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Pollution (Edmonton)

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the types of dioxins which have been present, in each of the past 10 years, in fly ash from waste incinerators (a) nationally and (b) from the Edmonton incinerator. [4865]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 18 July 2001]: There are 210 types (congeners) of dioxins—only 17 of which are considered to be significant cause for concern because of their toxicity—and these are listed. All combustion processes including waste incinerators produce a mixture of dioxin congeners which will be detected in the fly ash but monitoring usually focuses on the 17 congeners of concern which are reported as Toxic Equivalents (TEQ). Fly ash from the Edmonton incinerator would similarly contain a mixture of the 210 dioxin congeners.

Annex A

The 17 dioxin (and furan) congeners which are considered to be significant cause for concern because of their toxicity.

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Dioxins

2,3,7,8-TCDD—tetra chloro dibenzo-para-dioxin

1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD—penta chloro dibenzo-para-dioxin

1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDD—hexa chloro dibenzo-para-dioxin

1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD—hexa chloro dibenzo-para-dioxin

1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDD—hexa chloro dibenzo-para-dioxin

1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD—hepta chloro dibenzo-para-dioxin

OCDD—octa chloro dibenzo-para-dioxin

Furans

2,3,7,8-TCDF—tetra chloro dibenzo furan

1,2,3,7,8-PeCDF—penta chloro dibenzo furan

2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF—penta chloro dibenzo furan

1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF—hexa chloro dibenzo furan

1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDF—hexa chloro dibenzo furan

1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDF—hexa chloro dibenzo furan

2,3,4,6,7,8-HxCDF—hexa chloro dibenzo furan

1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF—hepta chloro dibenzo furan

1,2,3,4,7,8,9-HpCDF—hepta chloro dibenzo furan

OCDF—octa chloro dibenzo furan.

New Forest

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the timetable is for reviewing and reappointing the Forestry Commission as the agency for managing the Crown Lands of the New Forest; and if she will make a statement. [3758]

(2) if she will make a statement about the ownership of the New Forest. [3759]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 19 July 2001]: The Crown Lands of the New Forest were transferred from the Commissioners of Woods to the Forestry Commissioners in 1924. Ownership was then passed to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by the Forestry Act 1945, which also placed the Crown Lands at the disposal of the Forestry Commissioners. The Commissioners have therefore managed the Crown Lands continuously since 1924 and there is no need to reappoint them. We have no plans to review this.

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the powers available to the Forestry Commission to restrict and impose conditions upon access to the New Forest and the statutory provisions which govern their use. [4099]

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Mr. Morley [holding answer 19 July 2001]: The Forestry Commissioners manage the New Forest using the powers granted by the Forestry Act 1967, Countryside Act 1968 and the New Forest Acts of 1870, 1879, 1949, 1964 and 1970. These Acts also give the Commissioners powers to restrict and impose conditions upon access to the New Forest.

Evesham

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the Market Towns Initiative as it affects Evesham. [5750]

Alun Michael: I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Market Towns Initiative

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will extend the Market Towns Initiative to Chorley. [6209]

Alun Michael: Following publication of the Rural White paper Regional Development Agencies are taking forward a programme of revitalisation of rural towns in or near Rural Priority Areas. It is for RDAs and their partners to decide on priorities.

Hunting

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has in respect of the Government's policy for legislation on hunting. [5697]

Alun Michael: Consideration is being given to the best way of dealing with this issue.

Tyres

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultation the Government have had with the tyre industry in order to implement the EU Landfill Directive; and if the requirements of the Directive will be complied with by the dates specified. [4497]

Mr. Wilson: I have been asked to reply.

The Government expect shortly to issue a consultation document and draft regulations which will set out the Government's views on the implementation of the tyre bans required by the Landfill Directive. The Government maintain regular dialogue with the tyre industry on this issue through the Used Tyre Working Group and we remain confident that sufficient tyre recovery capacity will be developed to enable the disposal of tyres to landfill to cease by the specified dates.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure that additional tyre recovery and recycling facilities become available in the next three years. [4556]

Mr. Wilson: I have been asked to reply.

The key date in the Landfill Directive for tyres is expected to be 2006, when shredded tyres should be banned from landfill (whole tyres are due to be banned

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in 2003). The Government will continue to develop the framework necessary and provide support to help enable the tyre industry to achieve the required diversions of tyres away from disposal to landfill.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Government will introduce legislation requiring tyre manufacturers to take back tyres at the end of their life. [4498]

Mr. Wilson [holding answer 16 July 2001]: I have been asked to reply.

The Government's preferred approach to meeting the requirements of the Landfill Directive for tyres is through a voluntary framework. However, statutory Producer Responsibility is an option, and we will consider later this year whether to issue a consultation document setting out proposals for such arrangements.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what conclusions the Used Tyre Working Group has reached with regard to necessary steps to improve the United Kingdom's scrap tyre recovery performance to a target of 100 per cent.; and if she will make a statement. [4555]

Mr. Wilson: I have been asked to reply.

The Government have asked the industry side of the Used Tyre Working Group to set out in its forthcoming Annual Report how the transition away from landfill is to be managed. That report is due to be submitted at the end of July and we will consider the way forward in light of this information.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Used Tyre Working Group has completed the collection of statistics regarding used tyre disposal for 1999; how many waste tyres were produced in the United Kingdom in that year; by what means they were disposed of; and what other information was collected by the working group in respect of that year. [4531]

Mr. Wilson: I have been asked to reply.

The Used Tyre Working Group (UTWG) estimated that around 430,000 tonnes (45 million tyres) were disposed of in 1999. The table shows recovery routes, rounded to the nearest percent.

Used tyres	Tonnes	Percentage
Total	427,000	—
Recovered	311,000	—
Recovery rate	—	73
Reuse	61,000	14
Retreading	66,000	15
Recycling	83,000	19
Landfill engineering	31,000	7
Energy recovery	70,000	16

The majority of the balance was landfilled, and some will have been stored or illegally dumped. The UTWG holds regular meetings and gathers information during the course of the year. Much of this information is contained in the UTWG's Annual Reports, the latest of which is held on its website at www.tyredisposal.co.uk.

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German Atomic Law

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent communications she has had with her German counterpart, and what exchanges have taken place at official level, in respect of those amendments to the German atomic law which have implications for the United Kingdom. [3947]

Mr. Wilson: I have been asked to reply.

Amendments to German legislation are a matter for the Government of Germany. My Department has continued to press the German Government to ensure that any changes to legislation implemented in order to facilitate the phase-out of nuclear power in Germany do not prevent the effective fulfilment of BNFL's reprocessing contracts with German utilities.

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