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Farm Census

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to amend the law to allow the Environment Agency access to farm census information and IACs returns. [87182]

Margaret Beckett: Information can already be released to the Environment Agency in accordance with the provisions of the Agricultural Statistics Act 1979 and the Data Protection Act 1998 but subject to the safeguards provided for in that legislation. Officials are in discussion with the Environment Agency about information requirements and how they may be met.

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Flood Defences

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what new funding mechanisms have been introduced for flood defences; and how much she estimates they will raise in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06. [92011]

Mr. Morley: No new funding mechanisms have yet been introduced. The Government are currently considering the options. The Spending Review figures announced last year for 2005–06 include an estimate of what might be raised from a new mechanism, such as a charge on development on the floodplain. This was set at £20 million out of an increase in provision for flood and coastal defence of £150 million for that year. No such amount was assumed for 2004–05.

Flooding

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Environment Agency's report into flooding in the Marlow and Medmenham area will be completed; and whether it will be published in full. [93208]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 27 January 2003]: I understand that the Environment Agency have already started to compile and analyse data and information relating to the flooding that occurred throughout the Thames catchment during January 2003. As with previous floods there will be an analysis of what happened and the agency will make available to the public the lessons learnt from this information.

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Environment Agency has to meet residents in the Marlow and Medmenham area during its inquiry into recent flooding in the area. [93209]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 27 January 2003]: The Environment Agency held a "open surgery" on 20 January from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm at Shepperton. It invited all those residents from Chertsey who had been flooded and advertised the event in local newspapers and over 500 people attended. Staff spoke to individuals about the cause of the flooding and the agency's plans for managing flood risk.

A further surgery was held on 23 January at Egham, to which residents flooded from the River Thames downstream of Windsor were invited, and a surgery has been arranged for 30 January for residents living between Hurley and Maidenhead.

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance she has issued to the Environment Agency concerning priorities for capital projects to tackle flooding. [93601]

Mr. Morley: In order to be eligible for DEFRA grant aid a capital flood defence project must satisfy fundamental economic, technical and environmental criteria and achieve an appropriate priority score based (from April 2003) on a combination of three elements—(i) benefits as compared to cost, (ii) the number of people protected as measured by the number of households at risk, their vulnerability and the extent to which adequate advance warning of flooding can be given, and (iii) environmental protection and enhancement.

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In addition to guidance on the above priority scoring system, DEFRA publishes detailed guidance on aspects of project appraisal (strategic planning, economic, environmental, approaches to risk). The documents are intended to assist knowledgeable practitioners; they are not comprehensive manuals or textbooks and they do not define Government policy. However, compliance with this guidance is likely to produce projects that are acceptable for central Government support.

The above are published on the DEFRA website and the Department also provides the Environment Agency with a Memorandum setting out the conditions for grant and which has further information on the Government's priorities for flood defence projects.

Funding Commitments

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many funding commitments were launched by her Department and its predecessors in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001, (f) 2002 and (g) 2003; which (i) require bidding and (ii) are linked to a set funding formula; and what the total amount available was for each commitment; [89687]

(2) how many funding commitments were ended by her Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997. [89688]

Alun Michael: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Illegal Meat Imports

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost has been of her Department's television advertising campaign to discourage illegal meat imports; how many advertisements have been or will be broadcast, and at what times of the day; and if she will make a statement. [90979]

Margaret Beckett: The television campaign uses two public service fillers rather than paid advertisements. These fillers have been sent to broadcasters to be used in donated airtime. The cost of making and marketing the two fillers was £156,176. To 31 December, the Central Office of Information had been notified of 119 transmissions—71 at night (00:00–05:59), 24 in the afternoon (12:00–17:19) and 24 at breakfast time (06:00–09:25). However, many stations issue transmission logs quarterly, so the first full transmissions report is not due until February.

Internal Drainage Boards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Government Ministers are members of internal drainage boards. [91581]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 20 January 2003]: Internal drainage boards are independent bodies. This information is not held centrally. We are not aware of any Government Minister who is a member of an IDB.

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Meat Hygiene

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the European Commission's proposal to require the full recovery of meat hygiene inspection charges from abattoirs and to make all abattoirs enforce new measures for the disposal of blood. [89615]

Margaret Beckett: The Commission has not yet made proposals on charges to abattoirs for health inspections but we have made plain our preference for the existing structure and levels of meat hygiene charges. With respect to disposal of blood, officials are working with industry representatives to achieve satisfactory outcomes both in terms of regulatory requirements and the ability of industry to change existing practices at minimum cost and disruption.

Municipal Waste

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the amount of municipal waste generated in the United Kingdom, using the definition of municipal waste in Article 2(b) of the Landfill Directive (99/31/EC). [89625]

Margaret Beckett: It is estimated that around 34 million tonnes of municipal waste were generated in the United Kingdom in 2000–01 (using the definition in Article 2(b) of the Landfill Directive).

Organophosphates

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will convene a meeting of scientists, manufacturers, her advisers and the All Party Organophosphate Parliamentary Group to assess progress in identifying past problems with organophosphate products and appropriate policies for their future use. [93692]

Mr. Morley: Following the request at the recent meeting of the Parliamentary All Party Group on OPs, I have asked my officials to draw up proposals for a meeting of stakeholders with an interest in the authorisation and use of OPs in the UK. I will consider these proposals when they are available.

River Management

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the lines of accountability are with regard to the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive in the event of a river basin management plan crossing borders between river basins. [93269]

Mr. Morley: It is proposed that the Environment Agency will be under a duty to prepare a draft river basin management plan for each river basin district in consultation with relevant bodies and that Secretary of State should have an explicit role in approving plans, including powers to require modifications, or to reject them.

Maps of the proposed river basin districts are included at appendix 5 of the Government's Second Consultation Paper. Four basins will cross internal

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borders, two in England-Wales (the Severn and the Dee) and two in England-Scotland ¹ (the Solway/Esk and the Tweed). The Directive allows individual river basins to be combined to form a district and it is proposed that England-Wales forms two districts, and it is likely that England-Scotland will combine basins to form one district.

It is for further consideration how DEFRA and the Wales Assembly Government, and how DEFRA and the Scottish Executive will manage cross-border districts. Cross-border issues England-Scotland are treated separately from cross-border issues England-Wales to take account of the different legislation in place.

¹ A small number of tributaries of the North Tyne rise in Scotland before flowing into England. Since only a small area of the basin lies in Scotland, it is proposed that it be combined with a neighbouring basin lying wholly in England, such as the Tees, into a single river basin district.

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