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24 Feb 2003 : Column 92W—continued
Recycling
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of recent changes to the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme on future waste awareness minimisation activities in England and Wales; and how this will impact on the UK's ability to meet the Landfill Directive targets. [97050]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 12 February 2003]: Changes to the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS), which will introduce a new public expenditure scheme to replace some elements of the current scheme, will allow the Government to target funding better as a means of achieving specific sustainable waste management objectives. Initially, the aim will be to deliver the short to medium term measures set out in the Strategy Unit's report "Waste Not Want Not", to increase waste minimisation; boost recycling; develop new technologies; and improve information and awareness, data and the research base. Increasing performance in these areas, through changes to the LTCS, should improve the UK's capacity to meet its Landfill Directive targets.
Mrs. Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the financial value of annual exports of materials for recycling, with particular reference to (a) green glass, (b) plastic, (c) steel and (d) short fibre from paper mills, was in each of the last three years; and what volume was exported in each case, broken down by destination of export. [96151]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 6 February 2003]: The Department does not record information on the financial value of exported recyclable materials.
H M Customs and Excise are responsible for export statistics. However the comcodes (this is the level at which traders declarations are made) which cover the materials requested, are not specific enough to uniquely identify them.
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the recycling records of local authorities in Somerset. [96497]
Mr. Meacher: We have set all local authorities statutory performance standards (or targets) for recycling for 2003–04 and 2005–06. The latest performance information for authorities in Somerset is given as follows:
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| Recycling and composting rate | Statutory Performance Standard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authority | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2001–02 | 2003–04 | 2005–06 |
| Bath and North East Somerset Council | 17 | 21 | 23 | 33 | 36 |
| Mendip District Council | 8 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 24 |
| North Somerset Council | 7 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 21 |
| Sedgemoor District Council | 6 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| Somerset County Council | 14 | 13 | 16 | 28 | 36 |
| South Somerset District Council | 11 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 33 |
| Taunton Deane Borough Council | 12 | 10 | 13 | 24 | 36 |
| West Somerset District Council | 8 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 24 |
Government have provided extra funding to help authorities meet these standards through successive increases in the EPCS spending block, which includes waste services, and through the National Waste
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Minimisation and Recycling Challenge Fund under which the following Somerset authorities made successful bids.
| Authority | Category |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | |
| Somerset Waste Partnership | Partnership working between authorities |
| Bath and North East Somerset Council | Two bids under high performance, innovation and best practice |
| North Somerset Council | Help turn around low performance |
| Round 2 | |
| North Somerset Council | Help turn around low performance |
| Sedgemoor District Council | Developing community initiatives |
| South Somerset District Council | Partnership working between authorities |
| Bath and North East Somerset Council | High performance, innovation and best practice |
It is too soon to tell whether individual authorities in Somerset or elsewhere, will meet the standards. In September 2002 I wrote to the leaders of 141 councils asking them to let me know how they intend to meet their 2003–04 Statutory Performance Standard for recycling and composting of household waste of which the following four were in Somerset:
South Somerset District Council
Taunton Deane Borough Council.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the recycling records of local authorities in (a) West Sussex and (b) London. [96008]
Mr. Meacher: We have set all local authorities statutory performance standards (or targets) for recycling for 2003–04 and 2005–06. The latest performance information for authorities in London and West Sussex is given as follows:
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Government have provided extra funding to help authorities meet these standards through successive increases in the EPCS spending block, which includes waste services, and through the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Challenge Fund under which West Sussex made a successful bid for a project to raise the awareness of waste issues. A separate Capital Fund of £21.3 million was established for authorities across London.
West Sussex has also been successful in receiving approval for PFI funding for a recycling led waste project that aims to enable them to reach their target for 2005–06 of 36 per cent. and achieve long term recycling and composting levels comparable with the highest in Europe.
It is too soon to tell whether individual authorities in London and West Sussex or elsewhere, will meet the standards. In September 2002 I wrote to the leaders of 141 councils asking them to let me know how they intend to meet their 2003–04 Statutory Performance Standard for recycling and composting of household waste of which the following were in London and West Sussex:
London
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
London Borough of Barnet
London Borough of Bexley
London Borough of Croydon
London Borough of Ealing
London Borough of Enfield
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
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London Borough of Haringey
London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Redbridge
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
London Borough of Southwark
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Western Riverside Waste Authority
West Sussex
Adur District Council
Arun District Council
Horsham District Council
Mid Sussex District Council
Worthing Borough Council
Telephone Helplines
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many telephone helplines are sponsored by her Department; and which of these helplines are charged at (a) national rate, (b) premium rate and (c) local rate. [95710]
Alun Michael: Defra operates 13 helpline telephone numbers, of which two are free of charge, five are charged at local rate and the remainder are charged at national rate. Of these one is a central Defra helpline, seven are operated by Rural Payments Agency, one each by the British Cattle Movement Service, Pets Helpline, Animal Movements, Agricultural Wages Board and Environmental Impact Assessment.
A number of Defra telephone phone lines are published via the Department's website and in printed publications as contact points for enquiries on specific
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subjects. These services are not established or operated under the same criteria as the helplines referred to above.
Similar details for other agencies and non-departmental bodies sponsored by the Department could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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