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Common Land

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what reasons underlay the decision not to include the New Forest in the reports commissioned by his Department entitled "Greater Protection and Better Management of Common Land and Good Practice Guide on Managing the use of Common Land". [123256]

Mr. Mullin: These two reports were not aimed at any specific commons, but were intended to cover issues and problems arising on the majority of common land throughout England and Wales.

The publications will be less relevant to those commons which benefit from their own legislation, and particularly those such as the New Forest which are exempted from registration under the Commons Registration Act 1965. It will be a matter for consideration how far, if at all, any new legislation should apply to those commons, and we will naturally listen to views in this respect. The advice contained in the Good Practice Guide may be applied in the New Forest, provided it is consistent with local legislation. Similarly, those who administer that legislation may pursue legislative changes consistent with those proposed in the consultation paper Greater Protection and Better Management of Common Land in England and Wales.

Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the recommended limit is of methyl tertiary butyl ether (ug/L) in drinking water, and what monitoring the Drinking Water Inspectorate has made of drinking water supplies to detect methyl tertiary butyl ether. [123445]

Mr. Mullin: There is no standard for methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in drinking water. MTBE is detected in drinking water by its odour/taste at concentrations

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much lower than concentrations that would be a risk to health. Because MTBE has the potential to contaminate groundwater sources used for drinking water supply, the Drinking Water Inspectorate has checked the monitoring for MTBE carried out by water companies. Apart from one site specific incident in 1990 which resulted in the water company treating water to remove MTBE, this monitoring has not revealed a problem. The water companies are aware of the potential problems and remain vigilant. The Inspectorate is liaising with the Environment Agency on MTBE.

Chinese Herbal Medicines

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he takes to ensure Chinese herbal medicines on sale do not contain ingredients derived from endangered species. [122921]

Mr. Mullin: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which regulates and sometimes bans trade in endangered species including plants, is strictly implemented in the UK under both European and National legislation. Medicines derived from species listed on Appendix II or III of the Convention need an import permit issued by my Department before they can enter the country. Permits will not normally be issued for products containing the most endangered species listed on the Convention's Appendix I. Any products that are derived from, or even claim to be derived from, wild taken Appendix I specimens will not normally be allowed on sale in the UK.

The CITES Convention is actively enforced by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and the Police who work together with my Department, other government departments and certain non-governmental organisations on the Government's Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime. My Department produces general guidance on the Convention and has recently launched a dedicated website on CITES. We have also worked with the enforcement agencies to produce specialist material including leaflets, posters and videos aimed directly at Britain's Chinese speaking community. We are currently working on new guidance, to be produced in English and Chinese, for practitioners and retailers of traditional Chinese medicines and have signalled our intention to work with Middlesex University on new scientific research into the use of alternatives to replace endangered species contained in traditional medicines.

Plywood Timber

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of the Government's plywood timber procurement originated in (a) Indonesia and (b) the Brazilian Amazon in the last three years. [123160]

Mr. Mullin: The information requested is not held centrally and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

St. John's Wood Station

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he was consulted or informed in advance by London

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Underground about its plans to place restrictions for several hours per day on use of St. John's Wood Underground Station during the test match at Lords and on 10 June; if he will call for a report from London Underground on the cost of (a) additional staff at that station during this period and (b) buses used to provide alternative transport; what action has been taken in respect of the London Underground employees responsible for this situation; and if he will ensure that closures of this nature are not repeated. [123455]

Mr. Hill: The Secretary of State was informed in advance about the proposed restrictions at St. John's Wood. These are operational matters for London Underground and the Secretary of State does not propose to call for any further report. While we regret the inconvenience caused by the restrictions we recognise that London Underground must make decisions about station closures which give the highest regard to passenger safety.

Incinerators

Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the Government's criteria are for the siting of new incinerators. [123500]

Ms Beverley Hughes: The building of new incinerators will normally require the grant of planning permission from the waste planning authority under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and an authorisation from the Environment Agency under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Government guidance on the planning considerations which should be taken into account in the siting of new incinerators is contained in Planning Policy Guidance Note 10 "Planning and Waste Management".

Longbridge Rover Plant

Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has held with the West Midlands Development Agency on the future of the Longbridge Rover plant. [123477]

Ms Beverley Hughes: Discussions on the future of the Longbridge Rover plant have been undertaken by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. My right hon. Friend established a Task Force to assess the impact of Rover restructuring on the West Midlands economy. He appointed Alex Stephenson, the Chairman of Advantage West Midlands, as Chairman of the Task Force, and received an interim report in April. My right hon. Friend met with the Task Force on two occasions, and is due to meet with them before they submit their final report in June. The Government Office for the West Midlands is involved in working with the Task Force, and helping to co-ordinate effort across a number of Government Departments.

Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what part was played by West Midlands RDA in connection with the recent negotiations over the Longbridge Rover plant. [123478]

Ms Beverley Hughes: Negotiations for the sale of the Rover Group were a matter for the owners, BMW, and prospective bidders. The West Midlands RDA, Advantage West Midlands, was not involved in those negotiations.

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However, Advantage West Midlands supported the Rover Task Force established by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Representatives of AWM, on behalf of the Task Force, were involved in discussions with BMW and the bidders about their proposals, in order to understand the likely impact on the regional economy.

"Environmental Snapshot for the

East of England"

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) for what reason figure 19 on page 13 of the Environment Agency's document, "Environmental Snapshot for the East of England", does not include landfill sites in Basildon and Thurrock; and if he will make a statement; [123385]

(2) what the cost was of the production of the Environment Agency's document, "Environmental Snapshot for the East of England"; and who its author was; [123271]

(3) for what reason figure 1 on page 2 of the Environment Agency's document, "Environmental Snapshot for the East of England", does not include the Unitary Borough of Thurrock. [123270]

Mr. Mullin: The omission of the Unitary Borough of Thurrock and the landfill sites in Basildon and Thurrock was an oversight, due to an editorial error. This has already been brought to the attention of the Environment Agency by local government and the Agency will amend the snapshot when it publishes the second edition in September 2000.

The cost of production of the "Environmental Snapshot for the East of England" was £4,470. The report was produced by Robert Runcie, Regional Director of the Environment Agency (Anglian Region).

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