You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Commons Debates by date > Commons Debates - previous sessions > Bound Volume Hansard - Written Answers

 
7 Jul 2004 : Column 685W
 

Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 7 July 2004

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Parliament Square

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Leader of the House if he will ensure that the interests of right hon. and hon. Members are taken into account before any change in (a) traffic flows and (b) accessibility takes place in or near Parliament Square. [182397]

Mr. Hain: If proposals are made which affect access to the Palace of Westminster, I shall certainly make sure that the views of Members are represented.

PRIME MINISTER

Allocation of Time

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister what he estimates the relative ratio of time spent by him on (a) climate change and (b) terrorism-related issues was in the last 12 months. [182862]

The Prime Minister: I spend my time on a wide range of domestic and international issues, including climate change and terrorism.

Gibraltar

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Prime Minister how many times he has spoken to the Chief Minister of Gibraltar over the past 12 months; and what the main issues discussed were. [182811]

The Prime Minister: I have not spoken with the Chief Minister for Gibraltar recently. However, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, met with the Chief Minister during his visit to London between 25 and 27 May this year.

Kyoto

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether it remains UK Government policy to seek to persuade the US Government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. [182860]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member, to the answers I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Dr. Gibson) during my evidence to the Liaison Committee on 6 July.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Aarhus Convention

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on how the civil justice system in England
 
7 Jul 2004 : Column 686W
 
meets the requirements of Article 9(4) of the Aarhus Convention that contracting parties must provide review procedures with adequate and effective remedies, including injunctive relief as appropriate. [180619]

Mr. Morley: The requirements of Article 9(4) of the Convention are reflected in the civil justice system of England and Wales, and in particular the current law governing standing to seek judicial review of administrative action in environmental cases, where adequate and effective remedies, including injunctive relief in appropriate cases, are available.

Pennington Point, Sidmouth

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with officials concerning increasing the funding available for work to Pennington Point in Sidmouth. [182050]

Mr. Morley: The Government are committed to the maintenance and improvement of necessary flood and coastal defences. Total Government funding on flood and coastal defence is projected to rise to £550 million in 2005–06. There have been no recent discussions with officials concerning increasing the funding available for work to Pennington Point in Sidmouth.

I understand that East Devon district council plan to undertake a protection scheme at Pennington Point/Salcombe Hill but that no formal application has yet been made for approval under the Coast Protection Act 1949 as planning permission is still to be granted . To qualify for Defra grant aid, proposals must meet essential criteria and achieve the relevant "priority score".

Radon (Cornwall)

Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions (a) she and (b) her Department have had with Kerrier district council regarding radon levels in the council's area; [181712]

(2) what plans she has to tackle the effects of radon in the Kerrier district council area of Cornwall. [181711]

Mr. Morley: Neither I nor the Secretary of State have had discussions with Kerrier district council regarding radon levels in the council's area. However, Department officials met with council representatives on 4 July 2003 to discuss the development of a local action plan to roll out Defra's radon programme in its district. Representatives from the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) and the Building Research Establishment (BRE) attended that meeting as the organisations engaged by the Department to support the council on implementing the action plan. I wrote to my hon. Friend on 12 September 2003 about the commencement of the plan, and members of the Department, NRPB and BRE have been working closely with Kerrier district council to help to deliver the action plan since then.

Kerrier district council's main actions, supported by the Defra programme, are designed to raise awareness about radon and, in particular, to encourage remedial
 
7 Jul 2004 : Column 687W
 
action in the community. These have included the offer of free radon tests and retests sent to over 31,000 householders living in homes with a greater than 5 per cent. probability of radon levels being at or above the 'Action Level' of 200 becquerels per cubic metre of air (Bq m - 3 ). The council is using a mobile exhibition to visit communities in the district in order to raise awareness and offer advice about radon—its health effects and remedial measures. Familiarisation seminars have also been held specifically for council staff, professionals in the housing sector, and local builders and builders merchants. In addition, a series of advice workshops have been run for householders needing to take action to reduce radon levels, to provide advice and guidance on the type of radon remediation that might be most appropriate for their homes. Both NRPB and BRE have been closely involved in helping the council to carry out these actions.

I am aware of the dwellings in Kerrier recently discovered, through Defra's programme, to have very high radon levels. The Department, Kerrier district council, NRPB and BRE have been liaising to ensure that the owners of these properties have full access to the support available under Defra's programme, enabling prompt action to be taken to remedy the problem.

Once all the results from the radon tests are available, officials will consider the need for another meeting with Kerrier district council, NRPB and BRE to review the work that has been undertaken so far and discuss what further action might reasonably be taken in the light of the results that have been obtained.

Agricultural Subsidy

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the maximum agricultural subsidy paid to one farming concern was in 2003–04. [180125]

Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency is unable to release individual payment details. However, it can confirm that during the 2002–03 European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund year 1 , the most recent year for which figures are available, 11 farming concerns each received total subsidy payments in excess of one million pounds.

Air Transport White Paper

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department of the Sustainable Development Commission's report on the Air Transport White Paper. [181945]

Mr. Morley: The Sustainable Development Commission acts as a critical friend to Government in appraising their performance in delivering sustainable development. Its report on the Government's Air Transport White Paper is a useful contribution to the debate about aviation's role in a sustainable society, and we will consider it carefully with the Department for Transport.

Both the Energy and Air Transport White Papers recognise that the aviation industry must take action to take account of, and where appropriate reduce, its
 
7 Jul 2004 : Column 688W
 
climate change impacts. The Government are open to dialogue with the Commission, along with other stakeholders, on the methods to achieve that.

Business Grants (Rural Areas)

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what total grants (a) are available for and (b) have been claimed by businesses in rural areas in each year since 2001, what the grants were for; and whether they were from (i) UK and (ii) EU sources. [177143]

Alun Michael: This information is not available in the requested format. Business support grants are usually open to all businesses that meet the criteria of the scheme whether they be rural or urban. The data on the take-up of the generic business support grants are not broken down into rural and urban. Information on grant schemes run by Defra is available in the Department's annual reports, on its website, and in other publications.

Next Section Index Home Page