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Overseas Contracts

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contracts her Department has recently awarded to (a) TNO (Netherlands), (b) IAV (Germany), (c) AVL (Austria), (d) FEV (Germany) and (e) IKA (Germany). [72197]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 23 July 2002]: No contracts have recently been awarded by my Department to any of (a) TNO (Netherlands), (b) IAV (Germany), (c) AVL (Austria), (d) FEV (Germany) and (e) IKA (Germany).

Composting

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many in vessel composting sites are licensed in the UK. [72812]

Mr. Meacher: In vessel composting is not at present a term that is defined in statute and so records do not separately identify whether composting sites could or could not be termed as in vessel operations. Environment Agency records indicate that there are 68 licensed composting sites and some 630 smaller sites registered as exempt.

Brownfield Sites

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the regional targets are for local authorities in Yorkshire and the Humber for the construction of new dwellings on brownfield land; and what progress the local authorities are making towards these targets. [72815]

Mr. Tony McNulty: RPG12 published in October 2001 sets a brownfield target for housing development of 60 per cent. for the Yorkshire and Humber region as a whole. RPG12 also sets out provisional brownfield targets for strategic planning areas and requires local planning authorities to review these in the course of preparing their development plans following detailed studies into

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brownfield opportunities. The provisional targets are highest for urban areas such as Sheffield (80 per cent.) and Leeds (66 per cent.) and lower for more rural areas such as North Yorkshire (53 per cent.).

Statistics published in June by the Government showed that in 2000, 57 per cent. of houses built in Yorkshire and the Humber were on brownfield sites. Up to date Information is not currently available for all local authority area in the region. Information supplied by individual local authorties to the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly shows that Sheffield (82 per cent.) and Leeds (74 per cent.) both exceeded their provisional targets in 2001. In North Yorkshire, Harrogate achieved 69 per cent. whilst the more rural district of Richmondshire achieved 32 per cent.

EU Environmental Liability Directive

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for a public fund to help public authorities deal with the remedying of damage on orphan sites under the EU Environmental Liability Directive. [72492]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 23 July 2002]: Under the draft Directive, where the party responsible for environmental damage cannot be found, or has insufficient means to pay the costs of remediation, the responsibility for remediative action would fall to the Competent Authority.

The Government's public consultation on the Commission's proposal, which ended on 24 May 2002, covered the provisions relating to orphan sites. Careful consideration is being given to its detailed implications for the UK and no decisions have yet been taken.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding her Department is providing for development of hydrogen fuel cell technology. [72199]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 23 July 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 July 2002, by my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy and Industry (Mr. Wilson), Official Report, column 950–951W.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the time horizons for the likely impact of hydrogen fuel cell technology on road vehicles. [72198]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 23 July 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 July 2002, by my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy and Industry (Mr. Wilson), Official Report, column 950–951W.

Overseas Contracts

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is on providing collaboration funding for development of fuel reduction technology with British companies; and whether it is the policy of her Department to seek tenders for other European companies before awarding such funding. [72316]

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Mr. Meacher [holding answer 23 July 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 July 2002, by my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy and Industry (Mr. Wilson), Official Report, column 950–951W.

Public Awareness

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 3 July 2002, Official Report, column 381W, if she will place copies of the surveys of public awareness and attitudes in the Library. [72829]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 24 July 2002]: I have arranged for a paper to be placed in the Library of the House, outlining the development of the "Are You Doing Your Bit?" campaign and including evaluations of its effects on public awareness.

Leakage Targets

Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many water undertakings have achieved the leakage targets set by the Deputy Prime Minister in 1997. [72868]

Mr. Meacher: Following the Water Summit in 1997, Ofwat has set each water company an annual leakage target to progressively reduce leakage to its economic level by 2003. This is defined as the level at which the costs to make further reductions in leakage are greater than the costs of supplying additional water from its sources. On 25 July, Ofwat published details of company performance against their targets for 2001–02. Of the twenty-one companies set targets, nineteen met them and are now at or on course to reach their Economic Level of Leakage by 2003. Ofwat considers that the two that did not will recover their positions by 2002–03. Thames Water was subject to special measures rather than being set a volumetric target in 2001–02, due to its unsatisfactory performance in managing leakage. The company's performance in this respect continues to be deficient. Ofwat is taking a number of increased measures to ensure that Thames Water brings its leakage under control by 2003–04, including the setting of local leakage targets for 2002–03.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2002, Official Report, column 607W, when members of the Scottish Executive have attended meetings of the EU Committee on agricultural structures and rural development; and if she will make a statement. [73167]

Alun Michael: Devolved Administrations attend meetings of the EU Committee on agricultural structures and rural development where they consider the agenda to contain items of sufficient interest. Scottish Executive representatives attended in December to hear of the Commission's revised reporting requirements, in February when its annual modification to the Scottish Rural Development Programme was considered, and in July to look at proposed simplification of the Rural Development Regulation.

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Our approach is one of teamwork in which we seek to ensure that there is an agreed UK line on issues covered by the Commission committees, taking into account devolved administration views in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations. In particular, where the rural development programmes of the Scottish Executive or the other devolved administrations are being dealt with by the Committee, we would normally expect representatives from the relevant administration to speak on behalf of the UK.

Badger Testing

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps will be taken to compensate land owners for damage done by unidentified people in connection with field trials involving badger testing. [73358]

Mr. Morley: As part of its voluntary agreement with farmers participating in the randomised badger culling trial, DEFRA has a signed commitment to pay reasonable compensation for damage to crops and property directly caused by operations carried out, and measures taken under the agreement. Claims arising out of damage caused by third parties are considered on a case by case basis and any payment is made on an ex-gratia basis.

In practice the principal target of anti-trial protest has been Departmental property, including traps and vehicles, and field staff. Police support for trial operations is extensive and acts as a deterrent against damage to landowners' property.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what precautions badger field trials testers are taking to avoid being followed on to test sites. [73359]

Mr. Morley: All field staff receive instruction on procedures designed to reduce the personal risk associated with carrying out work on the badger culling field trial. This covers the risk of being followed by field trial protestors to field locations, to the office or to their homes.

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