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Ukraine
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, under the G8 memorandum of understanding, Ukraine is intended to receive international funding for the continuing Chernobyl clean-up operation (a) before and (b) after the closure of reactor number three. [110573]
Mrs. Liddell:
The G7/EU Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ukraine covers a wide range of support to Ukraine to allow them to close Chernobyl by 2000--including assistance in areas of nuclear safety, energy efficiency, energy investments and the social impact resulting from closure. The MOU does not stipulate whether this support is to be given before or after closure of Chernobyl 3. In practice, much assistance has already been given and will continue after the anticipated closure of Chernobyl this year.
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Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Britain has pledged as part of the G8 funding for the Chernobyl clean-up operation. [110574]
Mrs. Liddell:
The UK has pledged $16.82 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) managed Chernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF), set up to finance work to repair the sarcophagus surrounding the damaged reactor 4 at Chernobyl, and a contribution of £18.25 million has been made to the EBRD managed Nuclear Safety Account (NSA), which is helping to fund a range of nuclear safety projects, including two pre-decommissioning facilities at Chernobyl. Further G8 contributions to the CSF are under consideration.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the UK and EU tariffs applicable to products imported from Ukraine. [110578]
Mr. Caborn:
Goods imported from the Ukraine into the EU are charged either the tariffs laid down in the Common Customs Tariff of the European Communities, or, if they qualify, the preferential rates applicable to Ukrainian goods under the Community's Generalised Scheme of Preference.
Full details are published in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Integrated Tariff of the United Kingdom, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to phase out the use of peat compost in gardens (a) owned and (b) tended by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [110718]
Dr. Howells:
The Department's current policy is not to use peat compost.
Mr. Ian Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportions of the material in (a) cars, (b) computers, (c) refrigerators and (d) televisions are recycled. [110349]
Ms Hewitt:
There are no published "average" figures for the recycled content of any of these products. However, there are industry estimates available for the amounts of each product which are recycled at the end of their lives, except for televisions, where the level of recycling is low and no firm figures are available.
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(a) Cars--according to figures from the industry's Automotive Consortium on Recycling and Disposal report, 1.8 million vehicles (two million tonnes) came to the end of their lives in 1998. Around 75 per cent. of the material from these vehicles was recovered for reuse.
(b) Computers--the Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling (ICER) estimates waste arisings of 125,000 tonnes of IT equipment per year. In 1997, recyclers handled around 30,100 tonnes of this equipment of which about 35 per cent. was reused and 58 per cent. was recycled, which equates to a recycling rate of 14 per cent. for IT equipment.
(c) Refrigerators--ICER estimate that approximately 90 per cent. of large white goods, including refrigerators, are entering the recycling market. The former Warren Spring Laboratory estimated in 1993 that around 59 per cent. of material in refrigerators is recycled when processed by a shredder.
(d) Televisions--televisions fall into the category generally known as brown goods. ICER estimate annual waste arisings in this category of around 53,300 tonnes, and televisions are thought to make up around 50 per cent. of this total. The recycling of televisions is not as commercially attractive as the recycling of computer equipment. As a result, the level of recycling is low and no firm figures are available.
Custodian of Enemy Property, Palestine
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department has completed the report into the affairs of the Custodian of Enemy Property, Palestine. [111238]
Mr. Byers: Yes. I have arranged for copies of the report to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Departmental Functions (Food)
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if all food served at his Department's official functions meets the standards of production required of domestic producers. [109783]
Mr. Lock [holding answer 11 February 2000]: The Department has contracted out catering. All food served at official functions by the caterers fully complies with current Environmental Health Authority legislation. The caterers are also ISO 9002 accredited.
Our caterers confirm under their specification that all pig and cow meat purchased by their supplier is born and bred in either the UK or Ireland, that the livestock are free range, and not fed meat and bonemeal foodstuffs. Their supplier is audited and verified regularly to ensure compliance with these specifications.
Paper and Timber Products
Mr. Reed: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he has taken to ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department come from a sustainable source. [110163]
Mr. Lock: The Lord Chancellor's Department includes a requirement in specifications for plain paper, and paper for publications, that any virgin wood pulp is to be sourced from sustainably managed forests. My Department also specifies that all timber products be sourced from independently verified sustainable sources and that no products supplied to us are made from rare woods as classified by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Mr. Reed:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from a sustainable source. [110164]
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Mr. Lock:
The Lord Chancellor's Department already requires all timber and timber products to come from independently verified sustainable sources. No accreditation body is currently specified for certificates, but the supplier of our plain paper is part of a group supporting the verification of forestry management standards via the Forest Stewardship Council accreditation process.
Budget Requirements (London)
Mr. Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what budget requirements he has set for the Greater London Authority, Transport for London, the London Development Agency, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority for 2000-01; and what will be the Greater London Authority's precepts for that year. [111119]
Mr. Hill: After considering responses to the consultation paper announced on 27 January 2000, Official Report, column 270W, I have today decided not to alter the proposed consolidated budget requirement for the GLA and functional bodies for 2000-01 of £2,178,800,000. The component budget requirements will also remain unchanged. These are:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Greater London Authority | 32,500,000 |
| Transport for London | 9,900,000 |
| London Development Agency | 0 |
| Metropolitan Police Authority | 1,830,000,000 |
| London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority | 306,400,000 |
I have determined General GLA Grant at £22,300,000 and today will be issuing on behalf of the GLA precepts totalling £335,702,801. For a Band D council tax payer, this is equivalent to £122.98 a year in the London boroughs and £32.03 a year in the City, of which £1.72 or about 3p a week, is to fund the new GLA services.
Regional Eurostar Services
Mr. Doug Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he has received the consultants report he commissioned on regional Eurostar services; and if he will make a statement. [111272]
Mr. Hill: Arthur D. Little's report on regional Eurostar services is published today. I have placed copies in the Libraries of both Houses.
The report considers whether Eurostar services directly serving the English regions and Scotland would be financially viable, and what wider transport and social benefits they would bring. The consultants consulted widely with local and regional authorities and groups. The report provides an independent assessment of the costs and impacts of a range of options.
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