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1 Sept 2003 : Column 844W—continued
IT Contracts
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many outsourced IT contracts have been signed by her Department in each year since 1997; how much each of these contracts is worth; with whom they are signed; how many have been renegotiated; how many are still in place; and if she will make a statement. [126197]
Alun Michael: Defra was established as a new Department in 2001. Since that time, one outsourced contract has been signed with LogicaCMG for the replacement and support of the Radioactive Incident Monitoring System (RIMNET 3) until 2012 to the value of £16.1 million.
The information provided relates to the core Department only since its creation.
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Johannesburg Summit
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress her Department has made in meeting the outcomes of the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. [126360]
Mr. Morley: The Department leads on a number of the commitments made at last year's World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)—international biodiversity, chemicals management, marine issues, fisheries, agriculture, and sustainable consumption and production patterns. The full set of main commitments was set out in the Government's Memorandum to the Environmental Audit Committee in February 2003, copies of which are in the House Library. We will be presenting an overview of progress across Government to mark the anniversary of WSSD. In the meantime, a summary list of progress against the commitments on which Defra leads is attached to the paper on WSSD follow-up, tabled at the 14 July 2003 meeting of the Sustainable Development Task Force. This document is available at: http://www.sustainable-development.gov. uk/sd strategy/taskforce/index.htm
Landfill
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of landfill sites will be full by 2010; and what alternative methods of disposal will be used once waste landfill sites are filled. [125573]
Mr. Morley: The Government is committed to reducing the UK's reliance on landfill, which makes little practical use of waste and is a missed opportunity to recover value from waste. The landfilling of waste sits at the bottom of the waste hierarchy and in Waste Strategy 2000 and its subsequent response to the Strategy Unit Report "Waste Not Want Not" Government has set out a range of policies to promote the reduction, re-use, recycling and recovery of waste in order to divert it from landfill. The demand for landfill in 2010 and the availability of landfill sites to deal with that demand is therefore impossible to predict, although the impact of Government policies, including the targets in the proposed Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme should result in lower demand.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of which landfill sites in England are in need of remedial measures to combat the effects of pollution; how much this will cost; who will pay; what steps have been taken to prevent future problems of this kind; and if she will make a statement. [126169]
Mr. Morley: Until recently, landfill sites were licensed under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. Under this system, the Environment Agency is obliged to ensure that, when issuing a waste management licence, the activities to which the licence relate do not cause pollution of the environment, harm to health or serious detriment to the amenities of the locality. The Agency is also obliged to modify the conditions of the licence if it appears that these impacts could be caused by the continuation of the landfill activities. If remedial measures are needed, it is for the licence holder to cover the cost of these, and the cost will
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vary depending on the nature of the works needed. No national figures have been collated on the actual numbers of landfills where modifications specifically to tackle pollution have taken place.
The Landfill Directive introduced stringent new standards for landfill sites to protect the environment. The Environment Agency has begun re-permitting all landfill sites under the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002. The programme is expected to be completed by March 2007. As part of this process, all operational sites needed to submit a Conditioning Plan to the Agency by July 2002 which gave an outline of the measures that need to be taken by each site to meet the new standards. These plans are available on the Agency's public register.
The Government assessed the cost of meeting the Landfill Directive in a Regulatory Impact Assessment. We estimated that the Directive brought forward a number of requirements that will add between £2.20 and £4.40 per tonne to the mean cost of waste disposal, with costs ranging from £0 to £120 per tonne for specific waste streams. These costs will largely be passed back to the waste producers, reflecting the polluter pays principle, and will provide a further incentive to waste producers to reuse, recycling or otherwise minimise their waste production.
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the remaining capacity of landfill sites in the UK. [126770]
Mr. Morley: This Department has not conducted an exercise to determine the remaining capacity of landfill sites. The information that is available on the number of landfill sites in England and Wales comes from the conditioning plan exercise carried out by the Environment Agency. The number of landfill sites that will remain operational after July 2002 and after 2004, broken down by classification (hazardous, non-hazardous and inert) and by region, is as follows:
| Region | Non-hazardous | Inert | Hazardous (post 2002) | Hazardous (post 2004) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglian | 43 | 60 | 47 | 9 |
| Midlands | 50 | 74 | 42 | 4 |
| North East | 89 | 58 | 39 | 11 |
| North West | 49 | 37 | 27 | 8 |
| South West | 39 | 46 | 16 | 1 |
| Southern | 30 | 35 | 13 | 1 |
| Thames | 31 | 49 | 19 | 0 |
| Wales | 23 | 30 | 15 | 3 |
| Total | 311 | 329 | 218 | 37 |
Milk Quotas
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what action her Department will take to ensure the implementation of the Thomsen ruling on non-producing milk quota holders in respect of (a) existing tenant farmers who are non-producing milk quota holders, (b) non-tenant farmers who are non-producing milk quota holders and (c) tenant farmers who are non-producing milk quota holders but who cannot sell because they are in dispute
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with their landlord over the apportionment of its value; and if she will make a statement on the effect of the ruling on each of the groups listed; [126227]
- (2) what assessment she has made, following the outcome of the Thomsen judgment, of cases where landlords refuse to give permission to their tenant farmers who seek to sell their non-producing milk quota; and what action her Department can take in such cases. [126225]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 16 July 2003]: As a result of the Thomsen European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgment, quota holders, irrespective of status, who are no longer in active milk production will, by 31 March 2004, have to sell their milk quota, resume production, or otherwise have their quota confiscated. Where quota is confiscated, under the current UK legislation the quota holder has six years in which to resume production and thus have the quota restored. The new European Council quotas regulation, which is still under negotiation, provides for this period to be reduced to two years. Currently, only the quota holder may apply for restoration of quota but we are considering amending UK legislation to allow anyone with an interest in the holding/quota to apply.
Although representations have been made to the Department with regard to landlord/tenant issues in the light of the Thomsen judgment, it is not for Defra to intervene in cases where private tenancy agreements give rise to quota disputes between landlords and their tenants.
Janet Hughes
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regard she had to the Lord Chancellor's guidelines in relation to ability to pay in taking the decision to pursue costs from Ms Janet Hughes. [125394]
Margaret Beckett: A person's ability to pay an order for costs is a factor which Defra takes into account in all cases. In Janet Hughes' case this was why Defra:
- (a) wrote to her on three occasions before taking enforcement action asking her to put forward payment proposals, which she refused to do;
(b) has suspended enforcement action in order to try to reach an agreement which is acceptable to both parties;
(c) has repeatedly stated in correspondence that it would like to resolve this matter by agreement, and that it is prepared to set payments at a realistic level.
Non-native Species
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when her Department will (a) issue a response and (b) launch a public consultation in response to the Department's Review of Non-Native Species published in March on its recommendations for dealing with invasive non-native species; and if she will make a statement. [126250]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 1011W. The Department would expect the Government response to be available in September, with public consultation following shortly after.
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Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to consult local, county and regional government and other non-statutory landowners on the recommendations of her Department's Review of Non-Native Species and the Government response to its recommendations for dealing with invasive non-native species, with particular reference to (a) their responsibility for habitats where invasive non-native weeds are growing and (b) their responsibilities in controlling these weeds; what discussions she had had with these bodies on the subject; and if she will make a statement. [126251]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department will consult widely on the Government's response to the review's recommendations. A wide range of stakeholders were directly involved in the Department's review, including organisations such as the Local Government Association, the National Farmers Union and the Country and Land Business Association. The review made a number of key recommendations.
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department is having on providing financial assistance to local government and non-statutory bodies with responsibilities for habitats where invasive non-native weeds are present to assist them in tackling and eradicating these weeds; and if she will make a statement. [126252]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 1011W.
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what circumstances a local authority may become involved with a control project to deal with invasive non-native plants; how a local authority may apply to be involved in such a project; what criteria she sets for such control projects; and if she will make a statement. [126253]
Mr. Bradshaw: Local authorities may embark on their own programmes of control of invasive non-native plants. For example, a consortium led by Cornwall county council is undertaking a four year project researching the biological control of Japanese knotweed. This Department was approached and agreed to join the consortium and assist with funding the research. Guidance on control and disposal is provided by English Nature and the Environment Agency.
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from local, county and regional government, and non-statutory landowners regarding the (a) costs and (b) difficulties in controlling invasive non-native weeds on land under their custody; and if she will make a statement. [126254]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department regularly receives representations, on the telephone and in writing, from officers of local and county authorities and from individual landowners relating to invasive non-native weeds. These cover a variety of issues. No central record is kept of telephone calls.
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