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The Earl of Caithness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How the arbitration process in Part II, paragraph 2(b) of Schedule 1 to the TSE (England) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/843) is supposed to work; and who pays the cost. [HL4416]
Lord Whitty: An independent expert will be asked to determine the value of relevant carcasses, parts or blood. The expert will be appointed, if possible, with the agreement of the owner. If no agreement can be reached, the President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors will be asked to nominate an individual to act as arbitrator. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will pay the costs of the arbitrator and will pay compensation to the owner as recommended by the arbitrator.
The Earl of Caithness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What action the owner of an animal slaughtered under Regulation 6 or 7 of the TSE (England) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/843) may take if he objects to the valuer appointed by the Secretary of State.[HL4417]
Lord Whitty: Any representations made by owners will be carefully considered.
The Earl of Caithness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they propose to bring forward amendments to the TSE (England) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/843) to allow owners to make representations against a notice of intended slaughter issued by a veterinary surgeon.[HL4419]
Lord Whitty: Proposals will be drawn up for public consultation as soon as Ministers and Defra officials have completed a careful consideration of the options.
The intention is to respond sensibly and in a timely way.Veterinary Residues
Lord Redesdale asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will outline the framework and guidelines for dealing with the impact of veterinary residues on the environment.[HL4474]
Lord Whitty: Before any veterinary medicine can be placed on the market in the UK, its safety, quality and efficacy must be assessed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the UK regulatory authority for veterinary medicines, or by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency. Safety in this context includes safety to the environment as well as to the animal and the user.
Post marketing surveillance is carried out under the Suspected Adverse Reaction Surveillance Scheme, which receives reports on any pollution incidents involving veterinary medicines from the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency also undertakes monitoring for a number of veterinary medicines in environmental waters.
Information from these schemes is used to take appropriate regulatory action.
EU Visits: Reimbursement
Lord Jopling asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, following the recent decision of the House of Common to authorise three visits a year by Members of the House to either European Union countries or applicant countries to the European Union, they will make similar provisions in the House of Lords and therefore enable peers who are members of all-party bilateral groups to participate in such visits organised by those groups.[HL4376]
The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Williams of Mostyn): The House of Commons Resolution of 9 May allows Members of that House to be reimbursed for the costs of travelling on parliamentary duties between the United Kingdom and any European Union institution in Brussels, Luxembourg or Strasbourg and to the national parliament of an EU state or a candidate country. It therefore does not extend to more general travel to any part of an EU country or candidate country which the noble Lord may have in mind.
Any similar allowance for Members of the House of Lords would need to be implemented by a Resolution of the House. Any such Resolution would normally only be moved following a recommendation from the Senior Salaries Review Body. The SSRB has not hitherto considered this matter in relation to the House of Lords; and I will take steps to consult the chairman about it.
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