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10 Nov 2003 : Column 10W—continued
Printer Cartridges
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the change in waste to UK landfills of excluding printer cartridges from the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive; and if she will make a statement. [135888]
Mr. Morley: The Government have not undertaken an assessment on the change in waste to UK landfills as a result of not including printer cartridges in the scope of the WEEE Directive. The Directive applies to whole products placed on to the market and not to individual components, sub-assemblies or consumables, such as printer cartridges.
There are currently a large number of businesses which refill printer cartridges, and the Government would like to see this continue. Further, cartridges which are in a printer at the time it is discarded will have to be reused or recycled.
Recycling Plants
Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether licences have been issued to recycling plants before validation of plants has been completed. [133306]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 30 October 2003]: Yes. Licences for all such plant are issued before validation, so that the plant may store fridges at the site, and abide by the duty of care. However, validation is required before the plant can begin fridge reprocessing.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what reviews have been undertaken in each of the last three years of renewable energy schemes in Cambridgeshire; and what the associated cost to public funds was of the reviews. [134871]
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Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
During 1999, Government Offices were asked to facilitate the production of studies into the potential for generation of renewable energy in their region. For the East of England, the findings were made available towards the end of 2000. The cost of professional assistance for the Region as a whole was about £50,000, but it is not realistic to apportion this across the six counties concerned.
Subsequently, Government Offices were invited to bid for monies for a two year period from March 2002 to raise awareness and activity on renewable energy generation with special reference to the planning system. For the East of England, the sum involved is around £250,000, with other matched funds, but again this cannot be taken down to county level.
Rural Services
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when Lord Haskins' report on reform of Government delivery of rural services will be made public; and if she will make a statement. [137120]
Alun Michael: Lord Haskins was asked to review the way the Government delivers its rural policy. We have recently received his report and are considering his recommendations carefully. We intend to publish the report, and the Government's interim response to it, shortly.
Sewerage
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to introduce first time sewerage schemes in rural areas. [136279]
Mr. Morley: Sewerage undertakers have a statutory duty to provide, improve and extend their public sewer network. It is a matter for each sewerage company to decide on its programme of work in relation to this duty.
Companies have submitted their draft business plans for 2005–10 to the Office of Water Services (Ofwat). It was open to companies to include costed proposals to extend or improve their sewerage network, these could also include first time sewerage schemes. Ofwat will examine their plans, and decide the appropriate revenue requirement, having taken advice from other stakeholders, particularly the Environment Agency, for companies when it sets price limits in 2004.
Ofwat have published a summary of companies' proposals and the issues that arise from these plans. It will publish its draft determination in July 2004 for consultation before making its final decisions in November 2004.
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from Hambledon and Wormley residents concerning recent statements by Southern Water on first time sewerage schemes. [136280]
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Mr. Morley: The Department has received no recent representations from Hambledon and Wormley residents concerning recent statements by Southern Water on first time sewerage schemes.
Animal Welfare
Mr. Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live sheep have been exported from the United Kingdom since 1 February for (a) slaughter and (b) further fattening. [135929]
Mr. Bradshaw: The total number of live sheep certified for export from Great Britain since 1 February 2003 is shown in the following table. These figures are derived from the computer system used to issue export health certificates and are subject to updating and amendment. The figures for sheep certified for export from Northern Ireland will follow shortly.
| Country of destination | Breeding | Fattening | Slaughter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Denmark | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| France | 912 | 16,664 | 0 |
| Germany | 28 | 24 | 0 |
| Ireland | 54 | 0 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 72 | 5,506 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Isle of Man | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Oman | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Helena | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1,199 | 22,194 | 0 |
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to reject the draft Regulation on the Transportation of Animals unless it allows the United Kingdom (a) to continue to enforce the Minimum Values legislation and (b) to refuse to permit live equines to be exported for slaughter; and if she will make a statement. [136106]
Mr. Bradshaw: Defra are playing a full role in the discussions in Brussels on the draft proposals on the transport of animals. We are reviewing the options available to us to achieve controls that are similar in effect to those in our current rules.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the progress the Government have made in ensuring that the welfare of (a) equines and (b) livestock will be improved in the Regulation on the Transportation of Animals. [136109]
Mr. Bradshaw: We are playing a full role in the discussion in Brussels on these draft proposals which are likely to come before the Council of Ministers in December.
Water Industry
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the changes in the overall environmental impact of water consumption by (a) consumers and (b) industry since 1997; and what measures are being taken to reduce consumption. [136113]
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Mr. Morley: The Environment Agency has a duty to secure the proper use of water resources, ensuring that a balance is maintained between the needs of water consumers and the environment. Between 1997 and 2003, household water use remained fairly stable at about 8,600 Megalitres per day, whilst non-household use fell from 4320 to 3823 Megalitres per day. The Government undertakes a range of activities to encourage sustainable water use. The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations were introduced in 1999 and set the maximum water consumption of certain domestic fittings and appliances. The Envirowise programme provides practical environmental advice to businesses to help reduce their water consumption, and the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme has recently been extended to include designated water efficient technologies. Water companies have been set annual leakage targets since 1998 and are also under a statutory duty to promote the efficient use of water by their customers.
Wild Birds (Imports)
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) on how many occasions the importation of wild caught birds has been stopped and enforcement action taken in the last five years; [135819]
- (2) how many people have been successfully prosecuted under existing (a) international and (b) UK regulations for the illegal importation of wild caught (i) parrots and (ii) other birds in the last five years for which figures are available. [135821]
Mr. Morley: For the period in question, one person has been successfully prosecuted for the illegal importation of parrots, and two people for the illegal importation of birds of prey. The prosecutions were for international import offences under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.
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