by Spring 2003".

The review will consult widely within and outside government. We hope to report the outcome in about a year's time.

Defence Evaluation and Research Agency

Lord Desai asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made on the public private partnership for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency.[HL3148]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): We refer my noble friend to the announcement my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence made in another place on 24 July 2000 (Official Report, cols. 778–79) about our decision to implement the Core Competence model for the DERA public private partnership. Under this approach, on 1 July 2001 around three-quarters of the former DERA organisation was vested with its assets as QinetiQ, a wholly government owned company. For strategic reasons, the remainder was retained within the Ministry of Defence as the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to carry out functions that could not appropriately be transferred to the private sector.

Since the vesting of QinetiQ as a company on 1 July 2001, work has concentrated on preparing the company for sale, options for which were through a flotation or strategic partnership. We have now completed a comprehensive review of the available

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options for the transaction route and timing in conjunction with specialist advisers and QinetiQ's senior management. Although flotation has always been our preferred route, as we have consistently stated, the priority is to achieve a successful move into the private sector with a transaction that clearly achieves best value for the taxpayer. We believe that a flotation under current market conditions would not realise this, yet delay could lead to a damaging loss of momentum. We have, therefore, decided that the strategic partner route offers the best potential for a transaction within 2002, offers value to the taxpayer and meets our objective of a successful public private partnership.

A strategic partner would work closely with QinetiQ and contribute significantly to growing the overall value of its business, from which the taxpayer would benefit through MoD's initial retention of a significant financial interest in the company. MoD will also retain a special share as a means of protecting UK defence and security interests.

Confidential discussions with potential strategic partners will now begin and it is expected that a preferred partner will be selected, and agreements signed, later this year.

Foot and Mouth: Disease Control Centres

The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether any people at disease control centres, other than those in Newcastle upon Tyne, responsible for supervising the cleansing and disinfection procedures failed to ensure that the procedures were fully documented and filed in the registered file for premises infected by foot and mouth disease.[HL2830]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): All those responsible for cleansing and disinfection in disease control centres have ensured that the necessary cleansing and disinfection procedures were documented and recorded in registered files.

Ruminants: Feeding of Mammalian Protein

Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:

For each European Union member state, what is the last known date on which farmers fed meat and bone meal to their farm animals.[HL2955]

Lord Whitty: An EU-wide ban on feeding proteins derived from mammalian tissues to ruminants was introduced in 1994.

The UK banned ruminant derived meat and bone meal (MBM) from cattle feed in 1988. Other member states introduced feed controls as follows: Austria (mammalian protein to ruminants in December 1990); Denmark (ruminant protein to ruminants in June

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1990); Finland (mammalian protein to ruminants in March 1995); France (mammalian proteins to bovines in July 1990; mammalian proteins to all ruminants in December 1994 and all animal proteins except milk and fish to ruminants in July 1996); Ireland (ruminant proteins to ruminants in August 1990); Netherlands (ruminants proteins to ruminants in August 1989); Sweden (ruminant MBM to ruminants in December 1990 and ruminant proteins to all animals in December 1997). Belguim, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain had no feed controls in place until the EU-wide ban on mammalian proteins to ruminants in 1994.

From 1 January 2001, Community legislation banned the use of a wide range of processed animal proteins (including meat and bone meal) in feed for all farmed animals.

Animal Feed Imports

Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:

What checks are in place on animal feed coming into this country and in particular on feed that is transported in the holds of ships.[HL2956]

Lord Whitty: New EU-wide measures (implemented domestically under the Processed Animal Protein Regulations from 1 August 2001) already control intra-Community trade and imports from third countries of a wide range of processed animal proteins, effectively preventing their inclusion in feed for farmed animals in order to stop the propagation of BSE.

In Great Britain, a national feed sampling programme has been in place since 1996 to monitor compliance with BSE-related feed controls. This programme, operated by the State Veterinary Service, typically takes around 20,000 samples per year from feed mills, on-farm mixers and other premises handling livestock feed. The results of the programme are very encouraging and indicate wide compliance with the feed controls, confirming that prohibited ingredients (from domestic or imported sources) are being effectively removed from the market, distribution channels and farms.

One theoretical issue is that recent cases of BSE in younger animals may have been exposed to infection as a result of cross-contamination (during transhipment) of imported vegetable protein used in the production of animal feedingstuffs with meat and bone meal. We are continuing carefully to investigate such cases but there is currently no clear evidence that individual animals have been infected by this route.

Darwin Mounds: Protection of Deep Water Habitats

Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will take immediate action to protect the coldwater reefs known as the Darwin Mounds; and[HL2991]

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Whether they will raise with their European colleagues the protection of deep water habitats in European waters, following the study by Dr Jason Hall-Spencer on Destruction of Ancient Coral Reefs.[HL2992]

Lord Whitty: We are currently taking steps to implement the site identification and protection requirements of the EU Habitats Directive beyond territorial waters where we claim sovereign rights. As part of this process, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) has been commissioned to identify and agree relevant habitats and species in the 12 to 200 mile marine zone; to develop selection criteria and refine habitat definitions; and to collate known data on those habitats and species. The JNCC is due to report in April and we plan to host a European conference to discuss the findings of the report during the summer. Subject to the conclusions of the JNCC report, the Darwin Mounds appear to be a strong candidate for site protection under the directive as a special area of conservation (SAC).

The UK has raised with the European Commission on several occasions the issue of effective implementation of the directive beyond territorial waters. In a letter of 21 June 2001, we alerted the Commission to the existence of the Darwin Mounds and reported the possibility of damage by Community fishing vessels. Only the European Commission could propose legislation to control all member states' vessels working in this area.

Disabled People: Winter Fuel Payments

Lord Campbell of Croy asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will extend the winter fuel payments system to severely disabled people.[HL2984]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): Help is already available through disability benefits and the disability premium in income support in recognition of the extra costs, including heating, which disabled people may have. There are no plans to extend the winter fuel payment scheme to disabled people under age 60.

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