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Waste Disposal at Sea

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what discussions and on what dates have taken place between his Department, MAFF and the DTI regarding (a) a common definition of bulky waste and (b) a policy for its disposal at sea; [15629]

Mr. Boswell: I have been asked to reply.

The London convention of 1972 on dumping of waste at sea refers to containers, scrap metal and other bulky wastes liable to sink to the sea bottom which may present a serious obstacle to fishing or navigation.

The protocol to the London convention, agreed in November last year, describes bulky wastes as items primarily comprising iron, steel, concrete and similarly unharmful materials for which the primary concern is physical impact.

The Ospar convention, which will shortly supersede the Oslo convention and whose more stringent controls on dumping at sea are already applied to UK waters, does not refer to bulky wastes. Under Ospar the dumping of all wastes or other matter is prohibited except for specified categories which include inert materials of natural origin--for example, rock--and vessels and aircraft until 2004; offshore installations and pipelines may also be considered for disposal. Each case is considered on its merits and it is UK policy to license disposal at sea only when there is no safe and practicable alternative. The only assessment so far undertaken of potential disposal sites at sea for a bulky waste was conducted by the Scottish Office in relation to the Brent Spar. All the studies included in that assessment have already been placed in the Library.

Details of the interdepartmental discussions on this topic could be derived only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what procedure his Department follows in determining best practicable environmental options; and what criteria govern the disposal of bulky wastes at sea, in the case of (a) redundant oil and gas installations, (b) radioactive wastes and (c) other wastes; [15649]

Mr. Boswell: I have been asked to reply.

The dumping of waste at sea is subject to the provisions of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and the UK has agreed to abide by guidelines and assessment procedures adopted under relevant international conventions.

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In particular, we apply annex 11 to the recently agreed protocol to the London convention which sets out the considerations that need to be taken into account when conducting an assessment of wastes that may be considered for dumping at sea. These include whether appropriate opportunities exist to re-use, recycle or treat the waste without undue risks to human health or the environment or disproportionate costs; the chemical, physical and biological properties of the waste; the suitability of the proposed dump site; and potential effects on the environment.

Other Departments and the conservation agencies are consulted on such assessments as appropriate on a case by case basis. In relation to the decommissioning of oil and gas installations, which is the responsibility the Department of Trade and Industry, a wide range of fisheries, amenity and environmental interests are consulted.

WALES

Local Government Finance

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) for each unitary council and (b) for Wales in 1997 prices for the financial years 1996-97 and 1997-98 the (a) standard spending assessment, (b) capping limit for spending and (c) spending on care in the community, indicating the percentage change in each case. [15339]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Table 1 gives the standard spending assessments and table 2 the capping limits on spending for 1996-97 and 1997-98 at constant 1997-98 prices. No adjustments have been made for changes in local authority funding arrangements between 1996-97 and 1997-98.

Outturn expenditure figures for care in the community are not centrally available. Identified allocations for care in the community within authorities standard spending assessments for 1996-97 and 1997-98, at constant 1997-98 prices, are shown in table 3.

Table 1: Standard spending assessments

Council1997-98 (£000)(4)1996-97 (£000)Change (£000)Percentage change
Blaenau Gwent65,26965,786-517-0.8
Bridgend110,865109,7391,1251.0
Caerphilly147,190147,213-230.0
Cardiff250,773249,9358390.3
Carmarthenshire151,724151,3253990.3
Ceredigion61,52761,1134130.7
Conwy92,82491,8499751.1
Denbighshire79,47680,126-650-0.8
Flintshire115,628114,8108190.7
Gwynedd109,516108,5319850.9
Isle of Anglesey61,76062,018-258-0.4
Merthyr Tydfil5658456,976-393-0.7
Monmouthshire65,86065,3255350.8
Neath Port Talbot122,316122,860-544-0.4
Newport118,639119,867-1,228-1.0
Pembrokeshire101,848102,438-590-0.6
Powys119,200117,9621,2391.1
Rhondda, Cynon Taff212,409211,2281,1810.6
Swansea196,438197,414-976-0.5
Torfaen79,33679,352-170.0
The Vale of Glamorgan95,84696,526-680-0.7
Wrexham100,625100,529960.1
All councils2,515,6522,512,9222,7300.1

(4) 1996-97 local government revenue settlement estimated at 1997-98 prices.


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Table 2: Capping limits on spending

Council1997-98 (£000)(5)1996-97 (£000)Change (£000)Percentage change
Blaenau Gwent71,10670,9551510.2
Bridgend117,264116,2501,0150.9
Caerphilly154,611154,4471640.1
Cardiff261,849261,2326170.2
Carmarthenshire159,313158,3111,0020.6
Ceredigion67,64267,3942480.4
Conwy92,82491,8499751.1
Denbighshire84,34485,145-801-0.9
Flintshire120,836120,1207160.6
Gwynedd114,524113,6398840.8
Isle of Anglesey62,58262,3132690.4
Merthyr Tydfil60,12259,9661560.3
Monmouthshire65,86065,3255350.8
Neath Port Talbot132,996132,3656310.5
Newport120,000119,8671340.1
Pembrokeshire103,921103,5533670.4
Powys120,411119,1961,2151.0
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff228,967228,2617060.3
Swansea203,116202,0131,1030.5
Torfaen81,38981,2561320.2
The Vale of Glamorgan97,40497,452-480.0
Wrexham105,055103,4141,6411.6
All councils2,626,1362,614,32511,8120.5

(5) 1996-97 local government revenue settlement estimated at 1997-98 prices.


Table 3: Allocations within total standard spending assessments in respect of care in the community

Council1997-98 (£000)(6)1996-97 (£000)Change (£000)Percentage change
Blaenau Gwent4,2403,83140910.7
Bridgend7,2766,52675011.5
Caerphilly9,1488,24290511.0
Cardiff15,99114,3851,60611.2
Carmarthenshire11,14210,0311,11111.1
Ceredigion4,2583,82643211.3
Conwy7,3266,61171510.8
Denbighshire5,7925,2715219.9
Flintshire7,2576,51874011.4
Gwynedd7,7046,93776711.1
Isle of Anglesey3,9873,6793098.4
Merthyr Tydfil3,8213,4803429.8
Monmouthshire4,5404,01852213.0
Neath Port Talbot8,9097,94696312.1
Newport7,3566,68167510.1
Pembrokeshire6,3535,70664711.3
Powys7,5486,81873010.7
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff15,55314,0161,53811.0
Swansea13,59612,3281,26810.3
Torfaen4,6274,16745911.0
The Vale of Glamorgan5,9935,4685259.6
Wrexham6,7936,08071311.7
All councils169,209152,56216,64710.9

(6) 1996-97 local government revenue settlement estimated at 1997-98 prices.


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