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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 27 October 2004

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Carbon Sinks

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is on carbon sinks; and what provision the UK can make in this area. [192999]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 21 October 2004]: The UK is committed under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to protect and enhance carbon sinks and reservoirs. In order to fulfil this commitment we are expanding the forest estate under the Forest Strategies and policies of the Devolved Administrations. We are doing this in a manner that will provide multiple public benefits including a positive contribution to climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration.

The Government is also committed to protect soil functions, including maintenance of organic matter levels, via the provisions on soil conservation in the reformed Common Agricultural Policy, and to the development of policies to protect existing stocks of carbon in soil organic matter in England, as described in further detail within the first Soil Action Plan for England, published earlier this year and available on the Defra website (www.defra.gov.uk/environment/land/soil/pdf/soilactionplan.pdf).

Convention on Trade in Endangered Species

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 11 October 2004, Official Report, column 89W, on CITES, if she will break down the numbers of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. [193438]

Mr. Morley: The information can only be found at disproportionate cost.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if her Department will support the proposed ban under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on the international trade in lion trophies and skins. [189896]

Mr. Morley: I am not aware of a proposal before CITES to ban international trade in lion trophies and skins. At the CITES 13th Conference of Parties, which has recently concluded in Bangkok, Thailand, the Government of Kenya had proposed that the African lion be uplisted to Appendix I. The Government, in common with other EU member states, had an open position on this proposal pending exploration of the
 
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scope for an agreed solution among range States. During the course of the CITES Conference, after discussions with other range states the Government of Kenya withdrew the proposal, noting that there was no regional consensus on the issue and that discussions were under way for convening regional workshops on lion management for which the UK has offered financial support.

Lions

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will examine ways of protecting lions in West and Central Africa. [189897]

Mr. Morley: The UK is taking action in many ways to conserve lions in West and Central Africa, particularly through our active participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Lions and other endangered species are generally protected by national law in all the countries they inhabit; they are also protected internationally by regulation of trade under CITES. Through the UK's contributions to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) we are helping developing countries and countries with economies in transition to meet their obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity and to implement their own wildlife protection measures and those required under CITES. In addition the Darwin Initiative, funded by Defra, supports projects which help countries rich in biodiversity but poor in resources to protect their biodiversity and use it sustainably. Since its launch in 1992 it has funded over 300 projects in 100 countries, including granting two three year grants for work on 'Big Cat Conservation and Sustainable Management in Southern Africa'. The output from this project informed a decision by the South African Government to reduce lion hunting quotas. At the recent CITES meeting in Bangkok I announced a contribution of £30,000 to help set up workshops in Africa to gather information on lion management.

Environment Agency

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff the Environment Agency has, broken down by (a) function and (b) region. [192300]

Mr. Morley: The Environment Agency has 11,060 staff and the breakdown is as follows:
(a) Environment Agency staff broken down by function

Number
Central Administration279
Flood Defence4,071
Water Resources1,233
Environmental Protection3,752
Fisheries499
Recreation and Conservation189
Navigation109
Other activities (mainly central professional services)928
Total11,060



Note:
'Central administration' is defined as Head Office Finance, Human Resources, Facilities, Operational Co-ordination, Payroll and other exchequer services and Audit. 'Other Activities' comprise mainly Corporate Information Systems, National Laboratory Service, Legal, Estates and Procurement.



 
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(b) Environment Agency staff broken down by region

Number
Anglian1,311
Midlands1,172
North east982
North west1,122
Southern839
South west1,052
Thames1,475
Wales964
National staff (all regions)2,143
Total11,060



Note:
'National staff' include Corporate Head Office, national service groups such as Corporate Information Services and Flood Defence contract management, process management teams and operational teams undertaking work on behalf of all regions.


Environmental Offences

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) prosecutions, (b) cautions and (c) enforcement notices there have been in each year since 1999 for offences related to (i) process industry regulations, (ii) radioactive substances regulation, (iii) waste, (iv) water quality, (v) water resources, (vi) flood defences, (vii) fisheries and (viii) navigation as recorded in the National Enforcement Database (A) in total and (B) broken down by region. [192316]

Mr. Morley: I will place in the Library of the House material answering this question. The 1999 report covers the period from April 1 only as this was when the data base was begun. The 2004 report covers the period to mid October.

Flood Protection

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money has been spent on flood protection measures in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) City of York in each of the last 10 years. [191300]

Mr. Morley: The total capital expenditure in each of the last 10 years on flood defence measures in the Environment Agency's Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee area and local authorities areas in Yorkshire and the Humber are as follows:
£000




Financial year
EA regional capital expenditure for Yorkshire and HumberLocal authority capital expenditure
in Yorkshire and Humber
1994–957,932217
1995–9611,667517
1996–9712,14813
1997–9810,795531
1998–9911,793228
1999–200012,89085
2000–0114,505
2001–0219,969653
2002–0330,405
2003–0425,675455
Total157,7792,699

 
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Total capital expenditure in each of the last 10 years for flood defence measures in the City of York is given as follows:
£000

Financial yearEA capital expenditure in the City of York
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–9825
1998–99135
1999–200025
2000–01
2001–02400
2002–03
2003–04100
Total685

Government Grants (Buckingham)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people in the Buckingham constituency have received funding from the (a) rural enterprise scheme, (b) processing and marketing grants scheme and (c) vocational training scheme since their introduction, indicating the level of funding received from each scheme. [189854]

Alun Michael: Since the inception of the England Rural Development Programme five awards of grant have been made to people in the constituency of Buckingham.

The awards of grant have all been made under the Rural Enterprise Scheme and total £232,652. The projects themselves encompass an Environmental Interpretation Centre for use by the general public (located in the ward of Brill) an on-farm bed and breakfast business along the 'Jubilee Way' (also in Brill) to an on-farm fishing lake in the ward of Stewkley and a barn conversion to offices in Buckingham north.

No grants have been made in the constituency from the Processing and Marketing Grant Scheme and the Vocational Training Scheme.


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