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United Kingdom Accreditation Service
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the legal status is of the Memorandum of Understanding between her and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service. [97201]
Ms Hewitt: Article 15 of the Memorandum of Understanding with the United Kingdom Accreditation Service clearly states that this memorandum does not create any rights, liabilities or obligations which would have binding effect in law.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what she is doing to encourage conformity assessment bodies to seek accreditation from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, pursuant to Article 2 of the Memorandum of Understanding between her and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, including those upon whose services the Government relies for (a) procurement and (b) regulatory purposes. [97202]
Ms Hewitt: It is DTI policy to encourage all conformity assessment bodies to seek accreditation from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service wherever it is an option notwithstanding that accreditation is a voluntary and market driven activity. It does this: by ensuring that UKAS is operating effectively in accordance with its obligations in the DTI/UKAS Memorandum of Understanding; by helping UKAS to promote the benefits of UKAS accreditation through its Accreditation Awareness Campaign; and through regular contact with the conformity assessment community and other Government Departments. In their contacts with other Government Departments and other parts of DTI, whenever there is a requirement for conformity assessment, my officials encourage their colleagues to rely upon UKAS accredited conformity assessment.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the United Kingdom Accreditation Service is (a) a non-profit-distributing and (b) a non-profit making company. [97203]
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Ms Hewitt: The United Kingdom Accreditation Service was established in 1995 as a private company limited by guarantee. While UKAS may make a profit, any that is made is not distributed but is channelled back into the company.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department takes to ensure that the United Kingdom Accreditation Service polices use of the national accreditation marks which feature the Royal Crown. [97204]
Ms Hewitt: The national accreditation marks are the property of my Department and are covered by a Licensing Agreement which licences the United Kingdom Accreditation Service to use the marks and to sub-licence them to accredited organisations. The Licensing Agreement requires UKAS to register the marks with the Trade Marks Registry and gives UKAS the responsibility for encouraging that the use of the national accreditation marks is in accordance with the requirements set down in the conditions for the use of national accreditation marks by UKAS and UKAS accredited organisations. UKAS assessors as part of the accreditation process ensure that the accredited bodies comply with the conditions and in turn, ensure that where such bodies confer the right to use the marks to their own customers, that the customers also comply. The obligations under the Licensing Agreement are also the subject of a periodic third-party audit. My officials are in regular contact with UKAS over a number of issues including the monitoring of the use of the marks as part of the oversight responsibilities of my Department.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial support her Department provides to the United Kingdom Accreditation Service; and for what purpose. [97205]
Ms Hewitt: The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is a private company and its core services are self-financed through the charging of fees to its direct customers. However, my Department has a three-year contract with UKAS to enable it to represent the United Kingdom in the international accreditation fora (European Co-operation for Accreditation, International Accreditation Forum and International Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation) so that it can play a major influencing role in the development of accreditation internationally. In addition, since November 2000, my Department has supported a UKAS Accreditation Awareness Campaign to help raise awareness to business and to other parts of government of the benefits of using UKAS accredited services. This campaign meets our own policy objective of encouraging businesses to use accredited conformity assessment wherever it is an option. DTI support covers 50 per cent. of the cost of certain elements of the campaign and is agreed on an annual basis.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Lake Windermere
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what
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implications the introduction of the Navigation By Law 1992 for Lake Windermere has for (a) other national parks and (b) access for sport and recreation. [98076]
Alun Michael: The byelaws deal with the particular circumstances applying on Lake Windermere. Government policy on recreation in national parks is set out in Circular 12/96, which enjoins national park authorities to promote the widest range of recreational opportunities while fully respecting the special qualities of the parks. The circular acknowledges that the intrusive nature of some recreational activities may unacceptably affect other people's enjoyment of these nationally important areas. No particular opportunities should be excluded from the parks as a matter of principle.
The byelaws are expected to cause fast power boating to cease on Lake Windermere, together with associated activities, of which waterskiing is the most popular. On the other hand more people may be attracted to engage in other water-based recreational pursuits when what has been seen as a fundamental problem of incompatibility between power boating and lower key activities has been solved.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what consultations the Lake District National Park Authority has undertaken with (a) local recreational users, (b) businesses and (c) lake users from outside the national park on proposals to introduce a speed limit on Lake Windermere; [98079]
- (2) what estimate she has made of (a) job losses and (b) loss of revenue at Lake Windermere arising from the application of the Navigation (Amendment) (No 2) Bylaw 1992 in 2005. [98078]
Alun Michael: Wide consultation and a careful examination of the implications was undertaken. The Lake District National Park Authority consulted over 50 organisations representing recreational and business interests both locally and nationally, before advertising proposals locally. The authority then considered all representations in response to the advertisement before making the byelaws that will introduce a speed limit.
The implications of the byelaws were examined in detail in 1996 at a public local inquiry held by an independent inspector. The issues examined included potential job losses and loss of revenue. The inspector concluded that the strong need for the speed limit had to be balanced against the possibility of some limited economic disruption. He found the overall balance clearly in favour of confirmation of the byelaws. In February 2000, after further views had been invited, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the then Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions agreed with the inspector's conclusion. He observed that the tourist profile in the region might alter but that it was not clear whether this would result in a net economic loss or a gain.
The byelaws came into operation on 29 March 2000 and the Secretary of State has no role in their implementation. The five year lapse until the speed limit comes into effect in 2005 should allow businesses and people who engage in power boating and waterskiing to make alternative arrangements.
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Sustainable Development
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will require Departments to produce (a) their own sustainable development strategies within a year and (b) annual reports showing what progress has been made in meeting sustainable development targets. [97270]
Mr. Meacher: Of the central Government Departments that report via the Sustainable Development in Government Initiative, three have formal sustainable strategies (Defra, DTI, DWP) 11 have policy statements or other arrangements to manage their sustainable development impacts (C&E, CO, CPS, DFID, DH, FCO, HMT, IR, LCD, MOD, ONS) four have strategies under development (DCMS, DFES, ECGD, HO). DfT and ODPM are considering their approaches in light of the Machinery of Government changes in May 2002. Where they are not doing so, we are encouraging them all to produce their own sustainable development strategies.
Progress by all Departments against cross-Government sustainable development targets is reported via the sustainable development in Government annual report. The first report was published in November 2002. Part A of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate requires all Departments to identify their significant sustainable development impacts and review their public reporting arrangements. Departments are due to publish their revised reporting arrangements by April 2003.
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