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Lord Redesdale asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What representations they have received on the recommendation of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Foot-and-Mouth Disease Interim Contingency Plan for private veterinary surgeon practices to be contractually obliged to spend a minimum number of days working in animal health offices.[HL4100]
Lord Whitty: No specific representation has been received on this recommendation. However, my officials have entered into discussion with the British Veterinary Association and other stakeholders on future arrangements between the private veterinary profession and the State Veterinary Service.
Lord Redesdale asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What assessment they have made of the experience and training of non-British veterinary surgeons in notifiable diseases.[HL4101]
Lord Whitty: During the course of the recent foot and mouth outbreak the department was assisted by foreign government veterinarians and temporary veterinary inspectors (TVIs). These veterinarians were registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).
European Community (EC) directives provided for mutual recognition of veterinary qualifications and free movement of veterinary surgeons within the European Union.
Those government veterinary surgeons seconded to Defra who graduated from veterinary schools not eligible for full registration by the RCVS received termporary MRCVS registration. All vets on the temporary register were placed under the jurisdiction of a named veterinary surgeon who was responsible for their professional conduct.
To assist in the process of analysing the experiences of those government veterinarians who helped in the eradication of FMD, questionnaires completed by foreign vets are in the process of being evaluated.
Public Consumption Campaign
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which part of their Are You Doing Your Bit? campaign addresses the impact of consumer products.[HL4117]
Lord Whitty: The campaign uses a variety of channels to raise public awareness of environmental
issues and the scope for individuals to help reduce the negative impacts of consumption. The campaign's activities include advertising, direct marketing and other forms of public relations. Most of the messages conveyed have a bearing on the purchase, use or disposal of products, in varying degrees. For example, Defra's Are You Doing Your Bit? stand at the recent Ideal Home show featured the energy labelling of household goods; sustainable timber; and farmers' markets. Other recent activities have aimed to promote household recycling of products and their packaging.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the annual funding for their Are You Doing Your Bit? campaign. [HL4118]
Lord Whitty: Recent expenditure on the campaign has been undertaken both by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. The provisional outturn for the financial year 2001-02 is approximately £1 million.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What leaflets they have produced to inform consumers about the environmental impact of consumer products and about misleading ''green'' claims; how such leaflets are distributed; and what agreements they have with the retail sector to distribute these leaflets at point of sale.[HL4119]
Lord Whitty: The Government have produced a number of leaflets to assist consumers in this area.
The Green Claims Code sets out the standard of information that the public can expect to be given about the environmental impacts of consumer products. The leaflet Hi, I'm Green is a simple guide for consumers on the most commonly occurring environmental claims on products and explains what claims to look for and how to ask for further information. Both the code and leaflet have been distributed widely among retailers, manufacturers, trade associations, advertising agencies, trading standards officers and local authority Agenda 21 co-ordinators, who have been asked for help in disseminating the information to consumers. The Hi, I'm Green leaflet has been distributed through Are You Doing Your Bit? road-shows, at conferences and through Safeway stores, which first stocked the leaflet at their customer helpdesks during autumn 2001. Rebo
The leaflet Energy labels for refrigeration and washing appliances—helping you make the right choice explains the information contained in EU energy labels displayed at the point of sale on new refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, electric tumble dryers, combined washer-dryers and dishwashers. This leaflet has been widely distributed to retailers and is available in most electrical outlets.
The leaflet Pick the flower—the ecolabel promotes the EU ecolabelling scheme. It is offered to the manufacturers of all ecolabelled products on sale in the UK to help them explain the scheme to their customers. A separate leaflet The Ecolabel for Soil Improvers has also been produced and sent to the distributors of ecolabelled soil improver to help retailers explain and promote the labelled products.
All of these leaflets are available free from Defra and are also on the Defra website. They are promoted in the course of regular contacts with business, manufacturing and consumer organisations. The department also works with other organisations on material to promote environmentally preferable products. A leaflet A guide to better shopping was produced last year in partnership with the WWF Sustainability Action Network and has been distributed to customers of Barclays, to members of WWF and through Are You Doing Your Bit? events.
Copies of these leaflets have been placed in the Library of the House.
Hunting with Dogs
Lord Geddes asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 29 April (WA 71-2), whether it is intended that the results of recent individual opinion polls will be taken into account in the process of consultation on the issue of hunting, and, if so, how?[HL4149]
Lord Whitty: My right honourable friend the Minister for Rural Affairs (Alun Michael) will give due consideration to all contributions made by individuals and organisations in response to his letter of 10 April seeking their views and evidence which respond to the terms of his statement made on 21 March to the House of Commons and repeated by myself in your Lordships' House. Rebo
Welfare Reform Workshops
Lord Burnham asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the purpose of the workshops to be conducted on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions to establish a changed management programme.[HL3946]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): The creation of the Department for Work and Pensions is an essential part of the Government's programme of welfare reforms. Our managers and staff have the key role in its delivery, moving from the passive payment of benefits to providing more help
and encouragement in finding work. This is a large programme of change and the workshops are designed to support our managers in delivering this.Oxford and Cambridge Admission Data
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What figures they have for the proportion of students admitted to each course at Oxford and Cambridge broken down by (a) social class and (b) state and independent schools.[HL3963]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): The information is not held centrally. I have commissioned this data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), and I will write to the noble Lord with the requested information in due course and place a copy in the Library.
A400M Aircraft
Lord Gilbert asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What items of British military equipment can be carried in a C-17 transport aircraft but not in the proposed A400M by virtue of either (a) their weight or (b) their size.[HL4071]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): The A400M aircraft will be capable of carrying all those items of British military equipment specified in its endorsed requirement document including, for example, Warrior and Apache. The C-17 can, by virtue of its larger load space/lift capability, carry other items of British equipment that fall outside of this requirement. It is, for example, capable of carrying one main battle tank, although our plans do not envisage transporting such equipment by air.
Afghanistan: Field Hospitals
Lord Swinfen asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they are now able to answer the questions put to Lord Bach by Lord Swinfen on 18 March (HL Deb, col. 1146) in the debate on Afghanistan, to which answers were promised.[HL4091]
Lord Bach: The Czech field hospital is currently deploying to Afghanistan and lead elements have already arrived. It should be fully deployed by mid-May and will provide support to the International Security Assistance Force. The UK field hospital (34 Field Hospital) will remain in Afghanistan and provide support to 45 Commando Group.
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