To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to protect the native sea bird population on Gough Island. [Official Report, 6 December 2007, Vol. 468, c. 10MC.] (167238)

Rats and mice have been identified as the main predators of seabirds on Gough Island. The Overseas Territories Environment Programme, a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development funded programme, provided £54,954 for the period 2005-07 to the Tristan da Cunha Administration, with technical support being provided by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, to assess the potential for the eradication of these rodents from Gough Island.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government has offered Tristan da Cunha to tackle verminous rodents. (167235)

The Overseas Territories Environment Programme, a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development funded programme, provided £54,954 for the period 2005-07 to the Tristan da Cunha Administration to carry out a feasibility study, with technical support from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, on the eradication of introduced rats from Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island. The study will provide costed options for consideration by the local community.