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29 Apr 2003 : Column 306W—continued
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Age Discrimination
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to address the issue of age discrimination. [109453]
Alun Michael: The Department's equal opportunities policy includes the commitment that there should be no unfair discrimination on the grounds of age.
As part of the change and developing Defra programmes we are in the process of reviewing our human resources policies and procedures. Part of that process is to ensure that there are no unjustifiable inequalities on age or any other ground and that our commitment to diversity meets and is fully reflected in the way we fulfil Defra's policy and service delivery roles.
As part of our commitment to this policy, staff in all grades below the Senior Civil Service may, subject to their continued efficiency and continued organisational need, choose to remain in service beyond age 60 and up to a maximum of age 65. We have relaxed the age maxima for recruitment along similar lines.
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Agri-environmental Schemes
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payment levels are made under the (a) countryside stewardship schemes and (b) environmentally sensitive areas in respect of (i) repair of stone walls (per metre), (ii) hedging (per metre), (iii) mending and replacing of
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Cornish hedges (per metre), (iv) maintaining agreed grazing policy (per hectare), (v) protection measures for flora (per hectare), (vi) protection measures for fauna (per hectare), (vii) repair of stiles and footpaths and (viii) other common agreed payments. [108729]
Mr. Meacher: Details of payments for the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and West Penwith Environmentally Sensitive Area Schemes are as follows:
| Item | CSS (national rates] | West Penwith ESA |
|---|---|---|
| Repair of stone walls (per metre) | £12 with supplements of between £4-£8 available depending on stone type | £12 or 80% of actual costs |
| Hedging (per metre) | £3 plus supplements of £1 | Not applicable |
| Cornish hedges (per metre) | £25 with additional supplements of £4 available for stone type and difficult sites | Rebuilding £25 and £4 supplement for brought in stone. New hedges £32 or 80 % of actual costs |
| Maintaining grazing (per hectare) | £85 for grazed pastures plus 30 supplement for fields <3ha | £85 plus 7 supplement for field margins |
| Protection measures for flora (per hectare) | A range of options, not specifically limited to this purpose | Reversion to rough land; and other measures 80% of actual costs. |
| Protection measures for fauna (per hectare) | A range of options, not specifically limited to this purpose, e.g. £270 for conservation headlands | Winter stubbles £170; other measures 80% of actual costs |
| Repair of stiles | £20-£50 depending on type. | Timber stile £30; ladder stile £40; step-over 20; step-through. £30 |
| Other payments | Special projects, usually at 50% of cost and scrub clearance at up to £500 per ha. Public access £150 / farm + £35/ha | Other payments include protection of historic features 80%; renovation of traditional farm buildings 80%; scrub management from £100-£500; public access £17Q/ha |
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to make payments to farmers under (a) countryside stewardship, (b) environmentally sensitive and (c) other agri-environmental schemes. [108765]
Mr. Meacher: Payments to agreement holders under agri-environment schemes are paid on an annual basis. Payments for the year ending 31 March 2003 for the schemes are as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Environmentally Sensitive Areas | 53.1 |
| Countryside Stewardship | 49.0 |
| Arable Stewardship | 1.4 |
| Organic Farming scheme | 12.6 |
| Closed schemes (moorland and habitat schemes) | 2.1 |
Published expenditure plans for these schemes show that the total budget is placed to rise each year, reaching £197 million in 2006–07.
Landfill Tax
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many people are employed in the sustainable waste sector, working for business or environmental bodies supported partially or in full by funding from landfill tax credit scheme categories C and CC; [105754]
- (2) how many (a) people in long-term unemployment and (b) disabled people have been retrained by schemes funded under category C and CC of the landfill tax credit scheme. [105755]
Mr. Meacher: The Landfill Tax Credit Scheme is not run by Defra and we do not hold the information requested. The information may be obtained from ENTRUST. Details of ENTRUSTS Area Offices can be found on their website at www.entrust.orq.uk.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to assist the continuation of the small and medium-sized environmental organisations, initiated by the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, that deliver sustainable waste innovations on a local level. [105756R]
Mr. Meacher: Small and medium-sized environmental organisations which have received funding from or been created through Landfill Tax Credit Scheme funding should continue to receive funds for a further year if they meet the eligibility criteria published on 3 February and are compatible with State Aid requirements.
Some of those organisations may benefit indirectly from the activities which will be funded from Defra's new sustainable waste delivery programme, announced in the Budget on 9 April, 2003. Others may need to secure new sources of funding)
Nuclear Waste
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much low-level radioactive material is held at Drigg; and what the capacity of the site is. [109624]
Mr. Meacher: Around 950,000 cubic metres of low level radioactive wastes have already been disposed of to Drigg. The remaining capacity of the currently authorised site is estimated to be over 800,000 cubic metres. The latter compares with the total future arisings estimate for low level wastes contained in the latest 2001 United Kingdom Radioactive Waste Inventory of 1,490,000 cubic metres.
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Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the landfill sites authorised to receive low-level radioactive waste, indicating which are (a) unlined and (b) single-skinned. [109627]
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Mr. Meacher: The Environment Agency advises that disposal of low-level radioactive waste is authorised under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 at the following sites in England.
| Landfill site | Location | Engineered containment status |
|---|---|---|
| Arpley Landfill | Arpley, Warrington | Engineered containment (lined) |
| Milton Landfill | Milton, Cambridgeshire | Engineered containment (lined) |
| Cowpen Bewley | Billingham, Cleveland | No engineered containment (unlined), excavated in clay |
| Clifton Marsh | Preston, Lancashire | Engineered containment (lined) |
| Asham Quarry | Beddingham, East Sussex | Engineered containment (lined) |
| Hilts Quarry | Crich, Derbyshire | No engineered containment (unlined) |
| Magnesium Elektron Swinton | Swinton, Greater Manchester | No engineered containment (unlined) |
| Vickers Waste Ponds | Walney Island, Cumbria | No engineered containment (unlined) |
| Braziers Landfill | Hertfordshire | No engineered containment (unlined) |
Power Stations
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timescale is for the review by the Environment Agency of the regulations governing emissions from power stations; and from when the new regulations are likely to apply. [107982]
Mr. Meacher: Emissions from large power stations to air, water and land are currently regulated by the Environment Agency through the Integrated Pollution Control ("IPC") regime established by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Regulations made under the Act. The Environment Agency is not responsible for reviewing that legislation. The Environment Agency does regularly carry out reviews of the authorisations it has issued under that legislation. The next principal review is due in 2003–04 and any new conditions or requirements in relation to emissions that the Agency seeks to impose on power stations following that review would probably be implemented from 2004–05.
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