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10 Jun 2003 : Column 724W—continued
Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the grant aid to the Cotswold AONB partnership is due to be paid; and how much it will be. [118169]
Alun Michael: The Countryside Agency is responsible for grants to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. I have stressed to the Agency our expectation that timely information is given to outside organisations about the level of funding they should anticipate, and that figures should be finalised before the start of a financial year. The Agency has ensured me that it recognises the importance of timely decision making and will finalise the grant for the Cotswolds AONB, and others, as a matter of urgency.
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Departmental Budget
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of her Department's budget was unspent at the end of the financial year, broken down by heading; and what proportion of the total budget this represents. [117368]
Alun Michael: Actual outturn figures for the Department for the last financial year are not yet available, but Defra's forecast final outturn is expected to be within its final provision.
Genetically Modified Organisms
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers to declare an area GM-free are held by (a) her Department, (b) local authorities and (c) the European Union. [114046]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 20 May 2003]: Under the Directive 2001/18, it would be possible for the relevant competent authority to authorise the deliberate release of a GMO subject to the condition that it may not be used in specific geographical locations on grounds of sound scientific evidence of risk to human health or the environment. Any such condition would have to be decided case-by-case. The Directive does not provide for limiting the geographical use of a GMO on any other grounds. If any GMO was assessed as presenting significant risks to human health or the environment, it is highly unlikely that it would be approved at all.
Integrated Administration and Control System
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to pay the proposed single farm payments in respect of all IACS-registered land, regardless of whether the farming activity being carried out during the reference period qualified for subsidy. [116488]
Margaret Beckett: Under the European Commission's CAP reform proposals, Member States would have the discretion to implement the single payment scheme on the basis of a single common payment rate per hectare rather than individual rates determined by historic subsidy receipts. However, this option would only apply at the regional level and the common payment per hectare would have to made to all farmers in a region, whether their land registered for arable area aid purposes or not. If any such discretion is provided for in the final agreement, the Government will wish to consult interested parties before deciding what, if any, use might be made of it.
Mr. Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many registered agricultural holdings for the purposes of IACS payments there were in (a) 1995 and (b) 1997; and how many there are now. [117523]
Alun Michael: The number of registered agricultural holdings for the purposes of IACS payments for England and Wales is as follows.
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| England | Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 79,432 | 20,000 |
| 1997 | 77,829 | 19,300 |
| 2003 | 68,009 | 16,500 |
Landfill Sites
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12th December 2002, Official Report, column 445–46W, on landfill sites, if she will list the locations of the sites against which each fine has been levied; and what the (a) reason for the action and (b) level of fine was in each case. [112428]
Mr. Meacher: A list of the level of fine imposed for each of the landfill sites, where the information is available, has been placed in the library of the House. Some cases have not yet come to Court.
The specific reason for the action is not recorded by the Agency but the legislation under which the prosection action is taken is indicated alongside each report. The list of incidents may relate to breaches of Authorisation rather than Pollution Incidents.
National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the final totals for all financial claims under round one of the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund were; and what proportion of the amount originally allocated this represents. [114208]
Mr. Meacher: Information on the final totals for all financial claims made under round one of the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund including the separate arrangement for London is as follows:
| Capital Spend Allocated (£ million) | 38.58 |
| Actual Capital Spend (£ million) | 30.74 |
| Proportion Spent (percentage) | 80 |
| Revenue Spend Allocated (£ million) | 11.42 |
| Actual Revenue Spend (£ million) | 10.47 |
| Proportion Spent (percentage) | 92 |
The underspend on the capital budget is due mainly to delays in the procurement of capital items such as vehicles and boxes. The Department is seeking end-year flexibility to carry forward the remaining capital budget (£7.84 million) so it can be spent by Local Authorities in 2003–04.
Odours (Essex)
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she has (a) evaluated and (b) applied under Environment Agency control to resolve the problems of odours in South Essex. [114662]
Mr. Meacher: The Environment Agency is the Government regulator on waste management licensing controls. The Agency is visiting the site daily and has required the operating company, through the serving of a notice under section 42 of the Environmental Protection
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Act 1990, to take steps to control and resolve the problem of odours at the Pitsea landfill site. On-going compliance is being monitored extremely tightly.
A final layer of waste is being put over one of the two sources of odour which will be followed by a clay 'cap' to seal it. The second and most predominant source of odour, from the central leachate lagoon, has been treated with oxidising agents which eliminate the odour rapidly, but there has been difficulty in maintaining this and a number of additional measures are now being implemented.
I will continue to monitor progress in resolving the problems of odours associated with the Pitsea landfill site.
Organic Food
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had in 2003 with the chairman of the Food Standards Agency on the promotion of organic food; and if she will make a statement on the implementation of the organic action plan. [116797]
Mr. Meacher: Copies of correspondence so far between myself and the Chairman of the Food Standards Agency on organic issues have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
As chairman of the stakeholder group taking forward the "Action plan to develop organic food and farming in England" I attach great importance to progressing the commitments made in the plan. In respect of these commitments:
- I am in discussion with Chief Executives of the main multiples on the commitment to increase the proportion of organic food they source from within the UK;
We are taking forward the commitment to encourage the purchase of sustainable and local food, including organic food, in public procurement;
We have put in place a revised Organic Farming Scheme for England including on-going aid for organic farmers and higher rates of conversion aid for top fruit orchards;
We are providing an additional £5 million over the next five years to support organic R&D under the LINK programme;
The first organic statistical information notice for England was published on 19 May.
Mr. Meacher: Currently the approval of organic certification bodies for the purposes of Council Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 is carried out by the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS) in liaison with the Department. Consequent on the abolition of UKROFS in July 2003 new arrangements for approving the organic certification bodies are being put in place. These arrangements will involve UKAS, as the UK's official provider of accreditation services, in assessing the bodies and advising Government on their compliance with requirements in the Council Regulation. UKAS is
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considering the scope for collaboration with other bodies who are involved in assessments against organic standards.
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