§ Mr. KaufmanTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effect on the Manchester, Gorton constituency, of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [136151]
§ Mr. Nick BrownSince May 1997 my Department has undertaken a volume of work which will, both directly and indirectly, benefit the constituents of Manchester, Gorton. Among many other things:
MAFF prepared the foundations for the creation of the independent Food Standards Agency (FSA) which was established on 3 April 2000. The FSA is now up and running as an independent champion for consumers.
The Department played a leading role in the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy; this means savings equivalent to £65 on the typical family's annual food bill.
MAFF launched the Pet Travel Scheme; for the first time in over 100 years pets have been able to enter the country without quarantine. The scheme is expected to be completely up and running by April next year.
We have sought to protect the interests of consumers of basmati rice, both with regard to its labelling and in negotiations on the Commission's proposals for reform of the EU rice regime.
There has been work on better labelling of food, and improved EU-wide labelling on GM content of food. We have also issued tough new guidance on misleading country of origin labelling.
We have put in place powerful measures to protect the public against BSE, and have taken steps to ensure that British beef is now among the safest in the world.
Further details of the work of my Department can be found on our website www.maff.gov.uk.