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27 Mar 2003 : Column 311W—continued
Departmental Energy Policy
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she
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has to increase expenditure in support of energy efficiency in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004; and if she will make a statement. [103309]
Mr. Morley: No final decisions have yet been made on the level of expenditure in support of energy efficiency in 2003 and 2004.
Dolphins
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with her European colleagues concerning conservation of the dolphin population around UK shores; and if she will make a statement. [103841]
Mr. Morley : I have raised the issue of small cetacean bycatch and its impact on dolphin populations several times with Commissioner Fischler, both in person and in writing. Most recently, I wrote to him on 4 February, reinforcing the intervention made by the UK at the January meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council and pressing in particular for wider observer coverage off the South West coast where a number of other member states' vessels pursue the pelagic fishery. I have also written to the French Minister and spoken individually to ministerial colleagues from Spain, Germany and Denmark.
The outcome has been, progressively, the inclusion of action on cetacean bycatch firstly in the Commission's roadmap on CFP reform and secondly in the action plan on environmental matters under the CFP, and publication of the Commission's discussion paper on the reduction of cetacean bycatch in December 2002. I shall continue to fund our scientific work and to press for action, with a view to securing concrete proposals from the Commission and their adoption by the Council.
E-mail Addresses
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what e-mail address members of the public may contact (a) her and (b) each of the Ministers in her Department; and for each e-mail address if she will state (i) the date it became active, and (ii) the number of e-mails received in each month since activation. [97456]
Margaret Beckett: Members of the public can contact my office and those of my Department's other Ministers at the following e-mail addresses:
- Secretaryofstate@defra.gsi.gov.uk
mos.environment@defra.gsi.gov.uk
mos.ruralaffairs@defra.gsi.gov.uk
pus.commons@defra.gsi.gov.uk
pus.lords@defra.gsi.gov.uk
correspondence.section@defra.gsi.gov.uk
helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Emergency Discharges (Avon Catchment)
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which members of the Strategic Water Partnership are considering
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emergency discharges into the Hampshire Avon Catchment; and if he will make a statement on the progress of their work. [103531]
Mr. Morley: I understand that Wessex Water plans to establish a series of Strategic Water Partnerships involving Wessex Water, District Councils, County Councils, Highways Authority, and Environment Agency. These partnerships will provide a framework for managing issues where there are shared responsibilities including planning, development, flooding, pollution, and bathing beaches.
The Environment Agency has welcomed Strategic Water Partnerships as a means of promoting action on matters of shared responsibility including flooding and sewer flooding. To date, however, no such partnerships have been established in the Hampshire Avon Catchment.
Warm Front Programme
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent changes have been made to leasing arrangements in the provision of central heating systems through the Warm Front programme; and what provision is made for service and maintenance work to these installations. [99618]
Mr. Morley: New central heating systems installed under Warm Front until November 2002 were provided via a seven year lease arrangement. A decision was taken to move away from using the leasing arrangements from December 2002 and new systems are now purchased outright.
The responsibility for maintenance and service of central heating systems bought under a lease agreement lies with the scheme managers for Warm Front, TXU Warm Front Ltd. and Eaga Partnership. The responsibility for the systems that are bought outright lies with the scheme managers for the first year.
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what further measures are planned to raise public awareness of the Warm Front Programme; [103563]
- (2) what measures have been introduced to ensure the Warm Front Programme helps the people most vulnerable to cold-related ill heath; [103564]
(3) what other measures are being taken besides the Warm Front Programme to tackle fuel poverty. [103562]
Mr. Morley: The Government's main programme for tackling fuel poverty in the private sector in England is the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES), now marketed as The Warm Front Team. Warm Front provides energy advice, insulation and heating measures depending upon the needs of the householder and the property type, to some of the most vulnerable members of society.
The two scheme managers, TXU Warm Front Ltd and Eaga Partnership, carry out extensive marketing to promote the scheme. As well as the more traditional forms of advertising they work with organisations including local authorities, health visitors and local
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charities. The scheme managers work to co-ordinate these efforts to ensure maximum awareness of the scheme.
A number of other Government policies will help tackle fuel poverty. The First Annual Progress Report on the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy, published on 4 March, provides an update on those policies. A copy is available in the Library.
Fallen Stock
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what risk assessment has been undertaken on the disposal of fallen stock after the Animal By-products Regulation comes into effect; [103517]
- (2) what plans she has to meet all parties involved in the disposal of fallen stock before the ban on farm burial comes into force; [103516]
(3) what estimate she has made of the level of fallen stock which will need to be collected annually after the introduction of the Animal By-products Regulation. [103518]
Mr. Morley: No formal risk assessment has been undertaken on the disposal of fallen stock after the Animal By-products Regulation comes into effect.
However, animal by-products legislation already controls the collection, storage and transportation of animal by-products, including fallen stock, it also requires records to be kept of any consignment of animal by-products to assist in the auditing and traceability of this material.
The Department regulates outlets which deal with fallen stock, such as knackers yards, hunt kennels, rendering and incineration plants. Officials are, therefore, involved in regular discussions with those industries and other interested parties. Since April 2002, we have been involved in discussions with livestock and disposal industry stakeholders over future arrangements and funding options for disposal of fallen stock.
Although progress has been made on operation of a National Scheme we have not been able to reach an agreement on funding. Nevertheless, we are continuing our dialogue with the industry and plan to write shortly to individual farmers about the new rules.
The industry estimate that the following will need to be collected annually:
- 1,316,000 adult animal carcasses (bovine, ovine, swine and equine)
2,262,000 immature animal carcasses (bovine, ovine, swine and equine)
36,000,000 poultry carcasses (avians)
Fisheries
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many industrial fish farms are in operation in the United
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Kingdom; what types of fish are farmed at these locations; and how much of each respective fish species was farmed in each of the past five years. [103945]
Mr. Morley: There are some 1,067 finfish and 428 shellfish (including crayfish) active farm sites in the United Kingdom. (A commercial fish farm business may own more than one site.)
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Production figures for the five year period up to 2001 (the latest year for which complete data are available) are as follows:
| Atlantic salmon(2) | Rainbow trout(2) | Brown trout(2) | Halibut | Cod | Arctic char | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 99,197 | 16,268 | 478 | No data | No data | No data |
| 1998 | 110,784 | 16,656 | 450 | No data | No data | No data |
| 1999 | 126,686 | 17,288 | 403 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 2000 | 128,959 | 15,353 | 551 | 5 | 16 | 7 |
| 2001 | 138,519 | 16,403 | 621 | 80 | 15 | 4 |
(1) Figures in tonnes to nearest whole number
(2) Figures include some production for restocking
| Pacific oyster (000s) | Native oyster (000s) | Scallops (000s) | Queens(000s) | Mussels (tonnes) | Cockles (tonnes) | Clams(tonnes) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 4,424 | 154 | 870 | 4,257 | 13,000 | 20 | 36 |
| 1998 | 4,252 | 391 | 392 | 3,676 | 11,000 | 53 | 22 |
| 1999 | 4,136 | 314 | 214 | 2,855 | 10,000 | 52 | 19 |
| 2000 | 4,742 | 169 | 313 | 2,084 | 14,000 | 150 | 25 |
| 2001 | 4,911 | 250 | 733 | 1,882 | 17,000 | 105 | 34 |
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,519 | 1,533 | 1,669 | 5,142 | 7,348 |
There is also significant production of coarse species for restocking fisheries. The main fish produced for the angling trade are Common and Mirror Carp which, between them, account for some 75 per cent. of total coarse fish production.
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