§ 9. Mr. Dale Campbell-Savours (Workington)How many persons are employed on all forms of contract at the cattle traceability centre in Workington. [151394]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Ms Joyce Quin)At the end of February, 618 people were employed on all forms of contract at the British cattle movement service in Workington.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursThe centre is one of the great success stories of west Cumbria. Will my right hon. Friend scour the whole of MAFF to see whether any more jobs can be transferred to the area? In particular, meat product export licensing work—which will, I suspect, have to be expanded over the coming years—could be transferred, as could sheep, pig and goat movements registration work. As that work expands, will my right hon. Friend look seriously at transferring it to my constituency and also to that of my right hon. Friend the Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham)? We have the workers and they are keen to take on those tasks.
§ Ms QuinMy hon. Friend is second to no one in his determination to look for job opportunities for his constituents in Workington and I very much applaud his work. I hope that he will feel that, as regards work that is already available in the area, we have responded to some of the representations made by him and his constituents. As he knows, following a better quality service review it was decided that the work of the BCMS should remain in the public sector ant that there was certainly no case for moving that work away from his constituency.
My hon. Friend mentioned traceability, which is so important for all parts of the livestock sector at present. He identified aspects where work will have to be done in future. I assure him that building on the existing expertise in his area is an important option for us.
§ Mr. James Gray (North Wiltshire)While, like the Minister, I am glad that there is that traceability expertise in Workington, does she agree that traceability in this country is of precious little use unless we know precisely where imported beef comes from? Recently, there were worrying reports about beef imported with the spinal cord 411 left in. Which European Union countries have traceability standards that match the excellence of those at Workington?
§ Ms QuinOn the point about imports, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will join me in applauding the vigilance of the Food Standards Agency. It has rigorously checked imported meat in order to detect traces of specified risk material and any trace spinal column still attached to the meat. The agency's efforts should be applauded; they are extremely important for safeguarding consumer health in this country.
A number of EU countries already have well-advanced traceability systems. The reason for that is that we are required to have such systems according to EU regulations and requirements. Indeed recent events on the continent and in all our countries reinforce the case for that increased traceability. We want to be at the forefront—along with the constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours)—and ensure that we play our part in that process.
§ Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich)Is my right hon. Friend aware that the work of the Ministry's civil servants is very much valued? She knows that in my constituency we are most anxious that none of the jobs should be lost. When she is considering the employment and the extension of MAFF services, I am sure that she will understand that any attempt to move the work of the Ministry into the private sector without extremely wide consultation—or worse, any attempt to concentrate such jobs outside the existing regional offices—will be met if not with vigorous responses, certainly with a lack of amusement.
§ Ms QuinI know that my hon. Friend has had meetings with my right hon. Friend the Minister to express her concerns, quite rightly, about the future of employment in MAFF in her constituency. I also know that a good amount of work has been done on identifying the services that will be retained in her area. It is important that the Ministry plays its full part in the regionalised system of government that we have in the United Kingdom. It is also important that, especially through the England rural development programme, we deliver many services effectively at regional level, and that allows us to identify employment opportunities.