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5 Mar 2007 : Column WA1
Written Answers
Monday 5 March 2007
Agriculture: Dairy and Pig Farmers
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many dairy and pig farmers there were in the United Kingdom in each of the years 1997—2006. [HL2365]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The number of holdings in England recording pigs or dairy cows is shown below. Figures for the other UK countries fall under the jurisdiction of the devolved authorities.
Armed Forces: Deployment
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, when it is proposed to commit the United Kingdom to direct participation in any war, international armed conflict or international peace-keeping activity, they will publish the opinion of the law officers of the Crown as to the legality of the proposed use of force by the armed forces. [HL2069]
The Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith): Advice from the law officers is covered by legal professional privilege and is subject to a longstanding convention that prevents disclosure of the advice—or even the fact that the law officers have been consulted—outside Government. The Government consider it important for Parliament and the public to be given a proper explanation of the legal basis on which key decisions, such as a decision to use force against another state, are taken.
This is what happened in relation to Iraq in 2003. While there is a particular need for certainty and clarity in relation to military action, the public interest would not necessarily be served by publication of the legal advice itself, which may refer to secret intelligence or military plans and could include references to the arguments both for and against what is proposed. It would be for the Prime Minister of the day to determine how best fully to explain the legal basis for action to Parliament, including whether that could be done by disclosing the legal advice received in that respect.
Armed Forces: Inquests
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
When the practice of conducting civil inquests into the deaths in action of service personnel killed in action in overseas conflict zones first arose. [HL2201]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): Since the Court of Appeal judgment in Helen Smith in 1983, it has been mandatory for an inquest to be held into a death overseas where the body is repatriated to England and Wales and the death is unnatural, violent or sudden, of unknown cause or occurred in custody. This includes the deaths of service personnel killed in exercises and conflicts overseas. Before 1983, coroners had discretion about whether to hold an inquest in deaths that occurred overseas where the body was repatriated to England and Wales.
Armed Forces: Nicosia Accommodation
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which authority is responsible for the provision of accommodation for United Nations troops in the Ledra Palace, Nicosia; and which public bodies finance the provision of this accommodation. [HL2184]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The UN is responsible for the provision of accommodation for all UN troops in Cyprus. This is done in conjunction with the Republic of Cyprus under a status of forces agreement between the UN and Cyprus. As the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus is funded from the UN's assessed peacekeeping budget, all UN member states are liable for the costs of the peacekeeping operation. The UK's share of this comes from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-administered peacekeeping budget, drawn from HM Treasury.
Avian Flu
The Duke of Montrose asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have identified any other countries with H5N1 avian flu infections with a sufficiently similar gene nucleotide sequence to suggest that they might have a link to the outbreaks in Hungary and Suffolk. [HL2205]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The epidemiological investigation is ongoing and, as yet, we have not been able to rule out any method of introduction.
At present, genetic sequencing of isolates of the H5N1 virus has not revealed another virus similar to that found in Hungary and Suffolk. As part of the ongoing investigation, we are investigating whether the outbreaks in England and Hungary came from a common third source. A full report will be published when the investigation is complete. It is likely that that will take a few weeks yet.
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures are being taken to ensure stringent inspection of internal European Union traded poultry; and whether the other 26 European Union member states have sufficient resources in place to ensure the efficiency of this inspection. [HL2207]
Lord Rooker: Existing EU trade rules set out the measures that must be adopted by a member state if it experiences an outbreak of a serious disease, such as avian influenza. The European Commission will propose additional safeguard measures, depending on the severity of the situation within the affected member state.
All consignments of live poultry traded within the EU must be accompanied by an original health certificate signed by an official veterinarian of the exporting member state. This indicates that the poultry do not come from flocks or premises within disease-protection or surveillance zones in member states.
Within the UK, the State Veterinary Service (SVS) carries out risk-based checks on imports of poultry from other member states as a further measure to minimise the introduction of animal diseases into the country.
The European Commission is responsible for ensuring that Community legislation on food safety, animal health, plant health and animal welfare is properly implemented and enforced.
One of the means by which the Commission can monitor these issues is through regular missions conducted by the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) to individual member states and to countries outside Europe. These FVO missions produce reports on the visited country's capability, resources and levels of compliance, among other issues. They are reviewed by the Commission and other member states at regular meetings of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH).
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will seek financial assistance from the European Union in the event that the avian flu outbreak causes serious damage to the poultry market. [HL2209]
Lord Rooker: In administrating a similar support regime last year, the EC made it clear that the assumption would be that no future use would be made of market support provision, and that industry would need to prepare itself for any similar market fluctuations in the future.
It has been the policy of successive UK Governments not to provide market support. Market impacts of animal disease are a risk carried by the industry. However, the Government seek to minimise that risk, particularly by encouraging wide public understanding of the issues and an evidence-based and proportionate response.
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What lessons have been learnt from the recent avian flu outbreak at Bernard Matthews on the way in which the slaughter of such large flocks was undertaken. [HL2210]
Lord Rooker: Culling to control the recent outbreak of H5N1 was carried out in accordance with Defra's revised Contingency Plan for Exotic Animal Diseases, which was laid before Parliament on 13 December 2006. Although the company's own slaughterhouse on an adjacent site was used in this case, it is highly unlikely such a method would be available in the future; however, the department has a number of other options available. As the Secretary of State said on 19 February in his Statement to the House (Official Report col. 29), we are determined to learn any and all lessons following this outbreak. This includes all aspects of the regulatory regime, domestic and international. Consistent with past practice, work is already being done to learn the lessons of this outbreak, and when it is concluded it will be published for public scrutiny.
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether their investigation into the recent avian flu outbreak at Bernard Matthews has considered movements made by employees and their families between England and Hungary. [HL2211]
Lord Rooker: All possible routes of infection are being investigated, and we have not yet been able to rule out any method of introduction. However, the possibility of workers carrying the disease is very small, and no such movements have been identified to date.
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