§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the(a) cost and (b) impact on the environment of disposing of over-30-months scheme cattle carcases by (i) rendering, (ii) burning and (iii) other methods. [129650]
§ Ms QuinFour companies have contracts to render OTMS carcase material at an average gate fee of £80 per tonne (equivalent to approximately £40 per animal). The Intervention Board has concluded contracts with three companies for the large scale incineration of meat and bone meal derived from the rendering process at an average gate fee equivalent to approximately £10 per animal. Five companies have contracts to incinerate OTMS carcase material from approved abattoirs at an average gate fee of £88 per animal, and 16 companies have contracts to incinerate casualty OTMS animals at an average gate fee of £80 per animal.
All rendering plants and incinerators handling animal waste must be authorised under Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the cost to the UK in terms of lost compensation from the EU if the target for the disposal of over-30-months scheme cattle is not met. [129651]
§ Ms QuinCompensation from the EU is not dependent upon disposal targets being met. It is dependant upon the remains of all purchased cattle being destroyed by incineration. Where such cattle have initially been disposed of by rendering, 80 per cent. of the available compensation is claimed at that point. Once an equivalent amount of the resultant meat, bonemeal and tallow produced from the rendering process has been incinerated, the balance of the compensation can be claimed.
Year Total women appointed Number women appointed to paid posts Percentage of women in paid posts Number women appointed to unpaid posts Percentage of women in unpaid posts 19971 15 9 12.16 6 12 1998 21 17 20.99 4 20 1999 31 29 21.37 2 25 1 May to 31 December The Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in public life. In support of this, the Department has drawn up an action plan for increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities holding public appointments. The latest plans, together with the Government's overall plan, were published on 24 May 2000 in "Quangos: Opening up Public Appointments 2000–2003", copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.