HC Deb 15 October 2001 vol 372 cc1091-2W
Mr. Drew

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many vehicles have been abandoned and had to be disposed of in each of the last two years in the Stroud district; and what was the cost of disposal in each year. [6524]

Mr. Meacher

This is a matter for Stroud district council. The Department currently holds no central records of either the number of vehicles abandoned each year or local authorities' costs in disposing of them.

  1. (2) pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) of 17 July 2001, Official Report, column 170W, on wildlife crime birds of prey, if she will (a) give a commitment to the retention of the bird registration system for species currently listed and (b) consider adding globally endangered species threatened by trade to the system; [6544]
  2. (3) how many convictions for possession of birds listed on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which have relied on DNA samples as evidence, have been successful; and for how many of these her Department provided registration details, maintained under section 7 of the Act, to the police; [6542]
  3. (4) what fees are charged to birdkeepers by her Department for registration of birds listed on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; and to what extent these fees cover the cost of running the registration scheme. [6543]

Mr. Meacher

There have been a total of 15 convictions for possession of birds listed on Schedule 4 of the Act, which have relied on DNA evidence. DEFRA released information from the database, held under section 7 of the Act, in relation to each of these convictions.

The fees charged to bird keepers are set out as follows. In 2000–01 the income generated covered 18.4 per cent. of the costs of running the registration service.

Information on the number of abandoned vehicles removed by local authorities is being collected in the Department's 2000–01 Municipal Waste Management Survey.