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Illegal Meat Imports
Lord Rotherwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they are encouraging enforcement authorities to bring prosecutions before the courts of passengers importing illegal meat; and[HL4329]
(a) Whether they are encouraging enforcement authorities to bring prosecutions before courts of passengers importing "bushmeat"; and (b) whether 1lb of "bushmeat" brought in from outside the European Union would be sufficient evidence to enable an enforcement agency to bring the offender before the British courts.[HL4330]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): The position has not changed since my Answer to the noble Lord on 10 May 2002 (WA 203). The decision whether to prosecute in any case must rest with the enforcing authority.
"Bushmeat" is generally understood to mean meat of wild animals mainly from central and west Africa. Passengers may bring in up to 1 kg of cooked meat in a hermetically sealed container. It is an offence for passengers to bring any uncooked meat from outside the European Union into this country. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species places additional controls on trade in certain listed species, their meat and derivatives. The Government are working to improve inter-agency co-ordination and to provide enforcement authorities with the tools to improve deterrence.
TSE Regulations: Market Value of Animals Slaughtered
The Earl of Caithness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 29 May (WA 154), what incentive there is for owners of exceptionally valuable animals to report their suspicion of disease.[HL4651]
Lord Whitty: Scrapie is a legally notifiable disease since January 1993. Receipt of compensation for animals which are showing signs of a serious neurological disorder might be seen as an added incentive to report suspicion of disease.
The Earl of Caithness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 29 May (WA 154), why farmers are expected to take out additional insurance for animals worth more than £400 when the taxpayer will pay compensation for animals up to that level.[HL4650]
Lord Whitty: The ceiling of £400 provides a means to strike a balance between the interests of the taxpayer and those of animal owners. It should be borne in mind that a maximum of £400, in addition to the costs of diagnosis and disposal, is paid as compensation for animals which were showing signs of a serious neurological disorder when they were slaughtered and would very likely have died anyway. It is a reasonable expectation that the loss of animals whose value would not be met by this amount of compensation would be covered by private insurance arrangements.
The Earl of Caithness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 29 May (WA 154), whether they will increase the maximum compensation payable from £400 to full market value.[HL4652]
Lord Whitty: Arrangements covering compensation of animals slaughtered as a disease control measure are kept under review.
GM Crops
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government.
- Whether the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' public debate on genetically modified crops will consider philosophical and ethical considerations relating to both GM crops and GM food.[HL4655]
Lord Whitty: The Government want a full and informed debate and are not limiting the issues for discussion. We recognise that there are a number of topics that will be considered and discussed as part of the process.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which individuals and organisations will be invited to submit representations ahead of and during the proposed GM debate; and whether they will specify how many focus groups will be established.[HL4656]
Lord Whitty: The Government intend that any individual or organisation wishing to contribute to the debate will be able to do so. We are considering the detailed advice provided by the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission on how the debate might be conducted, including its suggested use of focus groups.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What criteria they will use to determine their decision whether or not to allow the commercialisation of GM crops within the United Kingdom.[HL4657]
Lord Whitty: Before a GM crop can be grown commercially decisions are needed under several different regulatory controls. This includes legislation on the approval of pesticides (if the GM crop is a herbicide-tolerant variety), on the approval of new agricultural plant varieties (the national list), the EU Novel Foods Regulations and the EU directive on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms. Prior to the possible commercialisation of GM crops, the government are also considering the terms on which they might co-exist with non-GM production.
Green Waste
Lord Fearn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What steps are being taken to encourage local authorities to provide more facilities for the public to dispose of green waste in an effort to bring about recycling of such waste.[HL4686]
Lord Whitty: The Government strongly support composting as a way of getting value from biodegradable waste by improving soil quality and replacing non-renewable products such as peat. We
are actively encouraging the composting of green waste—at home, at municipal civic amenity sites and when separately collected by local authorities.The Government's Waste Strategy 2000 set a national target of recycling or composting 25 per cent. of household waste by 2005. To ensure that all local authorities contribute towards meeting this target we have set individual statutory performance standards for recycling and composting for all authoritites in England. Authorities are being asked, on average, to double recycling by 2003–04 and triple it by 2005–06.
We have provided additional financial support to local authorities for waste management. The Spending Review 2000 announced the framework for the Government's support to local authorities up to 2003–04. This included an annual increase in the revenue support to local authorities for environmental protection and cultural services (EPCS), which includes waste management services. By 2003–04 this support will have risen by £1.1 billion over the 2000–01 provision. Consistent with the general local authority financial framework, it is for individual local authorities to decide the proportion of their budget that should be directed to waste management work
The spending review 2000 also provided a £140 million household waste minimisation and recycling fund for local authorities to help them fund recycling and composting initiatives and meet their statutory performance standards.
Pest and Disease Control
Lord Beaumont of Whitley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answers by Lord Whitty on 25 March (WA 24), whether they will provide a list of the research projects funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2001–02 into methods of pest and disease control which do not involve the use of chemical pesticides, including details of the title of the research contract, the institution which was awarded the contract, the value of that contract and the title and date of the completed report and.[HL4691]
Further to the Written Answers by the Lord Whitty on 25 March (WA 24), what were:
(a) the total expenditure from the agricultural research budgets for each year between 1995–96 and 1999–2000 spent on investigating methods of pest and disease control which do not involve the use of chemical pesticides;
(b) the percentage of the agricultural research budget that this represented in each of the years; and
(c) for each year the title of each research contract, the institution which was awarded the contract, the value of that contract and the title and date of the completed report.[HL4692]
Lord Whitty: Research spending on pest and disease control that does not involve the use of chemical
pesticides has been relatively stable over the past five years at approximately £12 million, or 7 per cent. of the agricultural research budget. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provides details of its research projects on its website (http://defraweb/research/projects/default.asap). Details are searchable under project title, year of completion, contractor and policy area. Projects on non-chemical control of pests and diseases are found under the agri-industrial materials, horticulture and potatoes, sustainable arable farming, pesticides, and organic farming policy areas. Full reports of all completed projects are also provided.LenaMinisterial Cars: GLA Tolls
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Macdonald of Tradeston on 23 April (WA 29), why a Question concerning the manner in which Ministers use their official cars was directed to Mr Matheson, Chief Executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency, who has no responsibility for the behaviour of Ministers.[HL4191]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston): The noble Lord's earlier Question was about the effect of the proposed congestion charge in central London on the use of ministerial cars and it was proper, therefore, for Mr Nick Matheson, the Chief Executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency, to reply as he has a delegated responsibility under the terms of the agency's framework document for the running of the ministerial car fleet.
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