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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 17 December 2003

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service

Mr. Stringer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will provide figures for 2002 for civil service numbers, in the format of box 2.6 of the White Paper, "Your Region Your Choice", column 5511. [143766]

Mr. Alexander: The following table shows the number of permanent civil servants at 1 April 2002 in the format of box 2.6 of the White Paper, "Your Region Your Choice".

Location of permanent civil service staff in the English regions—2002

Number
London86,790
South East57,330
South West48,240
East of England28,770
East Midlands20,600
West Midlands31,910
Yorkshire and the Humber35,050
North West57,440
North East29,940
England total396,070

Note:

Figures given include non-industrial and industrial staff and are full-time equivalents.

Source:

Cabinet Office, Civil Service Statistics 2002.


ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evaluation she has made of the European Commission proposal for a Council Directive (Euratom) on the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste (COM(2003)32). [142371]

Mr. Morley: The Government's views on the European Commission's proposed Directive were set out in Explanatory Memorandum 8990/03, a copy of which is in the Library. We remain opposed to the draft Directive and, jointly with Sweden and Finland, we have tabled an alternative text for a non-legally binding measure on spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management.

Big Conversation

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what visits (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department (i) have made and (ii) plan to make using public funds in

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connection with the Big Conversation; how many civil servants accompanied each Minister in respect of such visits; what the cost to public funds was of visits by (A) each Minister and (B) civil servants in connection with the Big Conversation; and if she will make a statement. [143164]

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 9 December 2003, Official Report, column 355W.

Chlorofluorocarbons

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of chlorofluorocarbons had been converted into inert substances as of 1 October. [142596]

Mr. Morley: Since the implementation of EC Regulation 2037/2000, the total quantity of CFCs converted into inert substances are:

Tonnes
2000 (from October)38
2001197
2002386
2003 (to October)352

Total amount converted into inert substances since the implementation of the Regulation is 973 tonnes.

Committee on Industry, External Trade,Research and Energy

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evaluation she has made of the report 0022/2003(CNS) for the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, dated 24 September, by Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca MEP; and if she will make a statement on the recent recommendations of that committee on the proposals in so far as they affect United Kingdom policy. [142452]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 16 December 2003]: The report referred to by my hon. Friend is an early draft of the European Parliament's Opinion on a proposed Directive on the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. The final version was issued on 1 December 2003, reference A5–0442/2003.

The Government shares the European Parliament's opposition to the draft Directive. Our views are set out in Explanatory Memorandum 8990/03, a copy of which is in the Library. Proposals for developing a policy for the long-term management of solid radioactive waste in the UK were consulted on in 2001. The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management has now been established to assess all of the options and to make recommendations to Government.

Emissions Trading

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on schemes for emissions trading which are

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compliant with EU legislation on emissions trading, with particular reference to the (a) energy and (b) aviation sectors. [143060]

Mr. Morley: The EU Emissions Trading Scheme is due to start in 2005 and will cover carbon dioxide emissions from certain industrial activities throughout the EU, including from the power generation sector. The UK is on course to meet the deadline of the end of the year to introduce the Regulations that will implement this scheme in the UK.

The first phase of the scheme runs from 2005 to 2007. The scheme can be expanded in future phases to include other gases and industrial sectors. The European Commission is required to report to the European Parliament and Council by June 2006 on, inter alia, how and whether the scheme should be expanded to other sectors, including transport.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what studies the Government has made of (a) nitrogen oxides and (b) sulphur oxides trading schemes in those countries where such a scheme is operating. [143280]

Mr. Morley: The Government are aware of a number of emissions trading schemes around the world, including those covering nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides such as the US Acid Rain Programme and the RECLAIM programme for nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide emissions in the Los Angeles basin. The consultants that worked on the UK's National Allocation Plan for the EU Emissions Trading Scheme had previously studied these programmes in the US.

Defra is currently drafting the implementing regulations for the EU ETS and while doing so officials have assessed emissions trading schemes in other countries, including those mentioned above, to find examples of best practice in other schemes.

Fisheries

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many speeches have been made by each Minister in her Department since 1 January on fisheries, excluding fresh water fishing, and what percentage this represents of the total number of ministerial speeches made by her Department's ministers in that time. [142727]

Margaret Beckett: Since 1 January, three formal speeches on fisheries issues have been given by Defra Ministers, and represent just under 3 per cent. of the total number of Ministerial speeches made on the Departments areas of responsibility, which also include: sustainable development; the environment (i.e. all water issues, air quality, local environment including noise, waste, climate change, biodiversity, energy efficiency and fuel poverty); all agriculture, including GM; food and rural affairs.

Flood Defences

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money was invested in flood defence schemes in the Yorkshire and Humber region in each of the past five years. [143306]

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Mr. Morley: Defra provides grant aid to the flood and coastal defence operating authorities to support their capital schemes to reduce flood risk. These projects must meet specified criteria and an appropriate priority score to attract Defra funding but decisions regarding which projects to promote and their timing rest with these authorities. The principal operating authority for flood risk is the Environment Agency (EA) but local authorities (LAs) and, in areas with special drainage needs, internal drainage boards (IDBs) also carry out works on a much smaller scale overall.

Investment in flood defence schemes in Yorkshire and Humber was as set out in the table. For the Agency, this represents their total capital expenditure; for LAs and IDBs the figures represent grant payments from Defra which form a proportion of the total grant eligible cost (25 per cent. (45 per cent. for tidal or sea defence schemes) up to April 2001 and 45 per cent. thereafter). Local authorities are eligible for further support for their balance of grant costs from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister through its local authority funding mechanism.

£000s

YearEALAs and IDBs
1998–998,368125
1999–20008,320196
2000–019,10874
2001–0215,482733
2002–0323,733577

Note:

Maintenance and running costs for existing defences are incurred in addition to the above sums


Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance has been given to local authorities in receipt of DEFRA funding for coastal and inland flood protection projects on the use of timber from legal and sustainable sources; and if she will make a statement. [142229]

Mr. Morley: On 28 July 2000 the then Environment Minister, the right hon. Michael Meacher, announced the Government's policy that central departments and their agencies will actively seek to procure timber and timber products from sources independently validated as legal and sustainably managed. Mr. Meacher also wrote to all English Local Authorities in 2002 exhorting them to adopt responsible timber procurement policies.

Concern over the use of tropical hardwoods was identified in the mid 1990s. In 1994 the Chief Engineer of the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, a predecessor of this Department, wrote to Maritime District Councils to encourage them to consider the use of alternative materials and to procure timber from well-managed and sustainable sources.

The Department's Flood Management Division also organises an annual conference that is well attended by local government representatives. One of the papers in this year's conference was 'Responsible Use of Timber in Coastal and Fluvial Engineering' which covered the selection and procurement of timber and made the government position clear.

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