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16 Jul 2003 : Column 308W—continued
Highway Maintenance (Ragwort)
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contractual arrangements exist for the clearing of ragwort from highway land along the A36 (T) and the A303 (T) in the Salisbury constituency; and what the cost was in (a) the last financial year and (b) this financial year to date. [125651]
Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency manages the control of injurious weeds on the A36 and the A303 through its Area 2 Maintaining Agent (Atkins) and Term Maintenance Contractor (Raynesway Construction Southern). Under the terms of the arrangements, the Agent has a duty to manage the grassed and landscaped areas within Highways Agency land adjacent to the highway in compliance with the Trunk Road Maintenance Manual. In this Manual, Volume 2 Chapter 1.10 Section (b) 'Nuisance' states that the Highways Agency aims to take a proactive approach to the control of injurious weeds, such as ragwort, as defined in the Weeds Act 1959. Priority is given to the control of ragwort on highway land which is adjacent to or near agricultural or grazing land.
The costs shown below have been calculated by proportioning the spend on the A36 and A303 routes as a whole to the lengths encompassed by the Salisbury constituency.
- The cost of clearing ragwort in the 2002–03 financial year was £19,500.
The cost for clearing ragwort this financial year is £1,750 to date.
Road Haulage Companies
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many foreign road haulage companies have been prosecuted for failure to comply with
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(a) traffic and (b) road worthiness regulations in the UK in each of the last five years; and what the country of origin was in each case. [125541]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of prosecuted traffic and roadworthiness offences committed by foreign drivers and operators since 2000 is as follows:
- 2000—49
2001—33
2002—26
| Nationality | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handling agent based in UK | 36 | 18 | 9 |
| Germany | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| Republic of Ireland | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Netherlands | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Belgium | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Poland | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Data prior to 2000 is not currently available.
Road Safety Strategy
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) timetable and (b) scope are of the Government's review of the Road Safety Strategy; and who will be conducting the review. [126257]
Mr. Jamieson: The main objective of the review is to provide a realistic evaluation of progress on delivery of the Road Safety Strategy towards meeting the Government's 2010 casualty reduction targets. The review will therefore focus on implementation of the original strategy launched in March 2000 taking into account latest casualty trends, but will also assess new initiatives, problems or constraints that have emerged.
The review is being conducted by the Department, in consultation with the Road Safety Advisory Panel and with many of the individual partners, both within and outside Government, who play an active role in delivering the Strategy. The aim is to complete the review in spring 2004.
School Buses
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many school buses have been brought into service since 1997. [125202]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I have been asked to reply.
This information is not collected.
Statutory home to school transport in England is arranged by local education authorities. They may provide passes for eligible pupils to use on scheduled bus services, or negotiate contracts for dedicated bus services with bus operators.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Civil Servants
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many new
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entrants to the Civil Service were employed in her Department in each of the last five years; and how many in each year were aged 50 or over. [119828]
Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 657W.
Departmental Policies (Pendle)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what policies (a) initiated and (b) managed by her Department since 2001 have had an impact on Pendle; and if she will make a statement. [124097]
Alun Michael: Nationally, £1.6 billion of England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) funding is available to farmers from 2000 to 2006 for environmental protection and improvement, and rural development.
All ERDP schemes, except one, are available in Pendle since 2001 and are shown as follows:
- Countryside Stewardship Scheme;
Energy Crops Scheme;
Farm Woodland Premium Scheme;
Hill Farm Allowance;
Organic Farming Scheme; and
Woodland Grant Scheme.
- Processing and Marketing Grant;
Rural Enterprise Scheme; and
Vocational Training Scheme.
Drinking Water
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on drinking water quality in England since 1993. [125652]
Mr. Morley: Standards of public drinking water supplies have improved year on year since the Drinking Water Inspectorate was set up in 1990. The Chief Inspector's Annual Report published on 9 July 2003 reveals that 99.87 per cent. of more than 2.9 million tests carried out in England and Wales during 2002 met all the national and EU drinking water quality standards. 10 years ago nearly 37,000 tests failed to meet these standards. Last year, that number was just 3,741. A copy of the Report is available in the House Library.
Equine Welfare
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent meetings she has held with the British Horse Society on equine welfare. [125998]
Alun Michael: I have frequent and productive discussions with the British Horse Society to discuss horse issues and we also meet in the Rural Affairs Forum for England (of which the Chief Executive of the Society is a member). Officials in the Horse Industry Team and in other parts of my Department have
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frequent meetings with the Society and value their practical help and expert advice on welfare and other issues.
EU Committees
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list (a) the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU committee on the conservation, characterisation, collection and utilisation of genetic resources in agriculture, (b) the number of times, and the dates, on which it has met since January 2002, (c) the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, (d) the decisions it has made since January 2002 and (e) the means used to communicate the decisions to the House. [110301]
Mr. Bradshaw: The EU Committee on the Conservation, Characterisation, Collection and Utilisation of Genetic Resources in Agriculture does not have a fixed membership, but consists of delegates drawn from each of the 15 European member states
The Committee has met twice since January 2002, on 29 January 2002 and on 24 February 2003. The agenda items it considered at these meetings were:
- Exchange of views on a Commission proposal for a new Council Regulation on the conservation, characterisation, collection and utilisation of genetic resources in agriculture (29 January 2002);
Report on the state of projects funded under Council Regulation 1467/94 (29 January 2002 and 24 February 2003);
Exchange of views on a Commission working document on a revised proposal for a new Council Regulation on the conservation, characterisation, collection and utilisation of genetic resources in agriculture (24 February 2003).
Decisions of EU Comitology Committees are not routinely deposited for scrutiny under established scrutiny procedures. Together with member states, the Commission has been conducting a review to bring existing legislation on the conduct of Comitology Committees into line with Council Decision 1999/468/EC, to
- "simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission".
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU committee for the adaptation to technical and scientific progress of the Directive on conservation of wild birds (ORNIS), the number of times and the dates on which it has met since January 2002, the agenda items
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it has considered since January 2002, the decisions it has made since January 2002 and the means used to communicate these decisions to the House. [110491]
Mr. Bradshaw: The ORNIS Committee (the Committee for the adaptation to technical and scientific progress of the Directive on conservation of wild birds) does not have a fixed membership, but consists of delegates drawn from each of the 15 European member states. UK representation usually consists of one official from my Department, together with a scientific adviser from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Officials from the devolved administrations sometimes also attend meetings.
Since January 2002 the ORNIS Committee has met twice, on 14 June 2002 and 26 June 2003. The main agenda items considered were:
- Commission's Sustainable Hunting Initiative: The Commission presented its draft guidance document on interpretation of the Birds Directive. Member states were asked for comments and corrections on the draft guidance and on scientific data. The updated guidance document was made at the last meeting, pending further consideration of a key chapter.
Article 4 (Special Protection Areas): Member states provided updates on completing the Special Protection Area network and were updated by the Commission on progress regarding action plans for Annex I species.
Update on EU enlargement preparations: Update from the Commission, including agreement that accession countries could attend future meetings as observers and that future Annexes to the Directive should comprise scientific names only (given the difficulty of including common names in the increasing numbers of languages). Timeframes for implementation of the directive as well as monitoring and peer review exercise for Accession countries.
Other information points, including reporting by member states under Article 9 and 12 of the directive, seminar on management of the cormorant, information systems for NATURA 2000 and collaboration with the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA). The UK also highlighted recent work in relation to the Ruddy Duck and sought supportive action in other member states.
As an obligation to this Decision, the Commission undertook to publish an annual report on the working of the Committee. The second report was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 10 January 2003 ref 5060/03, COM(03)733.
As part of the review process, the UK Government have encouraged the Commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every Comitology Committee, its agendas and recent actions, to be accessible through its website.
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Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list (a) the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU committee on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, (b) the number of times, and the dates, on which it has met since January 2002, (c) the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, (d) the decisions it has made since January 2002 and (e) the means used to communicate the decisions to the House. [110296]
Mr. Bradshaw: The committee on the conservation of natural resources and of wild fauna and flora does not have a fixed membership, but consists of delegates drawn from each of the 15 European member states.
Since January 2002 there have been three committee meetings, on 14 March 2002, 20 November 2002 and 10 March 2003. In this period the agenda items included:
- The future participation of accession countries in the committee and related working Groups—agreed to permit access countries to the committee and groups as observers.
Green week.*
Marine issues and Marine Working Group—agreed to establish group with terms of reference to establish site selection and management criteria for sites beyond territorial waters.
A Swedish proposal on the introduction of fungi species into the Appendix I of the Bern Convention.*
Establishment of Natura 2000 network.*
Application of Article 8 and Financing of Natura 2000—establishment of working group with terms of reference to estimate overall cost of managing the Natura 2000 network.
Article 12 and Article 12 Working Group—establishment of group to consider generic species management measures and relevant definitions.
Art. 17 and 16—reporting.*
Estuaries—agreement to a definition of boundaries.
Proposed Directive on Environmental Liability and its link to Natura 2000.*
GIS: state of play concerning data submission.*
Access to information.*
Access to sensitive data—agreement to withhold data on particularly sensitive plants locations from websites/public domain.
Life Nature restoration projects and commitments for designation.*
Projects to co-finance under Life Nature (2002)—support for Commission proposals for co-funding of projects under the Life-Nature Regulation 1655/2000 agreed in 2002.
Projects to co-finance under Life Nature (2003)—support for Commission proposals for co-funding of projects under the Life-Nature Regulation 1655/2000 agreed in 2003.
Monitoring.*
Large Carnivores.*
Communication issues.*
Nature Directors' Meetings.*
Decisions made by the Comitology committees are not routinely deposited for scrutiny under established scrutiny procedures, unless they are politically significant.
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Together with Member States, the Commission has been conducting a review to bring existing legislation on the conduct of Comitology committees into line with Council Decision 1999/468/EC, to "simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission". The Working Group on the Friends of Comitology is meeting later this month to discuss proposals for interim reform.
As an obligation to this Decision, the Commission undertook to publish an annual report on the working of the committee. The second report was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 10 January 2003 ref 5060/03, COM(03)733.
As part of the review process, the UK Government have encouraged the Commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every Comitology committee, its agendas and recent actions, to be accessible through its website.
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