Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 27 April 2004

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Ammonium Nitrate

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the regulation of the sale, storage and use of ammonium nitrate products. [165829]

Alun Michael: The potential hazards of ammonium nitrate (AN) are well-known and well-documented. The Government has already taken a number of measures to tighten controls in the general climate of heightened security, We need to balance the risks of potential misuse associated with AN against its clear and proven benefits in supporting food output in this country.

The Government has been working with the fertiliser industry to ensure the safe supply of Ammonium Nitrate (AN) fertiliser. We have endorsed Industry Guidelines which advise producers and sellers of AN fertiliser to:

sell only to known, bone fide customers, in particular those who have a credit account;

refrain from making cash sales;

ask questions to potential buyers of AN fertiliser to establish their knowledge of agriculture;

in the case of suspicious enquiries, to record and notify the police of the purchaser's name and address (verified by documentary proof such as details from a driving licence) and full details of the enquirers vehicle, including the registration number.

We are continuing our dialogue with Industry and have invited them to produce a Code of Practice to encourage direct deliveries from manufacturers to farmers to shorten supply chains and ensure better traceability, Industry will also be working closely with the National Farmers Unions to remind farmers about the safe storage and use of AN.

To supplement these voluntary measures, the Government has taken a number of steps to tighten controls on AN:

Defra has introduced regulations to control the supply of both home produced and imported AN. The regulations require AN fertiliser, with a high nitrogen content, including mixtures, to have satisfied a Detonation Resistance Test.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a self-help checklist to all those known to be handling or storing significant quantities of AN. The checklist has been distributed widely. It is aimed at spreading good practice and offering HSE as a source of further advice.

Additionally, HSE has lowered the notification threshold under the Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances Regulations 1982 from 500 to 150 tonnes and widened the range of products to be included in the notifications. Further measures will be taken if necessary.

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Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to ban the use of ammonium nitrate fertilisers for agricultural purposes. [166212]

Alun Michael: There are no current plans to ban the use of Ammonium Nitrate (AN) fertilisers. The Government have already taken a number of measures to tighten controls on AN in the general climate of heightened security We need to balance the risks and potential misuse associated with AN against its clear and proven benefits in supporting food output in this country. Further measures will be taken if necessary.

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to control the sale of ammonium nitrate; and if she will make a statement. [165836]

Alun Michael: The potential hazards of AN are well-known and well-documented. The Government has already taken a number of measures to tighten controls in the general climate of heightened security. We need to balance the risks of potential misuse associated with AN against its clear and proven benefits in supporting food output in this country.

The Government has been working with the fertiliser industry to control the supply of Ammonium Nitrate (AN) fertiliser. We have endorsed Industry Guidelines which advise producers and sellers of AN fertiliser to:

sell only to known, bone fide customers, in particular those who have a credit account;

refrain from making cash sales;

ask questions to potential buyers of AN fertiliser to establish their knowledge of agriculture;

in the case of suspicious enquiries, to record the purchaser's name and address (verified by documentary proof such as details from a driving licence) and full details of the enquirers vehicle, including the registration number.

We are continuing our dialogue with Industry and have asked them to produce a Code of Practice to encourage direct deliveries from manufacturers to farmers to shorten supply chains and ensure better traceability.

To supplement the voluntary measures, Defra introduced regulations on 1 May 2003 to control the supply of both home produced and imported AN. The regulations require AN fertiliser, with a high nitrogen content, including mixtures, to have satisfied a Detonation Resistance Test. Further measures will be taken if necessary.

Ancient Woodland

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of each county was covered by ancient woodland in (a) 1983, (b) 1993 and (c) 2003. [165750]

Mr. Bradshaw: An initial inventory of ancient woodland was undertaken in the 1980s. Some counties have been fully resurveyed since then, and some sites newly added or deleted. To update the inventory country-wide, English Nature has begun a 10 county pilot project using digital boundaries and aerial

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photography. This pilot will be complete in June 2004. The following table provides the best data available at present.
Percentage cover of ancient woodland 1 by county from 1980s and 1990s

Percentage cover from:

County⁽²⁾ Original data (1981–88) Most recent data (1998)

Avon 2.4 2.3

Bedfordshire 2.1 2.1

Berkshire 4.6 4.4

Buckinghamshire 4.5 4.7

Cambridgeshire 0.8 0.8

Cheshire 0.7 0.7

Cleveland 2.5 2.4

Cornwall 1.9 1.9

Cumbria 2.3 2.3

Derbyshire 1.7 1.7

Devon 2.2 2.2

Dorset 2.9 2.9

Durham 1.7 1.7

East Sussex 10.4 10.4

Essex 2.4 2.4

Gloucestershire 6.7 6.8

Greater London 1.6 1.6

Greater Manchester 0.6 0.6

Hampshire 7.5 7.7

Hereford and Worcester 4.7 4.7

Hertfordshire 3.3 3.5

Humberside 0.2 0.2

Isle of Wight 4.1 4.1

Kent 8.0 7.9

Lancashire 0.9 0.9

Leicestershire 1.0 1.0

Lincolnshire 1.0 1.0

Merseyside 0.2 0.2

Norfolk 0.5 0.5

North Yorkshire 1.7 1.7

Northamptonshire 2.7 2.8

Northumberland 1.0 1.0

Nottinghamshire 1.0 1.0

Oxfordshire 2.9 2.9

Shropshire 2.7 2.7

Somerset 2.6 2.6

South Yorkshire 2.9 2.9

Staffordshire 2.1 2.1

Suffolk 1.1 1.1

Surrey 5.8 5.8

Tyne and Wear 2.0 2.0

Warwickshire 2.1 2.1

West Midlands 0.8 0.8

West Sussex 8.5 8.6

West Yorkshire 1.7 1.7

Wiltshire 3.7 3.7

⁽¹⁾ Ancient woodlands are areas that have been continually wooded since 1600. There are two types of ancient woodland—ancient semi-natural woodlands and plantations on ancient woodland sites.
⁽²⁾ Post-1974 counties.
Source:
English Nature.

	Percentage cover from:
County⁽²⁾	Original data (1981–88)	Most recent data (1998)
Avon	2.4	2.3
Bedfordshire	2.1	2.1
Berkshire	4.6	4.4
Buckinghamshire	4.5	4.7
Cambridgeshire	0.8	0.8
Cheshire	0.7	0.7
Cleveland	2.5	2.4
Cornwall	1.9	1.9
Cumbria	2.3	2.3
Derbyshire	1.7	1.7
Devon	2.2	2.2
Dorset	2.9	2.9
Durham	1.7	1.7
East Sussex	10.4	10.4
Essex	2.4	2.4
Gloucestershire	6.7	6.8
Greater London	1.6	1.6
Greater Manchester	0.6	0.6
Hampshire	7.5	7.7
Hereford and Worcester	4.7	4.7
Hertfordshire	3.3	3.5
Humberside	0.2	0.2
Isle of Wight	4.1	4.1
Kent	8.0	7.9
Lancashire	0.9	0.9
Leicestershire	1.0	1.0
Lincolnshire	1.0	1.0
Merseyside	0.2	0.2
Norfolk	0.5	0.5
North Yorkshire	1.7	1.7
Northamptonshire	2.7	2.8
Northumberland	1.0	1.0
Nottinghamshire	1.0	1.0
Oxfordshire	2.9	2.9
Shropshire	2.7	2.7
Somerset	2.6	2.6
South Yorkshire	2.9	2.9
Staffordshire	2.1	2.1
Suffolk	1.1	1.1
Surrey	5.8	5.8
Tyne and Wear	2.0	2.0
Warwickshire	2.1	2.1
West Midlands	0.8	0.8
West Sussex	8.5	8.6
West Yorkshire	1.7	1.7
Wiltshire	3.7	3.7

Bovine TB

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department carries out routine monitoring of feral cats to ascertain the incidence of TB in this population. [158009]

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Mr. Bradshaw: There is no routine monitoring by Defra of feral cats to ascertain the incidence of TB in this population.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of establishing the experimental badger research facility in Weybridge; and what the status of the unit is. [159118]

Mr. Bradshaw: The cost of establishing the badger facility was about £350,000. The facility contains a colony of animals, known to be uninfected with bovine TB, living in their natural environment.

Common Agricultural Policy

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her most recent assessment is of the effect of the Common Agricultural Policy on the cost of the average family's weekly food purchases. [162949]

Alun Michael: The consumer cost of the CAP can be estimated by examining the difference between UK and world prices for agricultural food products. Our latest provisional estimates for 2002 show a cost of the Common Agricultural Policy to a notional family of four due to higher food prices at approximately £4 to £4.50 per week.

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