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Written Answers to Questions

Monday 15 March 2004

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Community Transport Fund (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many passenger journeys were delivered in a typical month for each of the Community Transport Fund's projects in Essex [160105]

Alun Michael: The purpose of these projects is to test out a variety of approaches to improving access to transport in rural areas. Passenger journeys per month from the four schemes able to provide information are as follows:

Family Support Clacton—average 200 passenger journeys per month

Chelmsford Dial A Ride—average 209 passenger journeys per month

Family Support Brightlingsea—average 460 passenger journeys per month

Epping Forest CVS Project—average of 470 passenger journeys per month.

The other projects are a mixture of research work, driver and volunteer recruitment and lift sharing schemes, or have not yet made any passenger journey figures available to the Countryside Agency.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what options are open to (a) Essex County Council and (b) Castle Point Borough Council for the provision of community and welfare transport for (i) disabled and (ii) elderly people in Castle Point when the current funding scheme expires in April 2005. [160106]

Alun Michael: Following changes to the regulations which will be complete by 1 April 2004, local authorities will be able to support the full range of community and other transport schemes for the disabled and elderly from their own resources, for example, revenue support grant, rural bus subsidy grants and Local Transport Plan funding.

The Countryside Agency's Rural Transport Partnership scheme has proved very successful in showing what can be achieved through local engagement. In the short space of three years it has raised the profile of rural transport issues and shown how much can be achieved by taking an innovative and flexible approach. We look to local authorities to build on this from their mainstream resources.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many bids under the Community Transport Fund in Essex have been (a) granted and (b) rejected; and if she will make a statement. [160107]

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Alun Michael: The Rural Transport Partnership grant scheme is run by the Countryside Agency on behalf of Defra. In Essex 10 bids were awarded grants and one bid was rejected between April 2001 to February 2004.

Unsurfaced Roads

Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions she has had with Her Majesty's Royal Engineers on the maintenance of unsurfaced roads when drafting the consultation paper Use of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles on Rights of Way; and what plans she has to do so during the consultation; [159714]

(3) how much the Highways Agency has spent on the maintenance of unsurfaced byways (a) in 2003–04 and (b) over the last decade; [159716]

(4) how much recreational traffic on unsurfaced roads has changed in the last decade; [159717]

(5) what (a) evidence her Department has collated and (b) investigations it has carried out, on (i) the level of motorcycle use of unsealed roads and (ii) the extent of the damage this has caused; [159718]

(6) whether her Department examined the Hierarchy of Trail Routes in the Lake District National Park and how the scheme could apply to the maintenance of unsurfaced roads when drafting the consultation paper Use of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles on Rights of Way. [159719]

Alun Michael: As set out in the recent consultation paper "The use of mechanically propelled vehicles on rights of way," I consider it inappropriate and unsustainable that historic evidence of use by horse-drawn vehicles or dedications for vehicular use at a time before the internal combustion engine existed can give rise to rights to use modern mechanically propelled vehicles. I have proposed that this should no longer be the case, but that a period of one year might be allowed for the recording of byways open to all traffic based on such evidence. I will consider carefully the responses to these proposals.

As explained in the consultation paper, we intend to revise the advice andguidance on managing the different sorts of traffic on vehicular rights of way in the publication "Making the Best of Byways (1997)". In doing so, we will examine the Hierarchy of Trail Routes in the Lake District National Park and how a similar approach might improve the management of unsurfaced roads elsewhere. We will also look at various techniques for maintaining unsurfaced roads, including those used by Her Majesty's Royal Engineers, which have been applied with some success on the Ridgeway National Trail. The consultation paper invites views on any other ways in which "Making the Best of Byways" might be revised.

Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining rights of way, not the Highways Agency. Information on how much these authorities have spent on the maintenance of unsurfaced byways could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

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We are currently conducting a year-long study of a representative sample of byways open to all traffic, to collect evidence of the level of use of these ways by mechanically propelled vehicles and their surface condition. What is important and what we want to establish, is not how much the volume of traffic has changed, but what it is now and whether it is sustainable.

Batteries

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of used batteries was recycled in the UK in 2003. [159097]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 9 March 2004]: Latest figures (2002) show that 87 per cent. of automotive lead acid batteries in the UK were sent for recycling. The UK has one recycling plant for automotive lead acid batteries. Around 1 per cent. of portable batteries collected in UK are sent to France for recycling.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how her Department is working to ensure that the UK fulfils its obligation under EU law to recycle 45 per cent.of batteries each year. [159098]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 9 March 2004]: Proposals for a new Batteries Directive have only recently been seen and are yet to be negotiated in Europe. As a result, there is currently no EU law that stipulates a target for the collection of batteries. The proposals outline targets for collection of portable batteries of 160 grams per inhabitant per annum. For the UK, this equates to around 45 per cent. of batteries put on the market.

At present, the UK is collecting less than 1 per cent. of household batteries. In anticipation of a collection target, both Defra and the DTI are in talks with those stakeholders affected by the proposal and are looking at ways to secure early participation. This will enable the UK to successfully meet a target for collection within a given timeframe. In addition, both Departments are fully involved in discussions with the European Commission and the European Parliament, to ensure that targets for the collection and recycling of household batteries are challenging but achievable.

GM Crops

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision she has made to ensure that Chardon LL maize will not be added to the National Seed List before arrangements have been made to restrict herbicide use

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on this crop in accordance with the advice of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment and English Nature. [160226]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 9 March 2004]: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Tuesday 9 March 2004.

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether Chardon LL fodder maize has a greater value for cultivation and use than the conventional varieties from which it was bred. [160571]

Mr. Morley: The value for cultivation and use of Chardon LL has not been compared with that of its parental lines or the equivalent non-GM variety. The criterion for addition to the UK National List is that it should, taking its qualities as a whole, represent a clear improvement compared with other forage maize varieties already on the UK List. Chardon has been assessed on this basis and found to meet the performance standards set to indicate a clear improvement.

Nappies

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how her Department is working with the (a) Department of Trade and Industry and (b) retail industry in order to promote the stocking of cotton nappies in order to give parents the choice of types. [159095]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 9 March 2004]: It is for individual retailers to decide on the products that they stock.

I believe there is a wide range of re-usable nappies available both from local suppliers and through the internet. National retailers also stock re-usable nappies.

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