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16 Jan 2003 : Column 731W—continued

CHP Strategy

Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to publish the final version of her Department's draft CHP Strategy. [90350]

Mr. Morley: The Government published its draft CHP Strategy for consideration on 15 May 2002. Responses to the Strategy consultation were summarised on Defra's website last November, and provide an important input to the Energy White Paper, which the Government aim to publish shortly. The White Paper will set out the Government's strategic approach to encouraging the further growth of CHP.

Christmas Expenses

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many departmental Christmas cards she and her Ministers intend to send in 2002; how much these cards will cost (a) to buy, (b) to post and (c) in staff time to sign,

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address and place in envelopes; and if she will place in the Library a sample copy of the official Christmas card she has sent this year. [88114]

Margaret Beckett [holding answer 19 December 2002]: Defra Ministers sent approximately 800 official Christmas cards in 2002, at a cost of #0.65 each, and total postage of #160. Clerical staff in Ministers' Private Offices spent the equivalent of approximately 22 man hours, at a cost of #10 per hour, addressing and placing the cards in envelopes. A sample copy of the official Christmas card will be placed in the Library.

All expenditure incurred in the purchase and despatch of official Christmas cards is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in XGovernment Accounting".

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much will be spent on (a) entertaining, (b) Christmas decorations and (c) other festive activities this Christmas season by her Department and Government agencies answerable to her Department; and of this sum, how much will be spent in Ministers' (i) private offices and (ii) official residences. [88129]

Margaret Beckett [holding answer 19 December 2002]: The information requested could not be provided without incurring disproportionate costs. However, any expenditure incurred on decorations, entertainment and any other festive activities is strictly for official purposes only, and is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principals set out in XGovernment Accounting".

Common Fisheries Policy

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will review the Common Fisheries Policy with the EU; and whether conditionality on UK registered vessels to (a) land a percentage of catch in the UK, (b) have a minimum percentage of UK residents in the crew and (c) operate from UK ports will be part of the review. [90616]

Mr. Morley: Since 1 January 1999, and with the agreement of the European Commission, all vessels fishing against UK quotas have had to maintain a genuine economic link with coastal communities in the UK. Annual reports on the operation of these arrangements have been placed in the Library of the House, the last report covering the year 2001. We have no plans to seek a review of these arrangements.

Community Energy Programme

Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the budget is for the Government's Community Energy programme in the financial year (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; what proportion of the funds available in each year have been committed to strategic research designed to secure the wider use of district energy schemes; what proportion of the funds in each year are absorbed by the administration of the programme by

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the Energy Saving Trust; and what plans there are for continuation of the programme beyond March 2004. [90351]

Mr. Morley: The Community Energy programme budget is #20 million in 2002–03 and #30 million in 2003–04. Up to #2 million of this is available for consultancy advice to develop bids. Support for strategic research to secure the wider use of district energy is funded and carried out separately, but informs the programme. The cost of the programme's administration by the Energy Saving Trust and the Carbon Trust is not met from the programme budget, but is separately funded by my Department. I hope that it will be possible to extend the programme beyond March 2004, but this is subject to resources being available.

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Countryside and Rights of Way Act

Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will set out the timetable for the implementation of regulations under Part I of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. [91136]

Alun Michael: The table records the overall progress we have made towards consulting on, and bringing regulations into force, and our current timetable for completing the process. The precise timing of each of the remaining intermediate stages may vary but we are firmly committed to ensuring the necessary regulations are made so as to allow the new right of public access under the Act to be rolled out on a region by region basis as scheduled.

Regulation	Section	Consultation commenced	Date regulations in force
Regulations regarding mapping of access land and consultation on draft maps	Section 11	March 2001 (ended June 2001)	1 November 2001
Regulations regarding the establishment of LAFs and the appointment of members	Section 94 (Part V)	July 2001 (ended October 2001)	7 August 2002
Regulations regarding issue of provisional maps, appeals, and issue of conclusive maps	Section 11	November 2001 (ended 8 Feb 2002)	29 July 2002
Regulations on correcting minor errors and omissions in provisional and conclusive maps	Section 11 (2)(l)	October 2002 (ended 7 November 2002)	February 2003
Regulations regarding dedication of land for access	Section 16	January 2002 (ended 15 April 2002)	March 2003
Regulations relating to exclusion or restriction of access under Chapter II, including appeals (but not emergencies)	Section 32	December 2001 (ended 22 March 2002)	February 2003
Regulations on removal or relaxation of restrictions on access land and to exclude access in emergencies (including appeals)	Paragraph 7, Schedule 2; Section 31	February 2003	August 2003
Regulations on appeals relating to notices	Section 38	February 2003	September 2003
Regulations on references to public places in existing enactments	Section 42	March 2003	October 2003
Regulations regarding review of conclusive maps	Section 11	February 2004	August 2004

European Landscape Convention

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government intend to ratify the European Landscape Convention adopted by the Council of Europe in October 2000. [90854]

Alun Michael: The United Kingdom already meets many of the requirements of the European Landscape Convention and Defra has commissioned consultants to report on the costs and benefits of the UK deciding whether or not to sign and ratify the European Landscape Convention. That report, together with a Regulatory Impact Assessment, will inform the Government's decision which will be taken in the next few months.

Fishing Licences

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what plans she has to review the operation of UK fishing licences; [90645]

(2) how many UK fishing licences have been purchased by foreign owners operating from within the EU in each year since 1997; [90646]

(3) what recent reports she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the purchase of UK fishing licences by foreign owners operating from EU member states; [90647]

(4) what estimate she has made of the proportion of boats over 10 metres in length in the UK offshore fishing fleet whose fishing licence is held by a non-UK resident EU national. [90649]

Mr. Morley: The operation of UK fishing vessel licences is kept under constant review, in consultation with the industry, through the Joint Industry/Departmental Licensing Working Group which meets regularly and last reported to Ministers in November 2002. In accordance with EU rules on freedom of movement and rights of establishment, EU nationals and corporate bodies incorporated in a member state may own and license vessels on the UK fishing vessel register provided that they are resident in the UK or have a place of business in the UK respectively or alternatively that they appoint a representative person in the UK. All vessels so owned must be managed, and their operations directed and controlled, from within the UK. They must also maintain an economic link with the UK. Reports on economic link compliance are

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published annually by Fisheries Departments and copies are available from the Library. Details of the number of licences acquired annually by foreign owners operating from within the EU are not recorded centrally by Fisheries Departments. However the reports on compliance include estimates since 1996 of the numbers of vessels which are understood to be beneficially owned in whole or in part by foreign interests. At 31 December 2001 there were 118 such vessels out of a registered over 10 metre fleet of 1,942 vessels, compared with 161 vessels out of a fleet of 2,467 vessels at 31 December 1996. There are currently nine vessels on the UK register whose licences are held by EU nationals not resident in, or companies not with a place of business in, the UK.

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