HC Deb 10 March 1998 vol 308 cc164-5W
Mr. Letwin

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) when he will issue guidelines on badger management in relation to areas where the Krebs experiment takes the form of such management; and if he will consult before implementing the guidelines; [33726]

(2) if it will be his policy to apply the Krebs experiment in all appropriate areas which suffer a high level of bovine TB incidence over a long period; [33734]

(3) what policy he will adopt in areas where the experiment takes the form of extermination (a) to ensure that the areas selected for the Krebs experiments are sufficiently isolated from their surroundings and (b) to ensure that the defined areas are sufficiently homogeneous, in the absence of a power to force landowners to exterminate badgers. [33736]

Mr. Rooker

It is important that the culling experiment recommended in the Krebs report on TB in Cattle and Badgers is capable of providing scientifically robust conclusions. Decisions on the timing and conduct of the experiment will not be reached until we have advice from the Expert Group set up in February under the chairmanship of Professor Bourne to advise on these issues.

Mr. Letwin

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to consult farmers' representatives in relation to management practices at the point of a TB breakdown. [33732]

Mr. Rooker

The Krebs report makes some important recommendations on management practices. I shall certainly be discussing implementation of these and other aspects of the report with farmers' representatives once we have made a preliminary assessment of all the responses to the consultation exercise on the report.

Mr. Letwin

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what forecast he has made of the PSBR costs of bovine TB at the present rate of increase in bovine TB incidence over the next 10 years. [33735]

Mr. Rooker

Departmental provision, including for bovine TB, for 1999–2000 and beyond is under review as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review. The costs of the TB control programme are potentially affected by a number of factors, including the EU legislative provisions governing TB testing which are currently under discussion in Brussels, and the incidence of the disease.

Mr. Letwin

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under what powers he will implement the Krebs recommendations. [33725]

Mr. Rooker

We shall announce how we propose to take forward implementation of the recommendations in the Krebs report once we have fully considered the responses to the public consultation on the report and in the light of advice from the Expert Group.

Mr. Letwin

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will offer the 125 per cent. compensation rate applied in the Woodchester Park experiments to all farmers with cases of bovine TB in areas where the Krebs experiment takes the form of total protection of badgers. [33733]

Mr. Rooker

We see no grounds for asking taxpayers to meet a larger share of farmers' losses. We are assessing the implications of implementation of the Krebs report for the enhanced compensation arrangements which currently apply at Woodchester Park (100 per cent. of either the animal's market value or 125 per cent. of the average monthly market price two months before valuation, whichever is less, plus consequential losses).

Mr. Letwin

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will implement Professor Kreb's recommendation that independent research should be conducted into(a) a definitive live animal test for bovine TB, (b) vaccines and (c) DNA-typing of badger latrines to identify whether badger setts are infected; what his timetable for such implementation will be; and what plans he has to institute a profit levy on manufacturers in the event that exchequer-funded experiments in these areas are successful. [33731]

Mr. Rooker

We are currently considering our TB research requirements in the light of the Krebs recommendations. We intend to publish a research requirements document in early April. This approach to commissioning research represents a significant move in the direction of open competition to ensure research is conducted by groups with the best expertise. However, elements of the programme that require particular facilities and expertise may be placed directly with commissioned contractors.

We would usually arrange to share with researchers any royalty revenue stream in the event of any commercially exploitable Intellectual Property (IP) arising from a project.