Bill Wiggin: That was a helpful intervention. There are several points to make. First, I was not talking about official culling; I am worried that farmers will take matters into their own hands. Secondly, there is a natural culling, which is usually killing on the roads. Thirdly, some badgers are immune to TB. Many hon. Members talked about badgers becoming ill from TB, and said that that might be why...
Bill Wiggin: I am disappointed with the hon. Gentleman, because I hoped that he would say something helpful about large herds, rather than about his grasp of the geography of the River Teme. However, he is right that there is a bit of the River Teme in his constituency, too. Like me, he grasps the significance of the particular problem that large farmers have with welfare. I mentioned veterinary...
Bill Wiggin: Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the high incidence of TB at a League Against Cruel Sports sanctuary? Very little has been done about that. Would the hon. Gentleman agree that it is not a question of whether TB can jump species, but of how fast it is spreading?
Bill Wiggin: Does the hon. Gentleman see that if farmers are held responsible for the biosecurity of their herds and believe that the disease is the exclusive responsibility of the badger, their response will be to slaughter the badgers? There is a real danger that by insisting that farmers are responsible for biosecurity, they will take matters into their own hands.
Bill Wiggin: In the Government response to the Select Committee report, they seem to be at pains to point out that £36,000 was an industry estimate. When the Minister responds to the debate, will he tell us the Government's estimate of the real cost of a breakdown to a farmer?
Bill Wiggin: indicated dissent.
Bill Wiggin: The suggestion is that the absence of selenium in the cattle diet can cause the immune system in cows to become so weak that no antibodies are produced, and it is the antibodies that are needed to create a positive tuberculin test. The cattle that carry the disease will not show as positive reactors because of the mineral deficiency. That may or may not be true, but that is the science to...
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the tax rises he has introduced since 1997.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of university students from England paid the full amount of tuition fees for the academic year 2002/03.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the status of the Defence Medical Services.
Bill Wiggin: Is the Secretary of State telling my hon. Friend that because he is worried about losing the new constitution, or because he is worried about a pathetic turnout like the 38 per cent. that we saw for the Welsh Assembly elections?
Bill Wiggin: The Prime Minister is aware of the dramatic drop in the number of beds in Hereford hospital, but if I send him the letter that I have before me, will he look into the case of my constituent, Donald Jaques, whose ECG test was stopped when it became clear that he had a serious coronary problem, only to return to his GP to be told that he had to wait 10 months for a proper coronary angiogram?...
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new classroom assistants were appointed in the UK in the 2002–03 academic year in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) special needs schools.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were employed in the public sector in Wales (a) in 1997 and (b) in the last 12 months.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum in the UK have been made since January by Iraqi (a) Ba'ath and (b) ex-Ba'ath party officials.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effects of road charging.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent research he has conducted into the percentage of primary school children who play truant without their parents' knowledge.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on truancy levels for children of (a) primary and (b) secondary school age in March (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much illegal drugs were seized by the police during the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost was of such operations.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment he has made of the potential danger to workers involved in the flower industry in Kenya due to exposure to chemicals; and if he will make a statement.