§ Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the annual cost of maintaining the Wildlife Inspectorate; and what plans he has to increase the funds available. [118339]
§ Mr. MullinThe annual cost of maintaining the Inspectorate is £158,500; and there are no plans to increase the current level of funding.
§ Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the role of the Wildlife Inspectorate; what criteria he uses to monitor its effectiveness; and if he will make a statement. [118338]
§ Mr. MullinThe Wildlife Inspectorate's key role is to discharge the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions' inspection responsibilities in accordance with sections 7(6) and 14(5) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in England and Wales; and regulations 9(4) and 9(5) of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 in the United Kingdom. It undertakes a range of inspection programmes throughout the year to gather and verify information to enable informed decisions on the licensing of trade in endangered species and on the registration of birds of prey.
Wildlife Inspectors also provide specialist advice on species identification to assist the Police and HM Customs and Excise officials during wildlife-related investigations.
The Wildlife Inspectorate plays an important role as a deterrent to those who may otherwise consider acting outside of the legislation. While this deterrent effect is hard to quantify, results from a DETR questionnaire issued to 1,436 registered keepers of Schedule 4 birds in 1993 showed that 89 per cent. of respondents considered inspection programmes to be an effective way of monitoring the registration scheme, and 76 per cent. felt that inspections acted as a significant deterrent against the illegal taking of wild birds.
§ Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he will take in response to the recommendations of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee on the effectiveness of wildlife species protection legislation. [118337]
§ Mr. MullinIn Autumn 1998, my Department requested the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to review the effectiveness of the species protection Schedules to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The JNCC have recently concluded their review and advise that the Schedules have been generally effective in deterring persecution of the species listed, that they should be retained to give legal protection to appropriate animals and plants and also make a number of recommendations.
I am already actively considering all of the issues raised in the JNCC's recommendations.
The recommendations concerning enforcement of wildlife legislation relate to those made last year by the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime and are being addressed in the context of the Countryside and Rights of Way Bill.
119WI recognise that improvements to protection for threatened species in the wider countryside beyond the provisions of this Bill may be warranted and am considering what might be appropriate. Some measures may not necessarily require primary legislation, including JNCC's recommendation concerning the Quinquennial Review of the Schedules. I look forward to receiving JNCC's advice at the next Quinquennial Review in due course.
I also agree the problem caused by invasive alien species does need to be addressed and we plan to review the effectiveness of policy concerning non-native species which can present an ecological threat to the United Kingdom's indigenous wildlife.