§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of the reports and submissions produced by the Consultative Panel on Badgers and Tuberculosis in each of the last three years.
§ Mrs. BrowningThe Consultative Panel on Badgers and Tuberculosis met once in 1991 and twice in both 1992 and 1993. The Ministry provides secretarial support to the panel and consistently draws on the panel1s advice in determining its policies on badgers and bovine tuberculosis. The budget for each of the last three financial years was £4,728, £5,000 and £10,000 respectively with actual expenditure of £2,777, £2,558 790W and £6,720. The increase for 1993–94 reflected one off costs for a scientific seminar in November 1993 to review research with leading experts from the United Kingdom and Ireland. There have been no reports or submissions published by the panel during the last three years.
§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what monitoring there is of active badger setts along the route of the new A30 in east Devon; how many licences have been issued to disturb badger setts in this area; to whom they were issued; when they were issued; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Paul BeresfordI have been asked to reply.
English Nature is the appropriate licensing authority and issued one licence in August this year to environmental consultants who have surveyed 14 badger setts, including outlier holes, along the new A30 in east Devon. Monitoring of all setts is continuing throughout the coming winter to determine their current status of occupation. Under the Data Protection Act 1984, identification of individual licence holders is confidential.