Chamber and committees

The security of the stores is primarily the responsibility of the storekeeper and is covered in the contract. A strict control regime is also in place. The stores and vehicles travelling to and from them are sealed and operated on a dedicated basis. All loads are tracked, weighed at both ends of the journey and subject to documentary control, including comprehensive stock and movements records at each site. In the UK the Meat and Livestock Commission supervise activity, and they are subject to second-tier checks by technical officers. Inactive stores are also subject to regular checks.

At the start of November 85,000 tonnes of meat and bonemeal remain in storage across the UK, at various locations, including one in Scotland at Whitehill Industrial Estate, Glenrothes.The following is a corrected answer (published on 26 November 2002); see below.At the start of November 185,000 tonnes of meat and bonemeal remain in storage across the UK, at various locations, including one in Scotland at Whitehill Industrial Estate, Glenrothes.

The yearly cost of storing Over Thirty Months Slaughter Scheme (OTMS) rendered products (meat and bonemeal (MBM) and tallow) peaked at around £21 million in the 2001-02 financial year when 15 MBM stores and three tallow stores were on contract throughout the UK. Costs are reducing as stores are emptied and decommissioned. Stocks are disposed of by incineration with energy recovery.

The conditions that apply for the disposal of harvested GM crops are contained in the consents for individual releases. Those consents are available on the Public Register.

Operators transporting GM material from a trial site for disposal are subject to the same road licensing requirements and any relevant codes of good practice as other waste hauliers. No specific conditions relating to the transport of GM material from Scottish farm-scale evaluation sites have been incorporated into the consents because the material in question is not judged to be hazardous to either human health or the environment.

The disposal of GM crops from individual trials is governed by the consents that apply to each trial and is a matter for the consent holder in each case.

The conditions relating to the disposal of harvested GM crops are contained in the consents. The consents are approved by the regulatory authorities following advice from ACRE and are placed on the Public Register.

The Scottish Executive's GM Inspectorate is in regular contact with consent holders about matters relating to compliance with consents.

The conditions that apply to the harvest of GM crops are specific to the individual releases and are contained within the consents. The consents are available on the public register.

There are no recommended disposal routes for the harvested GM crop. The harvest must be disposed in a manner compliant with the terms of the individual consents.