HC Deb 24 March 2003 vol 402 cc4-5W
Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's Don't Bring Back More Than You Bargained For campaign. [103754]

Margaret Beckett

Qualitative research undertaken on behalf of Defra has shown that the Don't Bring Back More Than You Bargained For campaign has raised travellers' awareness of the import rules for food and plants by 10 per cent.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what analysis has been made of products seized under Regulation 24 in(a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03, broken down by country of origin of the products seized; and if she will place a copy in the Library. [103756]

Mr. Roger Williams

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the countries which, since 1997, have been identified as the original source of illegal imports of(a) meat, (b) fish and (c) other food products, by type. [103643]

Margaret Beckett

[holding answer 19 March 2003]Data on products seized have been held by the Illegal Animal Product Seizures (ILAPS) database since April 2001. It is analysed on a monthly basis and the results are circulated to the relevant enforcement authorities. These reports are not published documents since they contain sensitive information which is relevant to the targeting of enforcement activity. We shall shortly publish the report on the risk assessment of the import of meat and meat products contaminated with foot and mouth disease virus. That report includes analysis of the overall risk by world region of origin. A copy will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to transfer provision from her Department's budget to that of HM Customs and Excise when Customs takes over responsibility for controls on illegal imports of animal and plant products. [103782]

Margaret Beckett

[holding answer 18 March 2003]The Government have allocated £25 million over the three years commencing 2003–04 for work on illegal meat and plant imports. We expect to announce very shortly how much of the available budget will transfer to HM Customs and Excise in 2003–04 to fund their new responsibilities for anti-smuggling controls on animal and plant products.