§ 2.46 p.m.
§ The Earl of KinnoullMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what effective control is available to prevent smoke hazard occurring on motorways at the time of stubble burning.
The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Earl Ferrers)My Lords, the Highways Act makes it an offence to light a fire within 50 feet of the centre line of a highway so as to cause injury, interruption or danger to a user. Bye-laws have also been made by many local authorities to control stubble burning. The National Farmers' Union code of practice, which is widely publicised and observed, gives specific advice on burning near roads.
§ The Earl of KinnoullMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. Does he have records of accidents that have occurred over the last 10 years, particularly those connected with trunk roads?
Earl FerrersMy Lords, I cannot tell my noble friend what accidents have occurred because we have no central record of any traffic accident which has been caused by smoke from stubble burning, certainly during this year's harvest, and I do not think there is such a category with which I could help him.
§ Lord John-MackieI had better declare that I have a fairly large glasshouse before I start throwing any stones, my Lords. If there were prohibition alongside motorways (which there is a lot of talk about) of, say, half a mile—that would be a safe distance regarding smoke affecting a motorway—that might affect roughly 1½ million acres; I have done the calculation based on half a mile on either side of 2,400 miles of motorways, half of which might go through arable land. It would be a very severe penalty on farmers if there were such a prohibition, and I therefore trust that the Government will not think along these lines but will instead rely on the code, which contains a £1,000 penalty if anything goes wrong; and I hope that will remain the case.
Earl FerrersMy Lords, I am impressed by the noble Lord's mental mathematics, which I take as being accurate. He is right to say that we rely on the NFU code of practice and believe that is the right way to do it. There were many fewer incidents last summer than there were the summer before.
§ Baroness Macleod of BorveMy Lords, does the code of practice as practised by the farmers also include the prevailing winds, because in my experience they have been the problem when stubble has been burning?
Earl FerrersI do not think the code incorporates the prevailing wind, my Lords. It advises farmers what to do in connection with the straw when the wind is blowing.
§ Lord CollisonMy Lords, as the Minister mentioned the code of practice issued by the NFU, may I ask him to say how successful the department believes the code has been in preventing not only this nuisance but other dangers which can emanate from straw burning? All the industry is anxious that the code should be supported, but we are not clear how successful the Government feel—or, for that matter, how successful the NFU feel—the code has been.
Earl FerrersMy Lords, after the considerable public concern shown during the dry summer of 1981, the Ministry of Agriculture collaborated with the NFU, the Nature Conservancy Council, the Countryside Commission and the Country Landowners' Association in revising and strengthening the code. The code makes it perfectly clear that burning should not be started where the direction of the wind is likely to create a smoke hazard, and especially near roads. The National Farmers' 850 Union has also made a film, which has had a certain amount of distribution. So we find that in the last 12 months there has been a great improvement.
§ Lord KennetMy Lords, is there any code of practice that requires drivers to slow up when they see a bank of smoke on the road ahead?
Earl FerrersMy Lords, if the noble Lord, Lord Kennet, should like to put down a Question relating to the Highway Code I shall see that it is answered.
§ Lord Stanley of AlderleyMy Lords, may I say how pleased I am to hear——
§ Lord Stanley of AlderleyMy Lords, may I ask my noble friend whether he is as pleased as I am as a result of the code of practice? I should also like to ask my noble friend whether he accepts that it is an essential agricultural practice on some soils to carry out burning? In view of the last replies, may I also ask my noble friend whether he will bear in mind the great hardship imposed on farmers who have roads pushed through their land against their own will, and who then find that they are at risk when they try to burn stubble near a new road?
Earl FerrersMy Lords, I cannot say whether I am as pleased as is my noble friend, because I do not know how greatly pleased he is. However, my noble friend is perfectly correct; at the moment the burning of straw is an essential agricultural practice. My noble friend has stated that roads are pushed across farms, and obviously where that occurs it is an added burden to the farmer.
§ The Earl of KinnoullMy Lords, notwithstanding what my noble friend has said, can he say whether any thoughts have been given to a use of straw which is better than burning?
Earl FerrersMy Lords, much research is being done, and I have invited interested experts from the industry and associated research bodies to join me in regular meetings to discuss the new avenues that might be pursued for research into the use of straw. The experts are specialists in the use of straw as a fuel, as a feed, for the extraction of chemicals, and for the manufacturing of board. The meetings are also attended by representatives of the Department of Industry, the Department of Energy, the Agricultural Research Council, and officials from my own department, as well as representatives of straw merchants, farmers, and the National Farmers' Union.
§ Lord LeatherlandMy Lords, will the noble Earl the Minister say whether the menace of straw burning by farmers is likely to cause a smoke hazard any worse than would have been the case had Guy Fawkes succeeded in his plot against this House?