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Parrett Catchment Project

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what proposed timetable she has been given for the Parrett sluice; [161885]

(2) what recent submissions she has received concerning the Parrett Catchment Project. [161886]

Mr. Morley: We have not been given a timetable for the Parrett Sluice.

The Environment Agency are currently investigating and developing options for flood risk mitigation in Bridgewater. Until all options have been evaluated it will not be possible to propose a valid timetable for the Parrett Sluice.

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As to submissions, we received a report on the Parrett Catchment Project in January 2003. Most recently, the Parrett Catchment Project submitted a response to each of the three phases of public consultation run as part of the agri-environment schemes review, a major review of agri-environment schemes in England. In their most recent submission, dated 8 December 2003, they welcomed the inclusion of flood management as a secondary objective of the new Higher Level Scheme that will replace the current Countryside Stewardship and Environmentally Sensitive Areas Schemes; and made a series of detailed comments on the options. We are still evaluating these.

Sea Birds

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to ratify the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels; and if she will make a statement. [163558]

Mr. Morley: The UK will ratify this Agreement on 2 April.

Secondments

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what secondments (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young and (d) KPMG have made to her Department since 2001; for what (i) periods and (ii) tasks the secondments were made; whether secondments of staff from her Department have been made to those firms; and for what (A) periods and (B) tasks. [156916]

Alun Michael: Since 2001 no secondments have been made to Defra from the companies shown at (a) to (d) in the question, nor were there any secondments to those companies.

Sewerage

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will place in the Library a copy of the W.S. Atkins' research into the scale and problems of private sewers; [162889]

(2) if she will make a statement on the steps taken since the end of the consultation period on the scale and problem of private sewers and drains in England and Wales. [162890]

Mr. Morley: The research on private sewers carried out by W. S. Atkins, was contained in our consultation paper published in July 2003. A copy of that consultation paper, together with a summary of responses, has already been placed in the Library.

Since the consultation period ended, we have analysed responses and worked with stakeholders to identify the issues which will need to be resolved before a decision on the way forward can be made. We intend to publish our findings in early summer.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the total amount of solid waste which entered the sewage network in England and Wales in 2003, broken down by (a) household and (b) other sources. [162891]

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Mr. Morley: Information on the total amount of solid waste entering the sewerage network in England and Wales is not collected for regulatory purposes. Ofwat obtains information on the total actual sewage from the ten water and sewerage companies in England and Wales. Aggregate figures for 2002–03 are as follows:

Sewage—Volumes	Megalitres per day
Uunmeasured household sewage	6,468
Unmeasured non-household sewage	167
Unmeasured sewage	(1)6,635
Measured domestic sewage	2849
Trade effluent	757
Waste water returned	(2)10,242

⁽¹⁾ This is the sum of unmeasured household and non-household sewage.

⁽²⁾ This is the sum of unmeasured sewage, measured domestic sewage and trade effluent.

Volume	Megalitres
Septic tank waste	1,343
Cesspool waste	940

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of flooding have occurred in the last three years where raw sewage was involved in the contamination of people's homes and property; and if she will make a statement. [162892]

Mr. Morley: The Director General of the Office of Water Services has provided the following figures.

	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
	Number of incidents
Overloaded sewers (hydraulic)	3,946	2,468	2,809
Other causes	4,213	3,116	3,219
Total	8,159	5,584	6,028
Number of properties
Overloaded sewers (hydraulic)	3,228	2,108	2,318
Other causes	3,875	2,849	3,009
Total	7,103	4,957	(3)5,327

⁽³⁾ Of these nearly 1,100 resulted from heavy summer storms that affected the north of England and for 1,159 properties the flooding affected only uninhabited cellars.

Notes:

1. Hydraulic causes: primarily a lack of capacity in the sewerage network.

2. Other causes: include blockage, collapse etc.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the (a) cost and (b) environmental impact per volume of sewerage from (i) main sewers, (ii) unadopted sewers, (iii) private sewers, (iv) septic tanks and (v) other non-sewer network-based systems for sewerage disposal; and if she will make a statement. [162896]

Mr. Morley: Information on sewage disposal/treatment costs has been acquired during the W.S. Atkins research into existing private sewers and drains in England and Wales. The information obtained was mainly in relation to operational data i.e. maintenance and repair costs. W.S. Atkins has suggested that private treatment facilities would on

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average cost more per property per year to properly maintain than if the property was connected directly to a public sewer. If private treatment facilities are not properly maintained then there is a potential for them to cause pollution of their surrounding environment. In such cases, applications can be made under Section 101Aof the Water Industry Act 1991 for connection to the public sewer network.

The Environment Agency (EA) regulates many activities that have an impact on the environment, including those that have the potential to cause pollution of water. In this respect, the EA has responsibility under the Water Resources Act 1991 (WRA) for the regulation of discharges to controlled waters through the consenting system. If there is no consent, or consents are breached by causing or knowingly permitting any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter to enter controlled waters, this is an offence and the polluter is liable to prosecution under the WRA 1991.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the current state of sewerage infrastructure, including the (a) physical extent of the maintenance and repair backlog and (b) expected cost of these repairs. [162897]

Mr. Morley: I am informed by the Director General of Water Services, that the current serviceability of the sewerage network is stable.

Sewerage companies are under a statutory duty under section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991, enforceable by the Secretary of State or the Director General of Water Services, to ensure the effectual drainage of their area.

Sewerage Undertakers will shortly be submitting to the Director General of Water Services, final business plans for the period of 2005–10. These plans will include capital maintenance to maintain the serviceability of their assets, and to sustain levels of service to their customers. The draft business plans submitted by the companies in August 2003 propose costs of £1.2 billion to maintain sewerage infrastructure in the period 2005–10.

Sheep Tagging

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the (a) usefulness and (b) costs of sheep tagging; and if she will make a statement. [163571]

Alun Michael: Eartags are an important means of identification for sheep. They allow the holding on which an animal was born and where it has moved from to be identified. This is important when dealing with the tracing and control of animal disease.

The Department produced a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) to look at the costs involved with implementing EU proposals on sheep and goat identification which was lodged in the House Library. EU Regulation 21/2004 was adopted in December and the Department will be producing a further RIA on the new EU requirements before they are implemented in July 2005.

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