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27 Jan 2003 : Column 544W—continued
Alternative Fuels
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the British Cement Association on the use of alternative fuels. [91847]
Mr. Meacher: Officials of the Department have occasional contact with the British Cement Association on a range of environmental issues. A meeting on 18 December 2002 included discussion in general terms of the potential for the cement industry to burn alternative fuels.
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Animal Welfare
Mr. Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live sheep were exported from Dover to continental Europe on (a) 17 December 2002, (b) 20 December 2002 and (c) 8 January; when and where health certification was carried out in respect of the sheep, how many of the
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sheep were rejected as unfit for the intended journey (i) during inspection for health certification purposes and (ii) at Dover docks, and to where those sheep were taken; and what was the address of the final destination given on the route plan for each of the consignments. [90901]
Mr. Morley: The information requested is as follows:
| Sailing date | Total animals certified | Where consignments were certified | Animals rejected at certification | Animals rejected at Dover docks | Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 December | 2,278 | England and Wales | 57 | 0 | France |
| 20 December | 2,616 | England, Wales and Scotland | 74 | 0 | France |
| 8 January 2003 | 3,066 | England and Wales | 132 | 0 | France |
| 8 January 2003 | 479 | England | 0 | 0 | Belgium |
The sheep for the consignments listed above were certified within 48 hours prior to export. These consignments were fattening animals transported to holdings. The animals which were rejected at certification remained in Great Britain.
Commercial Whaling
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Government intend to take to discourage the resumption of commercial whaling by Iceland; and if she will make a statement. [93067]
Mr. Morley: We have written to the US Government, in its capacity as depositary for the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), to object formally to Iceland rejoining the International Whaling Commission with a reservation to the moratorium on commercial whaling. A copy of this letter has also been sent to all IWC members.
The Government of Iceland have undertaken, while submitting its Instrument of Adherence to the ICRW, not to resume commercial whaling before 2006 at the earliest.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she intends to take to persuade Norway to desist from catching whales; and if she will make a statement. [93069]
Mr. Morley: The UK Government takes every opportunity, both within the International Whaling Commission and in other relevant fora, to express its opposition to Norwegian whaling and to persuade Norway to cease its whaling activities.
Company Environmental Performance
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place an updated list of FTSE 350 companies that report on their environmental performance in the Library. [93271]
Mr. Meacher: The Department conducted a survey last year of the progress made by companies in the FTSE 350 in voluntary reporting of their environmental performance. An account of the results of this survey was placed in the Library of the House in July 2002. The exercise has not been repeated since then, so the information from last July is the most up-to-date available.
Computer Misuse
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of computer misuse there were in her Department in each of the last five years, broken down by each category of misuse; and how many of those cases resulted in disciplinary action. [93040]
Alun Michael: The Department seeks to ensure that all users of computer systems are fully aware of their responsibilities and legal obligations. This is done by a variety of methods such as through system training programmes, published user guides and usage policies together with general security policy guidance and advice. This material is subject to regular review and is easily accessible through the Departmental Intranet. Regular Office Notices also provide reminders of key points.
The Department does not maintain a central list of all cases of computer misuse because in the vast majority of instances these are correctly handled through the line management chain or local Personnel Units.
Since 9 June 2001 the IT Directorate have assisted with providing information in a number of cases of suspected computer misuse. This has led to formal disciplinary action in five cases. The Department was formed on 9 June 2001 so figures are not available prior to that date.
Dolphins/Porpoises
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Government will take to discourage the killing of dolphins and porpoises by Japan this year; and if she will make a statement. [93068]
Mr. Morley: At this year's annual International Whaling Commission meeting, which takes place in Berlin from 16 to 19 June 2003, we intend to raise our concerns over the lack of regulation and the methods used in the hunts for small cetaceans that take place in Japanese waters and elsewhere.
Empty Homes
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many empty homes her Department (a) had five years ago and
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(b) has now, by region; if she will establish an empty homes strategy within her Department; and if she will set a target for reduction in empty homes. [92919]
Alun Michael: On 1 April 1998, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food had vacant dwellings at the following locations:
- Three in Littlehampton, West Sussex.
One in Liscombe, Devon.
One near Lymington, Hants.
- Two at Cawood, near Selby, north Yorks.
Two at Martyr Worthy, Winchester, Hants.
Arrangements are already in hand for the disposal of the dwellings which are currently empty. The sale of the Cawood properties should be completed by the end of March 2003 and the sale of the Martyr Worthy properties should be completed by or around the end of June 2003.
Energy Efficiency
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of buildings built as part of the Government's estate in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 made use of the Government's design advice scheme on energy efficiency. [90240]
Mr. Meacher: The Carbon Trust runs the Action Energy programme (formerly Government's non-domestic Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme), which includes the design advice scheme on energy efficiency.
Only two Departments, Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development, made use of the design advice scheme between 2001–02. However, the scheme is provided as a service package to Departments, and information is not collected on a building-by-building, or annual basis. Data are not maintained centrally on new builds on the Government estate.
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent measures she has taken to encourage energy efficiency. [92000]
Mr. Morley: Since the publication of the UK's Climate Change Programme in November 2000, the following main actions have been taken to promote energy efficiency in the domestic, business and public sectors:
The Climate Change Levy, a levy on the business use of fuel, was introduced in April 2001. Receipts, forecast at £1 billion a year, are recycled back to business—including £50 million for business energy efficiency.
Climate Change Agreements have been reached with 44 sectors of energy intensive industry. Participants in these agreements pay a reduced rate of Climate Change
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Levy (20 per cent. of the full levy) in return for meeting challenging energy efficiency targets over a 10-year period.
The Carbon Trust was launched in April 2001, and receives two-thirds of its annual budget from recycled receipts from the Climate Change Levy, it encourages and promotes the development of low carbon technologies to support the transition to a low carbon economy. It offers an interest free loan scheme for small and medium-sized businesses and provides funding for the development of low carbon technologies through the Low Carbon Innovation Programme.
The Enhanced Capital Allowances Scheme enables businesses to claim 100 per cent. first year capital allowances on investments in a range of approved energy saving technologies.
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme was launched in April 2002. Companies in Climate Change Agreements can trade within the scheme to help meet their targets. Participants entering directly into the scheme can trade to meet emission reduction targets delivering 1.1 MtC by 2006. Energy efficiency measures help participants to meet their targets.
New requirements have been introduced for local authorities. Authorities have to know their buildings' energy consumption and carbon emissions. From 2002–03 they are required to benchmark their energy use in operational property and street lighting, and will set local improvement targets from 2003–04.
The Energy Efficiency Commitment for 2002–05 (EEC) places a challenging but realistic obligation on electricity and gas suppliers to promote improvements in domestic energy efficiency. Suppliers will achieve individual EEC targets by encouraging and assisting consumers to take up energy efficiency measures. It is expected to save 0.4 million tonnes of carbon a year by 2005. It will also help those on lower incomes—who spend a larger proportion of their incomes on energy—by focussing at least 50 per cent. of energy savings on consumers in receipt of benefits or tax credits.
Since its launch in June 2000, the new Home Energy Efficiency Scheme—which is now marketed as Warm Front—has helped over 400,000 households through the installation of a range of insulation and heating measures. Warm Front is the Government's main programme for tackling fuel poverty, aimed at the most vulnerable groups in the private sector in England.
The Community Energy Programme is a £50 million grant programme operational from 2002–04 aiming to promote community heating in the UK, primarily through the use of CHP. It will install and refurbish community heating schemes, benefiting people on low incomes while contributing to the Climate Change Programme by reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 0.15 million tonnes of carbon a year.
Part L of the Building Regulations covering energy efficiency provisions was revised in October 2001 and the changes came into effect in 2002. These require work on new buildings and the refurbishment of the existing stock to conform to higher energy efficiency standards including those relating to building insulation, air-tightness, lighting, space heating, hot water, boiler performance and replacement glazing. It is estimated
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that the package of measures introduced in October will reduce carbon emissions from the domestic sector by 0.8 million tonnes per year by 2010.
The Treasury introduced in the 2002 Budget, a VAT reduction on certain energy saving materials installed under grant schemes.
The Government have provided funding for the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to help individual households, local authorities and others improve domestic energy efficiency. Since 2000, EST has created the Practical Help advisory service, expanded its local authority support programme providing dedicated staff to 23 areas across the UK, introduced a new grant scheme for innovative projects and expanded its network of Energy Efficiency Advice Centres providing households with advice and support. EST has developed the Energy Efficiency Recommended (EER) labelling scheme (with energy efficiency manufacturers, retailers and installers) to provide easy identification of energy efficient products. EST has also developed EEI—the network of accredited installers in the insulation and heating industries.
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