| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
19 Apr 2004 : Column 151W—continued
Secondments
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the secondees from outside organisations presently working in her Department, stating in each case (a) the name of the person, (b) the name of the organisation, (c) the post held and (d) the start and finish dates of the secondment, and indicating which are involved in drafting parliamentary answers. [158051]
19 Apr 2004 : Column 152W
Alun Michael: The following table details the secondees currently working in this Department and the other information requested.
The term "secondee" refers to a person "borrowed" from an organisation outside the Civil Service for a period of between three months and three years (exceptionally five years), without affecting employment status. During the secondment period the secondee remains an employee of the parent organisation but is expected to abide by the Defra Staff Handbook and the Official Secrets Act. Secondees are expected to undertake the full range of duties attached to the post, including the provision of drafts for PQs if required.
At the end of the secondment the secondee would return to the parent organisation.
19 Apr 2004 : Column 153W
Sewerage
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the population in England and Wales has access to (a) mains sewage systems, (b) unadopted sewers, (c) private sewers and (d) septic tanks, broken down by local authority. [162895]
Mr. Morley: Estimates of the number of properties served by various types of sewerage system vary. The W.S. Atkins research found that:
(a) Approximately 90 per cent. of the properties in England and Wales have access to mains sewerage.
(b) Assuming 'unadopted sewers' mean all private sewers i.e. they are not adopted by the relevant sewerage undertaker then 40 per cent. of properties connect to public sewers via unadopted sewers.
(c) Assuming 'private sewers' means sewers which connect to a private treatment facility i.e. not part of the public system—then 10 per cent. of properties are estimated to be connected to completely private systems. This includes those connected to private treatment facilities, septic tanks and cesspools.
(d) No data are available on the number of properties with septic tank.
Information expressed as a proportion of the population is not available and neither is information available broken down by local authority areas.
Sturgeon
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations her Department made to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species with regard to the spring hunt for sturgeon in the Caspian Sea. [165251]
Mr. Morley: The Department did not make any direct representations on this issue when it was discussed at the 50th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, held in Geneva on 15–19 March. However, we did support the recommendation that the CITES Secretariat should continue to monitor permits issued for the export or re-export of caviar to ensure that any frauds or forgeries were identified quickly. This view was fully supported by the other EU member states and duly conveyed to the Standing Committee by Germany on their behalf.
Thames Barrier
Norman Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the
19 Apr 2004 : Column 154W
occasions on which the Thames Barrier has been closed in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate she has made of the number of occasions when it will be closed in (a) 2010, (b) 2020, (c) 2050 and (d) 2100. [165740]
Mr. Morley: The Thames Barrier is closed to protect London from high water levels in the River Thames resulting from tidal surge conditions in combination with high freshwater flows in the river following rainfall over the Thames catchment. The Barrier closures may be characterised as predominantly tidal-influenced (T) or predominantly rainfall/fluvial-influenced (F). Over the last 10 years the Thames Barrier has been closed to prevent flooding during the winter flood season (generally October to April) on 67 occasions as follows:
1994–95: 4 (T=2, F=2)
1995–96: 4 (T=4, F=0)
1996–97: 1 (T=1, F=0)
1997–98: 1 (T=1, F=0)
1998–99: 2 (T=2, F=0)
1999–2000: 6 (T=3, F=3)
2000–01: 24 (T=16, F=8)
2001–02: 4 (T=3,F=1)
2002–03: 20 (T=8, F=12)
2003–04: 1 (T=1, F=0)
Forecasting the frequency of closure of the Thames Barrier in the future depends on two principal factors:
(a) The impacts of climate change on sea and river levels—based on the climate change scenarios currently available; and
(b) The extent to which these levels may be reduced by other flood risk management measures used within the Thames Estuary in conjunction with operation of the Thames Barrier.
Depending on the balance of factors described above, The Environment Agency's early studies indicate estimated frequency of closures as follows:
2010: 10—20 closures per year
2020: 20—35 closures per year
2050: 6*—75 closures per year
2100: 30*—325 closures per year
The lower figure for each year indicates the best predicted outcome based on lowest climate change scenario impacts and maximum use of flood management mitigation measures implemented from 2030 (shown by *). The higher figure for each year indicates the worst potential outcome based on
19 Apr 2004 : Column 155W
maximum climate change predicted impacts with no additional flood management mitigation measures implemented from 2030.
The Environment Agency is currently planning for the future of flood risk management within the Thames Estuary and has for this purpose established a project called Thames Estuary 2100 based at the Thames Barrier. The purpose of the project is to produce a flood risk management plan for the tidal part of the Thames Estuary covering the next 100 years.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |