§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many head de-boners went out of business as a result of the introduction of BSE safeguards; how many people lost their jobs; and how much compensation was paid by the Department. [102311]
§ Ms QuinBusinesses specialising in head de-boning were severely affected when tighter restrictions on cattle heads were introduced in March 1996 in line with advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee. The information requested on business closures and job losses is not available. No compensation was paid to head de-boners, a decision which was upheld by the European Commission on Human Rights.
Those head de-boners which also operated cutting plants were able to benefit from arrangements introduced shortly afterwards to purchase and dispose of unsaleable stocks of beef to ease the pressure on their activities.
§ Mr. PicklesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if a credit rating was sought for each of the companies which submitted a tender in the recent award of contracts to abattoirs by the Intervention Board under the over 30-month scheme; [102360]
(2) if credit references were taken up in relation to each of the companies which submitted a tender in the recent award of contracts to abattoirs by the Intervention Board under the over 30 month scheme. [102358]
§ Ms QuinThe Intervention Board (IB) obtained financial reports from Dun and Bradstreet on tendering companies who were not previously contracted to provide Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) slaughtering services. Decisions on the award of contracts were taken in full knowledge of the information contained in these reports. Similar reports were not sought in respect of companies with whom IB already had satisfactory and long-standing contractual relationships under the OTMS.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many visits were made to each hunt kennel in the last two years by(a) his Department's veterinary surgeons and (b) his Department's officials. [102541]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 13 December 1999]: This information is not held centrally. However, the instructions issued to members of the State Veterinary Service require visits to hunt kennels to be carried out on a monthly basis to check compliance with the rules on Specified Risk Material and at least annually to check compliance with rules on non-SRM animal by-products.
10W
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice his Ministry gives to(a) hunts and (b) hunt kennels on the receipt of deadstock where (i) the dead animal is suspected of BSE and (ii) where BSE is present in the relevant herd. [102539]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 13 December 1999]: All cattle suspected of having BSE are slaughtered by MAFF officials who arrange for their remains to be incinerated, apart from the heads which are sent to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency for analysis.
Deadstock which comes from herds which have had a case of BSE, but which are not BSE suspects or the offspring of BSE cases, may be sent to hunt kennels. We do not provide any special guidance on the handling of such carcases because there is no evidence of horizontal transmission of BSE. The hunt kennels are however subject to controls on specified risk material and are visited by the State Veterinary Service on a regular basis to ensure compliance. Results of their audits are published in the BSE Enforcement Bulletin, which is placed monthly on the Library of the House.
§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many incineration plants are currently burning(a) carcase and (b) meat and bone meal under the over 30 months scheme contract. [104241]
§ Ms QuinSeven plants are currently incinerating Over Thirty Month Scheme (OTMS) carcase material from abattoirs, and 16 plants are incinerating casualty OTMS animals that have been slaughtered on-farm. One plant is currently incinerating OTMS meat and bone meal.
§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the(a) total number of carcases and (b) total tonnage rendered each year by each company awarded a contract under the over 30 months scheme since those contracts started. [104238]
§ Ms QuinThe tonnage of material processed under the Over Thirty Month Scheme (OTMS) by rendering companies contracted by the Intervention Board is given in the table.
11W
Tonnes Renderer 1996 1997 1998 19991 Canterbury Mills 28,657 24,673 39,539 44,391 Prosper De Mulder Ltd. 183,265 120,390 198,198 194,824 William Forrest & Son (Paisley) Ltd. 48,080 37,578 70,106 72,433 Lisburn Proteins/Glen Farm Holdings Ltd. 25,034 45,979 65,574 66,895 Duncrue Food Processors 6,337 1,288 0 0 Dundas Bros. 15,501 23,849 0 0 Fats & Proteins (UK) Ltd. 47,773 55,974 4,801 0 Gilberts Animal By-Products 26,983 63,672 0 0 J. G. Pears 8,202 19,819 0 0 Peninsular Proteins 28,695 27,061 0 0 Ulster Farm By-Products 30,415 2,770 0 0 1 Estimated Equivalent data for the number of animals rendered are not available in the same format. However, the estimated number of animals rendered in each of the above years is as follows:
Number of OTMS animals rendered:
- 1996: 1,091,570
- 1997: 780,785
- 1998: 802,078
- 1999: 844,920
§ Mr. PicklesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the views of the(a) Hygiene Service and (b) Meat and Livestock Commission were formally sought on each of the companies which submitted a tender in the recent award of contracts to abattoirs by the Intervention Board under the 30 month scheme. [104160]
§ Ms QuinI refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 20 December 1999,Official Report, column 440W.
§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those contracts that have been awarded by the Intervention Board for rendering or incineration under the over 30 month scheme, and the gate fees negotiated with each company. [104242]
§ Ms QuinFour companies have contracts to render OTMS carcase material at an average gate fee of £80 a tonne (equivalent to approximately £40 per animal).
- Prosper De Mulder Ltd.
- Canterbury Mills Ltd.
- Glenfarm Holdings Ltd.
- William Forrest & Son (Paisley) Ltd.
Five companies have contracts to incinerate OTMS carcase material from approved abattoirs at an average gate fee of £88 per animal.
- WRE Services
- Bronzeoak Ltd.
- Durga Environmental Ltd.
- Sacone Environmental Ltd.
- Orkney Direct Waste Disposal
Sixteen companies have contracts to incinerate casualty OTMS animals that have been slaughtered on-farm at an average gate fee of £80 per animal.
- Cambridge Pet Crematorium
- Cluttons Agricultural
- Companions Rest
- Tom Goddard & Sons
- Haymans
- Hawkins
- Incineration Scotland
- Incineration South West
- Hamilton (Irvine) Ltd.
- Lawton
- Cremtor
- Scottish Agricultural College (Ayr)
- Scottish Agricultural College (Aberdeen)
- Tellam Incineration
- Wessex Incineration
- Westcot Hides Ltd.
The Intervention Board has concluded contracts with three companies for the large scale incineration of meat and bone meal (MBM) produced under the OTMS. The contracts cover the incineration of a total of 650,000 12W tonnes of MBM at a total cost of £51.1 million, an average gate fee therefore of £79 per tonne (equivalent to approximately £10 per animal).
- Shanks Chemical Services Ltd.
- Fibrogen Ltd.
- Prosper De Mulder Ltd.
Negotiations continue with a fourth company for the balance of the Intervention Board's incineration requirement.
§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate his Department has made of future incineration requirements under the over 30 months scheme. [104237]
§ Ms QuinI refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South-East Cornwall (Mr. Breed) on 15 December 1999,Official Report, column 230W.