§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how much was charged to exporters for each consignment of livestock destined for export certified by his own veterinary and technical assistant staff between 13 and 19 February, inclusive; [17846]
(2) what sums his Department has received for providing a health certification service for livestock destined for export between 13 and 19 February, inclusive. [17724]
§ Mrs. BrowningInvoices have not yet been raised for these services. No money has been received.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will announce the results of his inquiry into inadequate certification by veterinary surgeons. [17788]
§ Mrs. BrowningInquiries are continuing concerning the allegations made in the Channel 4 "Dispatches" programme and I can give no indication as to when they may be completed.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animals were deemed unfit to travel between 13 February and 19 February, inclusive, by the Minister's veterinary staff when undertaking certification procedures of live animals destined for export. [17778]
§ Mrs. BrowningBetween 13 to 19 February, of the 2,691 sheep and 3,843 calves presented for export, 39 sheep and 165 calves were deemed unfit to travel by veterinary staff while undertaking certification procedures.
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§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many veterinary staff and technical assistant staff were deployed to undertake certification for animals destined for export between 13 and 16 February, inclusive. [17723]
§ Mrs. BrowningI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Glandford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 20 February 1996,Official Report, columns 136–37, and on 26 February 1996, Official Report, columns 381–82.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if all local veterinary inspectors are employed by his Ministry when undertaking health certification work for animals due to be exported from the United Kingdom. [17711]
§ Mrs. BrowningLVIs are appointed by the Minister to act as agents on his behalf. They are not employees.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how long certification took for each consignment of live animals destined for export between 13 and 19 February, inclusive, for(a) physical examinations and (b) related administrative procedures. [17725]
§ Mrs. BrowningThe nature of the work is such that it is not possible to separate the physical examinations from the administrative procedures, for example, checking identities of animals. Set out in the table are the times taken at the various lairages on different days when one or more consignments were dealt with at each lairage.
Date Number of consignments Start time Finish time 13 February 2 consignments of sheep 0900 1300 1 consignment of calves 3 consignments of sheep 0900 1430 1 consignment of calves 5 consignments of calves 0900 10130 14 February 1 consignment of sheep 0830 1700 3 consignments of calves 5 consignments of calves 0730 1330 15 February 1 consignment of sheep 0830 1015 7 consignments of calves 0800 1430 6 consignments of calves 0730 1630 16 February 1 consignment of sheep 0730 1230 2 consignments of calves 1 14 February.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the rate per hour charged by(a) his veterinary staff and (b) his technical assistance staff to certify consignments of animals destined for export between 13 and 19 February, inclusive. [17721]
§ Mrs. BrowningFor veterinary officers, the rate per hour is £41.61 per hour and for animal health officers, it is £23.47 per hour exclusive of VAT.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many consignments of animals for export were certified by the Minister's veterinary and technical staff between 13 and 16 February, inclusive. [17712]
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§ Mrs. BrowningBetween 13 and 16 February inclusive, Ministry veterinary staff certified eight consignments of sheep and 30 consignments of calves.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the use of a separate fitness to travel certificate ceased for the purposes of certifying animals for export. [17726]
§ Mrs. BrowningThe use of a separate fitness to travel certificate ceased from 31 December 1992.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animals were in each consignment certified for export by his veterinary and technical staff between 13 and 19 February, inclusive. [17722]
§ Mrs. BrowningThe number of animals in each consignment certified for export by Ministry veterinary staff between 13 and 19 February, inclusive, was as follows:
Date Number of consignments Animals per consignment 13 February 5 consignment of sheep 204, 426, 400, 389, 386 7 consignment of calves 88, 88, 203, 53, 51, 229, 110 14 February 1 consignment of sheep 405 8 consignment of calves 146, 62, 268, 160, 53, 179, 229, 68 15 February 1 consignment of sheep 231 13 consignments of calves 126, 80, 168, 138, 241, 206, 40, 262, 196, 16, 29, 59, 90 16 February 1 consignment of sheep 250 2 consignments of calves 65, 140 No animals were certified for export by Ministry veterinary and technical staff on 17, 18 or 19 February.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current role of Jonathan Stirling in respect of animal health certification on behalf of exporters. [17866]
§ Mrs. BrowningI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glandford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 22 February 1996,Official Report, columns 269–70.