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ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Foot and Mouth

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the visits and meetings so far (a) undertaken and (b) arranged by the Lessons Learned Inquiry into Foot and Mouth. [38834]

Margaret Beckett [holding answer 28 February 2002]: I understand that the Chairman of the Lessons Learned Inquiry and members of his Secretariat visited the South West of England on 23–24 January, Wales on 6–7 February, Scotland on 14–15 February and the Netherlands on 25–26 February. Members of the Inquiry Secretariat visited Anglesey on 20 February. The Inquiry is planning visits to the North East and North West of England and Yorkshire in the next few weeks.

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if it was a condition, accepted by Dr. Anderson on his appointment as Chairman of the Foot and Mouth Lessons Learned Inquiry, that interviews conducted with Ministers or senior officials would not be published in verbatim form. [38832]

Margaret Beckett [holding answer 28 February 2002]: No.

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will request that evidence submitted to the "Lessons Learned Inquiry" into Foot and Mouth is published as and when it is received, provided that those submitting evidence are content for this to happen. [38833]

Margaret Beckett [holding answer 28 February 2002]: This is a matter for the Chairman of the Lessons Learned Inquiry.

Recycling

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the contribution to meeting the Government's recycling targets to date of the PFI credits announced in the last comprehensive spending review. [38827]

Margaret Beckett [holding answer 28 February 2002]: The Spending Review 2000 allocated £220 million of PFI credits for local authorities waste projects (£50 million for 2001–02, £70 million for 2002–03 and £100 million for 2003–04).

Three projects have been approved so far for this period. The local authorities involved are East London waste authority, Leicester city council and a joint project for East Sussex and Brighton and Hove. The outputs in the approved outline business cases for these three

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projects are to achieve a minimum of 25 per cent. recycling rate of household waste by 2005, in line with the national target published in Waste Strategy 2000.

We published revised criteria for waste PFI schemes in September 2000. These make clear the central place of recycling in PFI proposals. Where proposals include incineration, they must demonstrate that all opportunities for recycling have been considered first and that there is no barrier to the future development of recycling.

Waste Disposal

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much UK waste was disposed of, in million of tonnes in each year from 1998 to 2001 by (a) landfill, (b) recycling, (c) energy recovery, (d) other recovery and (e) other disposal. [38277]

Mr. Meacher: It is estimated that in 1997–98 around 190 million tonnes of controlled waste were produced in the UK, by households, commerce and industry, including construction and demolition. Of this, it is estimated that around 58 per cent. or 111 million tonnes were disposed of to landfill, 30 per cent. or 57 million tonnes to recycling, 2 per cent. or 3 million tonnes to energy recovery, 7 per cent. or 14 million tonnes to other recovery and 2 per cent. or 5 million tonnes to other disposal. Data for later years are not available. This is a headline indicator of sustainable development for the UK, the indicator is shown in "Environment in your pocket", published by the Department in December 2001.

Ozone Depletion

Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the report made to the EU Commission under the terms of paragraph 6 of Article 15 of EU Regulations 2037/2000 (29 June 2000). [38870]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 28 February 2002]: Under the terms of Article 16(6), the UK reported to the European Commission by 31 December 2001 on systems established to promote the recovery of used controlled substances, including the facilities available and the quantities of used ozone-depleting substances recovered, recycled, reclaimed or destroyed. This was achieved by defining minimum qualifications for personnel, publishing guidance on recovery and destruction, and providing details on plant capacity for volumes destroyed.

My Department wrote to the European Commission on 18 December 2001 to define minimum qualifications. A copy of the letter and enclosures has been placed in the Library of the House. The information on destruction and capacity for destruction is commercially sensitive as there are only two facilities in place in the UK at present, so we are unable to publish it. The joint ex-DETR/ DTI guidance can be found on the DTI's website, www.dti.gov.uk/access/ozone/htm.

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Emissions

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to require climate change agreement participants to move from energy efficiency targets to absolute emissions targets. [38613]

Mr. Meacher: I have no plans to require climate change agreements participants to move from energy efficiency targets to absolute emissions targets.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is towards the proposed EU emissions trading scheme. [38615]

Mr. Meacher: The Government are pleased with the Commission's interest in trading and the opportunity it offers to European business and Governments. The commission's proposal for an EU emissions trading scheme does differ in some important respects from the UK scheme, but it is just that—a proposal. Negotiations are only at an early stage and it is far from clear what the final EU scheme will look like. The Government's policy is to work with the Commission and other member states during the negotiation process to develop the best possible emissions trading scheme for the EU and that any EU scheme is compatible with or, at the very least, has sufficient flexibility for established national schemes to run their course.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the United Kingdom's emissions trading system with the emissions trading scheme proposed by the European Union. [38614]

Mr. Meacher: The Commission launched a formal proposal for an EU Emissions Trading Scheme on 26 October 2001. There are a number of differences between the proposed EU scheme and the UK scheme which is to be launched in April. These include that the proposal requires mandatory, not voluntary participation; has limited sectoral coverage; only includes CO 2 , rather than all six greenhouse gases; includes emissions from electricity generators directly (rather than assigning

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emissions from power generation to the end-user of the electricity); and, has a bureaucratic rather than market- based allocation procedure. However, negotiations are only just beginning and it is far from clear what the final shape of the EU scheme will look like.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she intends to end the emissions trading scheme when an EU-wide scheme is introduced. [38616]

Mr. Meacher: The Commission's proposal for an EU emissions trading scheme does differ from the UK scheme, but it is just that—a proposal. Negotiations are only at an early stage and it is far from clear what the final EU scheme will look like. The Government have always said they will endeavour to manage any transition to an EU scheme and to wider international trading as seamlessly as possible. The UK will work with the Commission and other member states during the negotiation process to ensure that the schemes are compatible or, at the very least, there is sufficient flexibility for established national schemes to run their course.

Climate Change

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will give (a) the targets for 2010 and (b) the biennial interim targets for each sector of industry now taking part in a climate change agreement. [38612]

Mr. Meacher: The targets for 2010 and for the intervening milestone years are set out in each of the 44 sector agreements which have been placed in the Library of the House and are on the DEFRA website. The website also contains an explanatory document—Climate Change Agreements; Sectoral Energy Efficiency Targets.

The targets are expressed in different units in the different agreements. To aid understanding the attached table presents this information in terms of percentage energy saving over the base year for that sector. The differences in magnitude of the targets reflect the differences in scope for energy efficiency measures, taking into account savings already made, and a wide range of conditions in the sector.

Percentage savings at each milestone (cumulative—primary energy)
SectorBase year20022004200620082010
Aerospace—Society of British Aerospace companies(21)2001N/AN/AN/AN/A8.5
Aluminium199027.4029.5030.5031.0032.20
Craft Bakers—National and Scottish Associations of Master Bakers(22)
Bakeries19991.53.55.07.09.0
Shops0.51.52.53.54.5
Brewers19993.005.207.309.5011.60
Cement199013.1016.1022.6023.6025.60
Ceramics—British Ceramics Confederation
Pottery20002.88.910.211.412.4
Heavy clay2.24.76.48.910.22
Fletton brick0.92.44.36.28.1
Refactories3.14.85.88.410.33
Cer materials2.44.87.18.710.1
Chemicals199028.0030.7032.2033.5034.00
Cathode Ray Tubes—National Microelectronics Institute20006.2013.2015.9018.6021.00
Dairy Industry19994.106.407.308.209.20
Egg Processing—BEIC/BEPA19956.908.6010.0011.4013.20
Egg Production—British Egg Industry Council and NFU19994.907.409.8011.8013.70
Eurisol19997.5011.0012.5014.4014.90
Food and Drink19957.809.7011.6012.7013.80
Foundries: Target 201020001.603.806.308.6011.00
Glass19992.705.307.909.909.20
Gypsum Products20001.102.303.805.707.16
Leather—British Leather Confederation19991.903.905.907.909.81
Lime19986.106.506.807.707.90
Maltsters Association of Great Britain19991.703.204.706.307.80
Poultry Meat processing—BPMF19997.28.59.811.112.3
British Meat Federation19956.409.4011.9013.2014.40
Metal Forming—Confederation of 20001.402.804.205.607.00
Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association19994.005.507.008.009.00
Motor Manufacturers—SMMT19957.9010.1012.6013.9015.30
Pig Rearing—NFU19996.3010.2012.2015.1018.00
Non-Ferrous19985.508.2010.0011.4014.70
Paper199029.4033.0036.3038.0040.00
Poultry Rearing—NFU(23)19994.306.809.7012.7014.70
Poultry Rearing—BPMF(23)19994.206.409.0011.9013.70
Printing20000.503.105.609.5012.00
Renderers—UK Renderers Association)19991.703.905.607.309.00
Rubber19993.104.806.408.2010.30
Semiconductors—National Microelectronics Institute200021.0049.0052.0056.0059.00
Slag Grinders19990.002.506.108.2010.00
Spirits19990.201.202.803.604.50
Steel19974.907.609.5010.5011.50
Supermarkets(22)
Scratch bake(21)20011.03.55.07.09.0
Bake-off facil(21)0.31.52.53.54.5
Surface Engineering(24)19992.895.177.108.7710.28
Textiles—British Apparel and Textile Confederation19991.202.904.706.809.00
UKASTA—UK Agricultural Supply Trade Association19992.104.105.606.307.10
Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association Ltd.20002.006.007.308.6010.00
Wallcoverings19991.565.977.428.189.00
Wood Panel19991.303.505.606.507.34

(21) Intermediate milestone targets are not yet determined.

(22) The target for the Craft bakers and Supermarkets are in delivered energy terms.

(23) The targets for the two poultry rearing agreements is the same in delivered energy terms so each facility is being treated equivalently. However because of the different mix of fuels between the two groups, the primary energy sector targets are different.

(24) The targets for the SEA agreement are in delivered energy terms. The 10.28 per cent. reduction in delivered specific energy consumption to 2010 is equivalent to 12.01 per cent. in primary energy.


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