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8 Sept 2003 : Column 279W—continued
School Buses
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the results of the yellow school bus pilot schemes will be published; and if he will make a statement on proposals to encourage wider take up of such schemes. [128196]
Mr. McNulty: We expect to receive the final report of the independent evaluation of the yellow school bus pilot schemes by the end of September. We will give careful consideration to the findings of the study before deciding on next steps.
Speed Cameras (Romford)
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the number of speed cameras in Romford. [128379]
Mr. Jamieson: In the London borough of Havering, of which Romford is a part, there are currently 13 fixed camera site housings available for speed camera enforcement and one site enforced periodically by a mobile camera unit.
Speeding
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he will take to reclaim from local
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partnerships money paid in fines as a result of convictions for speeding based on evidence from speed cameras which are not (a) properly identified and (b) positioned in accordance with Government guidelines; and if he will make a statement. [128089]
Mr. Jamieson: The rules and guidelines relating to the safety camera netting-off programme have no bearing on the prosecution process. Where camera partnerships fail to meet visibility and conspicuity rules they may be suspended from the scheme and payments withheld.
Local Transport Plans
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage local authorities to show how they intend to improve urban design and regeneration in their next local transport plans. [128644]
Mr. McNulty: The Government recogniseb the importance of Local Transport Plans as a tool that local authorities may use to regenerate and improve the urban environment, in and around local transport infrastructure. We are currently considering how this might be reflected in our guidance for local authorities on their next Local Transport Plans.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Foodstuffs Trade
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the balance of payments in the UK in foodstuffs; and if she will make a statement. [128056]
Mr. Bradshaw: The following table shows the level of exports, imports and trade gap for the United Kingdom in food, feed and drink, for each of the last five years (1998–2002).
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Exports | 9.2 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 8.9 |
| Total Imports | 17.1 | 17.2 | 16.8 | 18.3 | 19.1 |
| Trade Gap(88) | -7.9 | -8.3 | -8.1 | -9.8 | -10.2 |
(88) In the calculation of the trade gap the values of exports and imports are measured slightly differently. For exports, values include the costs allowed under "free on board" which refers to the total export values of goods leaving the country. For imports, values include the costs allowed under "cost insurance freight" which refers to the total value of the goods imported into the UK. Thus for imports into the UK the cost of transportation between the port or place of dispatch and the UK port or place of importation is included. As a result imports are overstated relative to exports by about 5 per cent. The figures are not seasonally adjusted.
Source:
HM Customs and Excise Data prepared by Statistics (Commodities & Food) Accounts and Trade, ESD, DEFRA
Crown Copyright
Corporate Environmental Reports
Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many FTSE
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350 companies have responded to the Prime Minister's October 2000 challenge to produce corporate environmental reports. [127837]
Mr. Morley: This Department conducted a survey last year of the progress made by companies in the FTSE 350 in voluntary reporting of their environmental performance. An account of the results of this survey was placed in the Library of the House in July 2002.
Egg Industry
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will be raising the UK egg industry at the Fifth World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Cancun. [127597]
Mr. Bradshaw: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will aim to secure a positive outcome for all UK interests at the Fifth WTO Ministerial. She is aware of the concerns of the British egg industry about market access and will take due account of those concerns in her discussion in Cancun.
Environmental Legislation
Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to raise awareness among small businesses of environmental regulations and legislation. [127838]
Mr. Morley: The central thrust of the Department's efforts to raise awareness of environmental regulations and legislation is the NetRegs project. NetRegs aims to provide clear and coherent guidelines for businesses (principally small/medium-sized businesses) on environmental legislation, and how to comply with it. Sector-specific guidelines for 100 industry sectors will be available on its website (www.netregs.gov.uk) by the time the project finishes at the end of March 2004; currently there are guidelines for over 55 business sectors already published on the site. NetRegs is a partnership between the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Environment and Heritage Service Northern Ireland, and the DTI. It is funded by the Treasury's Capital Modernisation Fund.
To publicise NetRegs to its target audience, the NetRegs team has successfully engaged the support of the relevant trade media, associations, and business support organisations in 'spreading the word' on a sector-by-sector basis, as each sector's guidelines are launched on the website. So far NetRegs has generated over 700 pieces of media coverage since October 2002 and over 180 organisations have to date actively supported and or promoted the site.
Defra also undertakes initiatives in relation to specific areas of new legislation. For example, between September 2002 and February 2003 Defra, DTI and the Small Business Service ran over 30 seminars across the UK to raise awareness of the European Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), which must be transposed into UK legislation by the summer of next year.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) which
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countries have sent radioactive material to the United Kingdom for disposal since 2001; and what charges were levied; [128107]
- (2) how many shipments of radioactive waste have been sent abroad to be disposed of since 2001; and what the destination countries were. [128108]
Mr. Morley: Imports and exports of radioactive waste into, out of, or through the European Union are controlled under European Commission Directive 92/3 Euratom. This Directive is implemented into UK law by the Transfrontier Shipment of Radioactive Waste Regulations 1993. Authorisations under the regulations are administered in England and Wales by the Environment Agency, in Scotland by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and in Northern Ireland by the Environment and Heritage Service.
Under the regulations three shipments of radioactive waste into the UK have been authorised since 2001. Small quantities of mixed solid and liquid laboratory wastes were received from the British Antarctic Survey in 2001 and 2002, and contaminated oilfield equipment was received from Norway in 2002. No charges have been levied by the regulatory bodies for issuing an authorisation. Any other costs involved are a commercial matter for the consigners and/or consignees, as relevant.
No shipments of radioactive waste for disposal have been sent abroad from the UK since 2001.
Antibiotics
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her policy towards the use of antibiotics in animal feed. [128260]
Mr. Bradshaw: Antibiotics cannot be used in animal feed unless they are authorised either as veterinary medicinal products or as zootechnical feed additives (which are used as growth promoters).
The Government recognises the important role that authorised antibiotics play in maintaining animal health and welfare. However it takes very seriously the possibility of their contributing to the development of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria affecting humans. The Government has therefore developed a comprehensive strategy for maintaining the effectiveness of antimicrobial products and reducing the overall pool of antibiotic use in animals. A key element in this strategy is promoting the prudent use of authorised antibiotic medicines and feed additives in animal husbandry.
The Government is satisfied that the four feed additives authorised as antibiotic growth promoters are not related to any therapeutic antibiotics currently used in human or animal medicine. However it supports the phasing out of these products on a precautionary basis from 1 January 2006 under new EU legislation on Feed Additives coming into effect next year. The Government believes that this provides sufficient time for the industry to introduce new husbandry methods before the authorisations for antibiotic growth promoters are withdrawn. Defra is working closely with the industry's
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Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) alliance in drawing up plans to assist industry to adjust to the loss of these products from January 2006.
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