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Military Air Transport Emissions
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Answer by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on the air transport industry on 14 January (HL Deb, col. 825) whether they have set
- targets for the reduction of emissions from military air transport; and, if so, what they are.[HL2802]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Minister of Defence (Lord Bach): No targets have been set for the reduction in emissions from military air transport.
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they will answer the Question for Written Answer on targets for the reduction of emissions from military air transport tabled by Baroness Byford on 7 February.[HL4995]
Lord Bach: I replied to the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, today.
EOC: Expenditure on Law Enforcement
Baroness Thomas of Walliswood asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What proportion of the annual expenditure of the Equal Opportunities Commission was spent on law enforcement over the last five years for which records are available.[HL5021]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): The annual expenditure of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) on law enforcement for the last five years, including advice and support to individual cases and lobbying campaigns on legal matters for which records are available, is as follows:
- 1998–99: £1,406,649
- 1999–00: £1,439,848
- 2000–01: £1,559,044
- 2001–02: £1,353,559
- 2002–03: £1,218,115
Agricultural Grants
The Earl of Caithness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 19 June (WA 89), for each £1 of grant or subsidy made, what percentage is due to the administrative costs. [HL4881]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): In approximate terms and taking an average across all agricultural grants and subsidies, for each £1 of grant and subsidy made 7 per cent is due to the administrative costs.
Defra Office, Worcester
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs office at Worcester has resumed normal working; and what is the current backlog of bovine tuberculosis tests waiting to be assessed. [HL5151]
Lord Whitty: The Rural Development Service and the State Veterinary Service are now all established at Worcester. In addition, some post-foot and mouth disease work continues on site, utilising additional staff to those required for routine operations.
At the end of May 2002, there was a GB backlog of 20,030 overdue bovine tuberculosis tests (down from 27,000 at the end of 2001). The figure for Hereford and Worcester Animal Health Office was 408.
Genetically Modified Seeds
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many hearings have taken place under the Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 2001 into the listing of genetically modified seeds varieties.[HL5202]
Lord Whitty: To date there has been only one hearing on the proposed addition of a genetically modified variety to the national list, relating to the maize variety Chardon LL. That hearing concluded on 13 June 2002.
Pesticides Safety Directorate
Baroness Hayman asked Her Majesty's Government:
What targets they have set the Pesticides Safety Directorate for 2002–03.[HL5296]
Lord Whitty: We have set the Pesticides Safety Directorate the following performance targets for 2002–03.
To complete evaluations and contribute to the EC Review Programme under Council Directive 91/414/EEC, according to the processing times set out in Table 1 below.
1. To deliver high quality scientific work to underpin the protection of human health and the environment.
2. To provide clear and accessible public information about pesticide issues consistent with sustainable and economic production.
3. To ensure the UK's objectives are reflected in the revised Council Directive 91/414/EEC and to maintain our international reputation as a leading regulatory authority.
1. To implement a quality system by the end of December 2002 that enables an improvement in quality and efficiency and which takes account of priorities identified in the 2001 customer satisfaction survey.
2. To deliver 3 per cent efficiency savings through the combination of achieving reductions to processing times for applications for approval and through savings in cost of outputs.
1. To recover from Industry and government the full economic cost (as calculated according to resource accounting principles) of its services.
| Estimated workflow | Target processing time (weeks) | ||
| Application type | 2002–03 | 2002–03 | 2001–02 |
| UK Reviews | |||
| Anticholinesterase programme | 5 | — | — |
| Other activity | 3 | — | — |
| EC Reviews Rapporteur (2nd stage) | |||
| Completeness | 10 | 26 | N/A |
| Evaluation | 4 | 52 | N/A |
| New Active Substances Sift | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Full | 8 | 42 | 48 |
| Evaluation | |||
| Resubmisison | 3 | 42 | 48 |
| Departmentals | 8 | 42 | 45 |
| Re-registration | 4 | 40 | — |
| Normals | 135 | 30 | 35 |
| Associated fast-normals | 25 | 30 | 35 |
| Assessed experimental approval | 2 | 20 | 20 |
| Extrapolated experimental approval | 2 | 10 | 10 |
| Emergency off label | 15 | 9 | 10 |
| Non-emergency off label | 30 | 25 | 30 |
| Mutual recognition | 3 | 20 | 20 |
| Fast | 200 | 10 | 10 |
| Parallel imports | 50 | 9 | 10 |
| Administrative fast | 700 | 4 | 4 |
| Administrative experimental | 100 | 1 | 1 |
| Simplified own-use parallel | 10 | 2 | 2 |
*Overall target—90 per cent of applications with a stated processing time must be completed within that time.
Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Whitty: We have set the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science the following performance targets for 2002–03.
Quality of Service
To make satisfactory progress with the action plan resulting from the 1999–2000 science audit.
To manage the agency in an effective manner, including pursuit of commerical exploitation of research outputs.
To give satisfaction to customers in the way that outputs are provided, as measured by the CEFAS customer satisfaction survey.
To achieve savings and efficiency gains in a range of key functions.
Financial Performance
To recover from government departments and agencies and external customers the full economic costs of the agency's services.
Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Whitty: The 2001–02 annual report and accounts for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
Baroness Nicol asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Whitty: We are delighted that the Royal Society has today published the report of its independent Scientific Review of Infectious Diseases in Livestock. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House.
This report was commissioned by the Government following the unprecedented outbreak of foot and mouth disease last year. We are very grateful to Professor Sir Brian Follett and his committee for producing such a thorough and excellent report in such a short space of time. This is a very significant contribution to our work to strengthen our ability to guard against and deal with animal disease.
We welcome the importance that the report places on the livestock industry in this country and Great Britain having animal disease free status. We are already taking action on imports and disease surveillance to protect this and the report's views on these matters will be of great assistance.
More widely, we intend to press ahead with an animal health and welfare strategy and will need to consider carefully the recommendations made by the report on research and development in the light of yesterday's spending review announcement.
The report's recommendations will be of crucial importance in developing the Government's emergency preparedness for controlling animal diseases, and we will need to study these closely, in particular the recommended approach to vaccination against foot and mouth disease. The Government have never rejected vaccination as an option in the fight against foot and mouth. The report recognises that
We welcome the Royal Society's endorsement of the need to take forward the work we have in hand on greatly improved contingency plan for foot and mouth. Its findings on biosecurity and animal movements will also be of particular importance.
In taking work forward on the report, we will need to involve stakeholders, in particular the farming industry, who have a share in the responsibility for maintaining the animal disease free status recommended by the report.
We intend to give a fuller initial response on the recommendations in this report when the lessons learned inquiry has reported on Monday 22 July. It is also intended later in the year to issue a detailed reply to the recommendations in both these independent reports.
What targets were set for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science for 2002–03[HL5298]
When they will publish the 2001–02 annual report for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.[HL5299]
Whether they have received the report of the Royal Society's Scientific Review of Infectious Diseases in Livestock.[HL5336]
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