HC Deb 14 May 2002 vol 385 cc556-7W
Mr. Breed

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will provide the declaration of interests for the members of the Veterinary Products Committee. [55471]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 10 May 2002]: The declaration of interests for members of the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) is published in the Medicines Act 1968 Advisory Bodies Annual Report, a copy of which is available in the Library. A regularly updated version is also available on the VPC website (www.vpc.gov.uk).

Mr. Breed

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will provide the declaration of interests for the members of the Veterinary Residues Committee. [55472]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 10 May 2002]: The Veterinary Residues Committee (VRC) discussed declaration of interests at their meeting on 7 March 2002. The minutes of the meeting are available on the VRC website at vet-residues-committee.gov.uk. Officials at the Veterinary Medicines Directorate subsequently wrote to all members of the Committee asking them to update their declarations. These are being placed on the VRC's website.

Mr. Breed

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what data she has collated relating to the statutory programme on multiple veterinary medicines residues for(a) 1996, (b) 1997, (c) 1998, (d) 1999 and (e) 2000; and if she will make it available. [55470]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 10 May 2002]: The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) published annual reports on surveillance for veterinary residues for the years 1996 to 2000. Copies are in the Library. Statutory surveillance is undertaken to comply with Council Directive 96/23/EC. Analysing samples for more than one substance is not required by the directive, but in practice the nature of the analytical techniques used may reveal the presence of more than one substance. Each of these would then be individually identified. Multiple residues are very rarely found. They would be referred to in the results reported by the VMD but they are not collated.