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19 Dec 2002 : Column 928W—continued

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Car Dumping

4. Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her policy on controlling the dumping of cars in cities. [86766]

Mr. Meacher: Statutory notice periods have been reduced so that abandoned and unlicensed vehicles can be removed from the highway more quickly. Local authorities can now use DVLA's powers to wheelclamp and remove unlicensed vehicles after 24 hours.

The 2002 Finance Act includes outline powers to create a system of continuous registration. This will make it increasingly more difficult for keepers of abandoned vehicles to evade their responsibilities.

Coastal Erosion

15. Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her action to deal with coastal erosion. [86780]

Alun Michael: Total Government funding on flood and coastal defence has risen from #312 million in 1997–98 to a projected #564 million in 2005–06. This is a substantial increase and is proof of this Government's continuing commitment to maintenance and improvement of our flood and coastal defences.

Bee-keeping

20. Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the impact of EC Directive 92/65 on British bee-keeping. [86785]

Alun Michael: Where it applies, Directive 92/65 sets out the animal health requirements for trade in and imports into the Community of bees. Its main effect has been to help control the spread of American foulbrood, a notifiable disease of bees throughout the European Community.

Illegal waste

21. Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice she has given to the Environment Agency on its measures to deal with illegal carriage of waste and disposal by illegal campers. [86786]

Mr. Meacher: No specific advice has been provided to the Environment Agency on measures to deal with illegal carriage of waste and disposal by illegal campers. However, a voluntary protocol has been agreed between the Agency, the local government association and the fly tipping forum on dealing with fly tipping incidents.

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Water Framework Directive

23. Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what action her Department is taking to implement the water framework directive. [86788]

Mr. Morley: The Water Framework Directive has to be transposed into national law by December 2003. The Government published the second of three consultation papers on 29th October 2002, which consults on the key policy issues to transposition and implementation and a third consultation paper, with draft transposing Regulations and an updated Regulatory Impact assessment will be published by Defra next year. The Environment Agency will play a key role in implementation of the Directive as the Xcompetent authority". My officials are working closely with the Agency to ensure that implementation deadlines will be met.

Agricultural Wages Board

24. Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations she has received on the future of the Agricultural Wages Board. [86789]

Alun Michael: Since the Agricultural Wages Board last met on 29 August and following the NFU's regrettable withdrawal from the Board—now retracted—my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received 36 letters from members of this House concerning the future operation of the Agricultural Wages Board.

Dairy Sector

25. Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the profitability of the dairy sector. [86790]

Mr. Morley: The profitability of the dairy sector in the UK has been adversely affected by low farmgate milk prices. The reasons for these low prices are complex, but include high levels of production earlier in the year combined with the effects of low world prices for dairy commodities. The average farmgate price of milk has recovered from its seasonal low in May, but it is still too low for many dairy farmers to be able to maintain the level of investment required to sustain their businesses.

The prices negotiated between farmers and purchasers, or indeed processors and retailers, are private commercial matters in which the Government cannot get involved. Nevertheless, I do welcome the recent price rises announced by major retailers and dairy processors and hope that these will help alleviate some of the difficulties faced by dairy farmers. The Government can influence the environment in which price negotiations take place through the mechanisms of the dairy CAP and, during the period of lowest prices, we actively supported measures taken in Brussels to support Community markets and encourage exports.

For the longer term we believe that a sustainable future for dairy farming is best secured through taking forward the recommendations in the Report of the Policy Commission on the Future of Food and

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Farming, together with the Milk Task Force Report, and this is reflected in our Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy, launched on 12 December. My noble Friend, the Lord Whitty, has convened a number of meetings of an informal dairy supply chain group, including representatives of dairy farmers, which has addressed issues of concern to those in the dairy supply chain that came out of these reports. This group is also likely to consider how the industry can best address any lessons that emerge from the ongoing KPMG study on the structure of the UK dairy sector and milk pricing, commissioned by the Milk Development Council.

Warm Front Scheme

26. Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes in Leeds, North-West have benefited from the Government's warm front scheme. [86791]

Alun Michael: The Scheme Manager for the area, TXU Warm Front Ltd., has confirmed that between June 2000 and 9 December 2002, 10,096 households in the Leeds local authority area received assistance through Warm Front. The information is not identified by constituency.

20-day Rule

27. Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of the 20 days animal movement rule on reducing the spread of animal infections. [86793]

Mr. Morley: In line with the FMD Inquiry recommendations, a detailed risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis of the 20-day standstill is currently being carried out. We hope to be able to publish the emerging findings early in the new year.

Earth Summit

28. Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on steps being taken by her Department to meet the outcomes of the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. [86794]

Mr. Meacher: Defra is committed to take forward the commitments made at the Johannesburg Summit as part of our wider effort to promote sustainable development. In doing so, we shall focus particularly on those commitments for which we have lead responsibility in Government. A grid that sets out the key commitments from Johannesburg and indicates which Departments lead on these has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Flood Plains

29. Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in which of the areas affected by flooding in autumn 2000, it is her Department's proposal that the main solution is the removal of buildings on flood plains. [86796]

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Mr. Morley: Defra provides grant to local operating authorities for flood defence capital works that meet certain criteria. However responsibility for deciding which projects to promote and their timing rests with the operating authorities.

The information requested is not readily available from all operating authorities. The Environment Agency advise that they are not aware of any specific proposals to buy properties in the floodplain and remove them, following the autumn 2000 floods as the solution to flooding.

However, some flood protection schemes involve property acquisition to allow defences to be built, and in some areas where effective flood alleviation is difficult then the long-term solution may be relocation outside the flood risk area as buildings reach the end of their useful life.

British-produced Food

30. Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to promote British-produced food. [86797]

Alun Michael: Defra promotes the export of British produced food through sponsorship of and grant in aid to Food from Britain, which also assists with the marketing of regional speciality foods. As part of the Strategy on Sustainable Farming and Food, published recently, we will be introducing a new structure and additional support for regional food initiatives.

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