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Magnox Power Stations

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will announce her decision on the Environment Agency's proposed decision on the Magnox power stations; and whether the continued operation of the Magnox stations is justified in accordance with the requirements of European law (Article 6 of Council Directive 96/29/Euratom). [134265]

Mr. Morley: An announcement will be made as soon as possible.

GM Inspectorate

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many persons are employed in the GM Inspectorate in terms of (a) individuals and (b) whole-time equivalents; what the figures were in each of the last five years; what the total staff cost was in each of those years; what their functions were; and what assessment she has made of the achievements of the staff of the Inspectorate. [132456]

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Mr. Morley: The Defra GM Inspectorate comprises inspectors based at the Central Science Laboratory and at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Prior to 2000 all the work was carried out by HSE inspectors. Details of staff numbers and costs for the last five years are in the table.

	HSE			CSL
	Staff	Whole-time equivalents (staff years)	Costs (£)	Staff	Whole-time equivalents (staff years)	Costs (£)
1998–99	4	0.7	105,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
1999–00	4	1.1	76,434	N/A	N/A	N/A
2000–01	5	0.35	52,000	5	0.97	95,116
2001–02	5	0.2	21,600	5	3.10	222,490
2002–03	6	0.3	33,670	5	2.04	237,849
2003–04	5	0.76	—	4	3.71	—

The functions of the GM Inspectorate at CSL are primarily to monitor compliance in England and Wales with consents issued under Directive 2001/18 on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) both for placing on the market of GMOs as or in products (Part C) and for any other purpose (Part B) and to ensure that the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and related legislation are adhered to. The Inspectorate also conducts research to underpin its forensic work, and maintains links with inspectors elsewhere in the UK and throughout the EU.

The Inspectorate at HSE reports on the environmental aspects of contained uses of GMOs (other than GM micro-organisms) in England, Scotland and Wales, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and related legislation and monitors compliance with consents issued under Part B of Directive 2001/18 for clinical trials of GMOs.

The number of inspectors deployed reflects the numbers of consents and releases to be monitored, this varies from year to year. For example there are currently no GM crop trials taking place but there were over 120 crop trials in 2002.

The Inspectorates' performance is regularly monitored. A measure of their achievement is that there has been no evidence of harm to the environment from GM crop releases or from GMOs kept under contained use conditions. The Inspectorate at CSL publishes an annual report.

Noise Nuisance

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will bring forward proposals to amend the statutory noise nuisance provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to include excessive noise from cars driven off road on public open spaces. [134394]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government see no need to amend the existing provisions under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which could be used to abate excessive noise from cars driven off road on public open spaces. Police lead on this issue as they have a wide range of relevant powers, and unlike local authority officers, are able to pursue offenders across ground.

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From 1 January 2003 the police have new powers under sections 59 and 60 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles, which are being driven in a careless and inconsiderate manner, and in a way which causes alarm, distress or annoyance.

Radioactive Waste ManagementAdvisory Committee

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to receive the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's Annual Report. [134074]

Mr. Morley: The Annual Report of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee for 2002–03 is likely to be submitted formally to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and to her Ministerial colleagues in the Devolved Administrations for Scotland and for Wales, in the latter part of November. It will be made public at the same time.

Regional Producers Ltd. (Wiltshire)

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what Government support has been given in the last three years to Regional Producers Ltd. (Wiltshire); and what recent discussions she has held with Regional Producers Ltd. (Wiltshire) about their future viability. [133059]

Mr. Bradshaw: Regional Producers Ltd. (Wiltshire) was set up using funding from Business Link for Berkshire and Wiltshire and the South West of England Regional Development Agency. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has had no discussions with Regional Producers Ltd. (Wiltshire) about their viability.

Renewable Energy

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of biofuel sold in the United Kingdom was recycled cooking oil in the last year for which figures are available. [134376]

Mr. Bradshaw: Currently, half of the two million litres of biodiesel sold each month in the UK comes from recycled vegetable oil. The remainder is imported and is manufactured from virgin rape seed oil.

Rural Affairs Forum

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many speakers from the private sector will address the Rural Affairs Forum's Conference on Rural Regeneration. [135592]

Alun Michael: The purpose of the Rural Affairs Conference is to enable people from every sector of rural interest to engage in a wide-ranging discussion of issues affecting rural communities and to advise the Government. The value of the Conference will derive largely from the discussion and debate among a number of people including Ministers and those with academic, business and public sector expertise. Professor Peter Midmore will offer his perspective on the changing countryside in the 21st century, while breakout groups will involve business representatives and will be led by

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people including a representative of the Country, Land and Business Association and representative from Co-operatives UK.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of increases in stamp duty land tax on her policy for rural economic regeneration and diversification; and if she will make a statement. [135610]

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.

The Government has introduced disadvantaged areas relief which provides an exemption from stamp duty land tax for transactions in non-residential land in Enterprise Areas, including some rural areas. This will provide a major boost to businesses investing in commercial premises, including agricultural premises, in those areas.

In addition the changes I announced on 20 October to the structure for charging Stamp Duty Land Tax on the rental element of new leases will assist small and medium-sized enterprises such as smaller farms.

Surface Water

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was allocated (a) in England and (b) to Essex County Council for surface water alleviation schemes in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how much is allocated in each case in 2003–04; and how much she expects to allocate in each case in 2004–05. [135166]

Mr. Morley: Funding for surface water alleviation schemes comes from several different sources.

Funding for local authority surface water alleviation schemes falls wihtin the Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services part of the local government finance settlement. Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services covers a wide range of services totalling more than £10 billion each year. Within this budget, no specific allocation is made for surface water alleviation schemes, but the proportion attributed on average is very small.

Defra provides grant aid to the flood and coastal defence operating authorities—the Environment Agency, local authorities and (in areas with special drainage needs) internal drainage boards—to assist with their capital works and related projects and studies to manage the risk of flooding from watercourses and the sea. Grant paid to all authorities in England (in cash terms) is set out as follows. The figures in the table include items such as contributions to the Environment Agency for their work on flood warning including public awareness, catchment flood management plans and the new National Flood and Coastal Defence Database. They exclude supplementary credit approvals for local authorities and grant for projects to manage coastal erosion although significant flood risk benefits often arise from the latter.

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	£ million
1998–99	35.0
1999–2000	34.8
2000–01	34.8
2001–02	57.9
2002–03	78.4
2003–04	80.0

For 2004–05 the total allocation is £137 million but the split between flood defence and coastal erosion is still being considered.

No grant has been paid to Essex County Council although substantial sums have been paid to the Environment Agency and district councils for projects in Essex.

Highways authorities and water companies also have responsibilities for some types of surface water alleviation schemes.

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