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Wood for Good Campaign
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will make a statement regarding the Government's objectives for the Wood for Good campaign; [68098]
- (2) what guidance her Department has provided on the Forestry Commission's Wood for Good website (a) to the public and businesses to help them ensure they do not buy wood which may have come from illegal or non- sustainable sources and (b) in the promotion of certified timber. [68101]
Mr. Morley: The Wood for Good campaign is sponsored by the Forestry Commission (the Government's Department for forestry throughout Great Britain), the Northern Ireland Forestry Service, the Nordic Timber Council, the UK Sawn Wood Promoters, the Timber Trade Federation and the Forestry and Timber Association. All sponsors are committed to sustainable forest management and they encourage independent certification. The Government support the campaign's objectives, which are to "increase the consumption of wood; change perceptions about wood; encourage its use in interior and exterior design, and building; to tackle issues surrounding the use of wood; and to encourage good practice in the industry". The Forestry Commission's own website, which links to the Wood for Good website, covers issues such as illegal and non-sustainable sources of timber, and on certification.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding the United Kingdom Government have allocated to the Forestry Commission in each year since 1997; and how much of this allocation the Forestry Commission has dedicated to the Wood for Good campaign in each of the years the campaign will be running. [68102]
Mr. Morley: The funds voted to the Forestry Commission each year since 1997 are given in the table.
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| £000 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | England/Scotland/Wales and GB activities | 52,426 |
| 1998–99 | England/Scotland/Wales and GB activities | 51,325 |
| 1999–2000 | England/Scotland/Wales and GB activities | (5)76,115 |
| 2000–01 | England/Wales and GB activities | (6)80,165 |
| 2001–02 | England and GB activities | 70,608 |
| 2002–03 | England and GB activities | 59,793 |
(5) Scottish Parliament responsible for funding Forestry Commission activities in Scotland from 1 July 1999.
(6) National Assembly for Wales responsible for funding Forestry Commission activities in Wales from 1 April 2001.
The Forestry Commission's contribution to the Wood for Good campaign is £250,000 in 2000–01, £205,000 in 2001–02, £125,000 in 2002–03 and £125,000 in 2003–04.
Camelid Movements
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she intends to amend the current rules on camelid movements; and if she will make a statement. [69537]
Mr. Morley: Orders made today will simplify the current rules on livestock movements from 31 July. Camelids (including llamas) and zoo animals will no longer require movement licences or be subject to biosecurity requirements for livestock shows and sales. In addition, sheep dipping, tagging and scanning will no longer require a licence. The rules for multiple pick-ups and multiple drop-offs of livestock will also be simplified.
Graffiti
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what action (a) has been taken and (b) is planned by her Department to tackle problems of graffiti; and if she will make a statement; [64733]
- (2) what advertising campaigns (a) have taken place and (b) are planned by (i) her Department, (ii) the Environment Agency and (iii) other Government bodies in relation to tackling problems from graffiti; how much these have cost; what assessment has been made of their effect; and if she will make a statement; [64735]
(3) what (a) advice and guidance has been given by her Department and (b) legislation is in place with relation to tackling problems of graffiti; and if she will make a statement. [64734]
Mr. Denham: I have been asked to reply.
Tackling graffiti requires action by several Government Departments. It is one of the subjects that is being addressed in the cross cutting review on Improving Public Spaces.
Writing graffiti is an offence under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Where criminal proceedings are not appropriate it can also be dealt with through a number of measures designed to address anti-social behaviour, including anti-social behaviour orders.
Neighbourhood wardens programmes and proposals for community safety officers will also help to reduce yobbish
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behaviour, such as graffiti writing. Crime and Disorder Partnerships are also working with local communities to tackle graffiti.
I understand that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not undertaken any advertising campaigns that are specific to graffiti.
Sand and Gravel Extraction
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement about her policy with regard to inshore sand and gravel excavation; and whether environmentally sensitive areas will be protected. [67478]
Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to answer.
There is no UK-wide policy on sand extraction.
Guidance on sand and gravel extraction from above mean low water in England is set out within Minerals Policy Guidance Notes 6 (MPG6) and 15 (MPG15). Draft revised national estimates of demand, and indicative regional forecasts of supply, of construction aggregates within England for the period to 2016 will be published for public consultation during the summer. Consideration will be given to review of the policies in MPG6 and MPG15 during 2003.
Proposed Government Policy for sand and gravel dredging from below mean low water in English waters was set out in Draft Marine Minerals Guidance Note 2: Guidance on the Extraction of Sand, Gravel and Other Minerals from the Seabed. This was published for public consultation in February 2001. It is intended that final guidance for English waters will be published within the next few weeks.
Policy and guidance on sand extraction in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
UN Children's Fund
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department is giving to the UN Children's Fund in addressing child rights in its programmes. [67489]
Clare Short: My Department is collaborating with UNICEF to assist in building its capacity to apply human rights approaches to all areas of its programming. The current programme began in early 2000 and runs until the end of 2003 at an overall cost of about £3.78 million. The work includes:
- the development of guidance and training materials;
human resource development;
documentation, assessment, monitoring and dissemination of experiences;
developing indicators for monitoring;
strengthening regional capacities;
strengthening the rights-based approach to integrated management of childhood illness.
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Structural Reforms
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent analysis the World bank and IMF have sent to her Department of the poverty and social impact of structural reforms supported by their programmes in poor countries; in how many instances the impact has been found to be negative; and what mitigating measures the World bank and IMF have agreed to in order to support in such instances. [67771]
Clare Short: Over recent months the British Government have pressed both the World bank and IMF for a timetable of poverty and social impact analysis (PSIA), setting out the policy reforms that need to be analysed and who will support countries to do the analysis. We welcome the commitment of both institutions to PSIA. We have also supported PSIA pilots in six countries in order to demonstrate how it can be carried out.
Of the 35 IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF)-supported programmes considered by the IMF Board between 1 July 2000 and 30 September 2001, IMF staff papers show that roughly 60 per cent. include some form of PSIA—though only around a third of PRGF-supported programmes had full studies undertaken to assess the effects of specific policies ('formal' PSIA).
Figures are not available on the number of instances in which PSIA has shown IMF structural reforms to have been negative. However around two thirds of PRGF- supported programmes over the period included some measures aimed to offset potentially adverse short-term effects of either macroeconomic reforms, structural reforms or exogenous shocks on the poor. There is also evidence of PSIA influencing the design of economic policies. Examples include Uganda, where plans to liberalise the sugar industry were changed; Senegal, where 15–20 per cent. diesel and kerosene subsidies were maintained rather than eliminated; and Cambodia, where large-scale retrenchment of civil servants was delayed until safety nets for retrenchees could be put in place.
The World bank have made similar commitments to use PSIA in their Poverty Reduction Support Credits. The British Government see all these documents, given our membership of the World Bank Board. IMF and World bank reviews of PRGFs and Poverty Reduction Strategies respectively contain further information on PSIA. These can be found at www.imf.org and www.wordbank.org.
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