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Dept for Culture Media and Sport;Royal Parks Agency

Answer

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how much peat the Royal Parks purchased in the last two years; and where it was used; [129239] (2) how many animals and birds were culled in the Royal Parks, broken down by (a) species and (b) culling methods used in the most recent year for which figures are available; [129263] (3) what (a) pesticides and (b) herbicides the Royal Parks purchased in the last two years, broken down by (i) type and (ii) quantity. [129264] Mr. Caborn: Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency and I have asked its Chief Executive, William Weston, to reply. Letter from William Weston to Norman Baker, dated 16 September 2003: I have been asked by the Secretary of State to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about the pesticides we purchase, the number of animals we cull and our use of peat, because these are operational matters which have been delegated to me. We do not use peat in our horticultural and grounds maintenance work, but most bedding plants we purchase are supplied to us in peat. We have been looking into alternatives to peat for bedding plants and will be running a trial next year in which all the plants purchased in one park will be grown in an alternative medium. We will assess the result in terms of quality and cost of the plants involved. The only cull we carried out last year was the annual deer cull, when 179 deer were shot. We do not purchase herbicides or pesticides. The horticultural and grounds maintenance functions in the parks are carried out by contractors. Park managers specify what tasks require doing and how they are to be done. Where pesticides and herbicides are required, park managers approve which ones should be used and the information is not, therefore, held centrally. We could only find out which types have been used by asking contractors to obtain the information from each job order they have had from park managers for the past two years. Even that would say what type had been approved but not what quantities had been used.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

410 c649-51W;410 c649W; 129239;129263;129264

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Birds Death Animals Pesticides Royal parks Peat Royal Parks Agency Weedkillers

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk