---

8 Apr 2003 : Column 136W—continued

Slaughter Scheme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether all Slaughter Premium Scheme claims for 2002 have now been (a) settled and (b) paid. [108036]

Alun Michael: For the 2002 English Adult Animal Slaughter Premium Scheme, 57 per cent. of claims have been authorised for payment to date. 50 per cent. of claims have had advance payments made. No balance payments have been made.

There is no EC deadline for advance payments, but balance payments have to be made by 30 June following the end of the scheme year.

Those claims that are outstanding include ones that have either failed administrative checks or are subject to on-farm inspections. Agency staff are striving to complete work for 30 June in order to pay premium on eligible animals.

Staff Numbers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff are employed by her Department. [106277]

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) on 4 April 2003, Official Report, columns 891–892W.

Sunset Clauses

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the sunset clauses included in legislation from her Department since 1997. [106942]

8 Apr 2003 : Column 137W

Alun Michael: Since June 2001 when Defra was formed, there has been no legislation containing sunset clauses.

Travel Costs

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the costs was of travel by train by staff in her Department in 2002. [106335]

Alun Michael: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It is this Department's policy that official travel should be undertaken only if it is essential to the Department's business and cannot reasonably be met in any other way (e.g. correspondence, e-mail, telephone or video conference). Where it is considered that official travel is justified then staff are expected to take account of business and financial needs as well as environmental considerations.

Waste Recycling

Mr. John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list for Buckinghamshire by (a) tonnage and (b) percentage the amount of waste disposal by (i) landfill, (ii) recycling and (iii) incineration in 2002. [106933]

Mr. Meacher: The latest available data for municipal waste are taken from the 2000–01 Municipal Waste Management Survey. The data for Buckinghamshire are shown as follows.

Tonnages and percentages of municipal waste for Buckinghamshire for 2000–01 are:

Landfilled—193.6 thousand tonnes (76.5 per cent.)

Recycled and composted—59.5 thousand tonnes (23.5 per cent.)

Incinerated—0.2 thousand tonnes (< 0.5 per cent.)

Survey data for 2002 are not yet available.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) waste incineration plants and (b) landfill sites there were in Buckinghamshire in 2002. [106988]

Mr. Meacher: (a) There were no waste incineration plants in Buckinghamshire in 2002.

(b) There were 14 landfill sites in Buckinghamshire in 2002.

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of municipal mass burn incineration of waste upon levels of waste recycling; and if she will make a statement. [105383]

Mr. Meacher: The Regulatory Impact Assessment of Waste Strategy 2000 (published in Annex C of part 2 of the strategy) assessed a variety of waste management scenarios and considered variables including different projections for waste growth, different mixes of waste management facilities, and differing levels of participation in recycling schemes. A similar exercise was carried out by the Strategy Unit and published in their "Waste Not, Want Not" report.

8 Apr 2003 : Column 138W

Our policy on municipal waste incinerators or other energy from waste facilities is that they should be considered only where it can be shown that they are appropriately sized so that they would not "crowd out" recycling. Guidance issued by the Government for Private Finance Initiative includes the criterion:

"proposals including incineration must demonstrate that all opportunities for recycling have been considered first and that there is no barrier to the future development of recycling. Schemes should include proposals for combined heat and power where possible."

Water Services

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the impact on low income families of the (a) pricing and (b) regulatory regime for water services. [106922]

Mr. Morley: The Department has reviewed the needs of low income families for concessions on their water bills as part of its review of the Vulnerable Groups Regulations. The proposals of this review are detailed in the consultation paper Reductions for Vulnerable Groups which was published in February 2003. Data from the DSS Family Resources Survey in the table shows the percentage of household income spent on water and sewerage services in England 1997–98 by income decile.

Guidance to the Director General of Water Services, following the Water Industry Act 1999, confirmed that the Secretary of State was keen to encourage the development of innovative tariffs that can assist customers who may face difficulty paying their bills and stated that the Secretary of State expects flexible payment options to be offered to customers to assist with payment problems. The Water Bill, which is currently in the House of Lords, proposes that the new Water Services Regulation Authority and Consumer Council for Water should have regard to individuals with low incomes, when considering consumer interests.

DEFENCE

Advertising Campaigns

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns between April 2002 and March 2003; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to (a) television, (b) radio and (c) print media. [106439]

Dr. Moonie: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, the Ministry of Defence's advertising and publicity costs are published in the annual Departmental Performance Report, broken down into categories of Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and civilian recruitment, PR, marketing and business support services, Chief of PR, sales promotion, scholarships and National Employers' Liaison Committee. Copies of these documents are placed in the Library of the House. The 2002–03 Departmental

8 Apr 2003 : Column 139W

Performance Report is due to be published in the autumn and will include information on advertising and publicity costs although this may be in a different format due to the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting.

Anthrax

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of UK armed forces in the Gulf who were offered the anthrax inoculation refused it. [107141]

Dr. Moonie [holding answer 4 April 2003]: According to centrally held records, as at 12 March 2003, some 56 per cent. of Service personnel offered vaccination against anthrax had accepted it. Information on immunisation against anthrax among Service personnel deployed to the Gulf is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Depleted Uranium

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which international conventions apply to the use of depleted uranium shells; and whether the UK is a signatory. [107913]

Mr. Ingram: No conventions apply specifically to the use of depleted uranium shells. Their use is covered by the same provisions of international law that apply to all weapons.

Iraq

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with the shipping industry on the ownership and operation of the deep water container port at Umm Qasr, Iraq. [105874]

Mr. Ingram: None.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) British and (b) coalition forces have used (i) depleted uranium and (ii) cluster bombs in the war in Iraq; and in what circumstances. [107195]

Mr. Ingram: With regard to the use of depleted uranium munitions, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 2 April 2003, Official Report, column 737W to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith).

On the use of cluster bombs, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch) during his statement to the House on 3 April 2003, Official Report, column 1075. Cluster bombs have been used against targets for which they were the most appropriate available weapon and where they could be used in accordance with international law, including with the principles of proportionality and discrimination.

I am unable to comment on the use of DU munitions and cluster bombs by other coalition forces.

8 Apr 2003 : Column 140W

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the purpose was of the United Kingdom troops attack on an electricity switching station in Basra on 23 March 2003; what was achieved; and if he will make a statement; [107252]

(2) what the purpose was of the military action by allied forces on 23 March 2003 upon electricity installations in Basra; what was achieved; and if he will make a statement. [107251]

Mr. Ingram: No such event occurred.

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance has been given to UK forces operating in the no fly zone in southern Iraq on the holy places of the Shi'a in Nayjab and Kerbala. [103735]

Mr. Hoon [holding answer 18 March 2003]: We are fully aware of the significance of the holy sites in Najaf and Karbala. The coalition is taking every precaution to respect and avoid damage to them.

By contrast, we know from intelligence that Saddam Hussein has plans to damage the sites and to blame the coalition. There are precedents: in 1991, Iraq troops attacked and desecrated Imam Ali's shrine and destroyed religious libraries in Najaf; they shelled and desecrated Imam Hussein's shrine in Karbala; and the shrine of Imam Abbas was also reported damaged.

The United Kingdom is fully committed to the protection of cultural property in times of armed conflict. The Government take very seriously its obligations to act in conformity with international law, the UN Charter and international humanitarian law. In all our military planning, very careful attention is applied to ensure that we minimise the risk of damage to all civilian sites.

The targeting process during current operations is conducted in accordance with all obligations under international law, including Additional Protocol 1 of the Geneva Conventions, and the Targeting Directive to United Kingdom forces stationed in the Gulf contains explicit guidance on their obligations under international and domestic law. For reasons of force protection, I cannot comment on the specifics of our targeting policy, and I am therefore withholding that information under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Defence, security and international relations).

In view of the continuing air operations against Iraq, No Fly Zone patrols have been rendered redundant. This does not mean that we have in any way reduced our humanitarian concerns for the Iraqi people. Our Servicemen and women have daily risked their lives enhancing the security of the civilian population for over a decade, and we will continue to demonstrate that commitment.

---