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Ragwort

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement about the spread of American ragwort; what measures are being employed to check the spread; what incidents of damage to livestock have been reported to her Department in the past 12 months; and what research has been conducted into the possible passage of ragwort toxins into the food chain. [131871]

Alun Michael: We have not been able to find a reference to American Ragwort in the literature, and without the Latin name, cannot identify the plant species concerned. Research on possible human exposure to ragwort toxins through the contamination of milk and honey was conducted by the then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the 1990s. Further, in 1994 the MAFF Working Party on Naturally Occurring Toxicants in Food considered the evidence for human exposure to ragwort toxins through contamination of food and concluded that exposure via these routes is unlikely to pose a risk to health.

Recycling

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase the number of kerbside collection recycling schemes. [131082]

Mr. Morley: The Government has set statutory targets for local authorities to increase the recycling and composting of waste. Some local authorities have chosen to introduce doorstep collection of recyclates to help meet those targets. In 2001–02 58 per cent. of households in England were served doorstep collection schemes. This had increased from 51 per cent. in 2000–01.

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The Government is also supporting the Household Waste Recycling Bill introduced by my hon. Friend, the member for Lewisham. The Bill provides, with some exceptions, that all local authorities in England must offer doorstep collection of at least two recyclates by 2010.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much household waste was recycled in 2002; and whether the Government are on track to achieve their 2005 target of recycling 25 per cent.of household waste. [131084]

Mr. Morley: The Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey records that in 2001–2, England achieved a household waste recycling rate of 12.4 per cent., in line with average annual increases of 1 per cent. This makes targets for 2003–04 and 2005–06 look challenging. However, there is evidence that measures the Government is taking are having an impact, with Local Authority projections suggesting the 2003–04 target of 17 per cent. will be met. We plan to continue this momentum towards 2005–06.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the incentives given to the UK population to recycle household waste. [131085]

Mr. Morley: The Government and Devolved Administrations fund waste awareness and education programmes to inform the population about the environmental benefits of recycling. There are no financial incentives for the population to recycle household waste.

In its response to the Strategy Unit Report 'Waste Not, Want Not' recommendation that local authorities in England should be able to take forward incentive schemes to reduce waste and increase recycling if they wish to do so, Government undertook to work with stakeholders to consider the practicalities of operating such schemes and how the potential disadvantages might be overcome.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the sources of household waste included in local authority recycling schemes. [131086]

Mr. Morley: The Municipal Waste Management Survey for 2001–02 showed the following tonnages of materials collected for recycling and composting from household sources by local authorities:

Material	Thousand tonnes	Percentage
Paper and card	959	31
Glass	428	14
Compost(1)	940	30
Scrap matal/white goods	370	12
Textiles	42	1
Cans	26	1
Plastics	8	0
Co-mingled	217	7
Other (including oils, batteries etc.)	150	5

⁽¹⁾ Includes organic materials (kitchen and garden waste); not home composting

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Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons home-composted garden waste is not included in the Government's recycling targets. [131087]

Mr. Morley: Home-composted garden waste is not included in the local authority Best Value Performance Indicators due to the difficulty in accurately measuring the amount of waste that is composted by householders. However, the use of home composting is a key tool in reducing the amount of waste that local authorities collect and so is reflected indirectly in the Performance Indicators.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of changes in the type of ink used by newspaper producers on the recycling of newspapers; and if she will make a statement. [131105]

Mr. Morley: About 10 per cent. of the UK's newsprint is printed using flexographic presses which, at this level, is not sufficient to compromise the quality of recycled pulp produced for newsprint manufacture. We are aware that with current reprocessing technologies, a significant increase in these printing processes would have the potential to compromise the quality of recycled paper, and we have held discussions with the industry on this issue.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme will be taking forward work to assess the technical issues associated with the de-inking of flexographic inks.

Sewerage

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the (a) individuals and (b) organisations who responded to the consultation paper, "Review of Existing Private Sewers and Drains in England and Wales"; and if she will place a summary of the responses in the Library. [131214]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 14 October 2003]: The consultation period of the paper, published on 1 July, extends until 26 September. We will place responses from organisations or individuals, that are not marked confidential, in the Library and a summary of responses when ready.

Timber Procurement

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on how the Government's (a) sustainable development, (b) fair trade and (c) environmental objectives are being pursued in timber procurement. [131569]

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Mr. Morley: The Government's timber procurement policy is actively to seek to buy timber and timber products from sustainable and legal sources. This policy encapsulates environmental and social objectives that are relevant to sustainable forest management.

Fair trade as a concept is not specifically addressed by this policy. There is no Government-wide approach to the procurement of Fairtrade products. Each Government Department is responsible for making its own decisions on such products, against the background of the Government's value for money policy, the EC procurement rules and the Department's objectives. However, the Government are committed to supporting ethical trading wherever possible and provide significant support to the Fairtrade Foundation's efforts in promoting the supply and marketing of Fairtrade products.

Central Government Departments and their agencies have been provided with a model contract clause that sets out the Government's specific requirements for legal and sustainable timber. This includes a demand for independent verification of the claims made by suppliers for the source of the timber acquired. For existing contracts Departments are discussing the policy with their contractors to raise awareness and identify opportunities for obtaining timber from assured sources wherever feasible and mutually acceptable.

Central Departments are required to report annually on their timber purchases and a summary is published in the annual report Sustainable Development in Government—http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/sdig/reports.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the guidance given to government officials on legal and sustainable timber procurement and on the regulatory framework. [131631]

Mr. Morley: Guidance on timber procurement and on the regulatory framework is available on the Government's website for sustainable development in Government—http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/sdig/improving/contextf.htm

Central Government departments and their agencies have been provided with a model contract clause that sets out the Government's specific requirements for legal and sustainable timber. The text of this clause and covering information note issued by the Office of Government Commerce in December 2002 is annexed to this reply.

The Government intends to create a central point of expertise on timber procurement (CPET) to help public sector buyers specify their requirements with more clarity and assess the credibility of supplier's claims for the sources of their timber. The CPET is planned to begin its work later this year.

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