---

15 Nov 2004 : Column 998W—continued

Composting

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether organic material derived from the mechanical biological treatment of compost qualifies as suitable for composting for the purposes of local authority targets. [196812]

Mr. Morley: Only the production of compost which meets the definition stated in Government guidance can count towards Best Value Performance Indicator 82b. This is available from the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/management/guidance/mwms/10.htm. With the standard of current technology it is unlikely that the product of a Mechanical and Biological Treatment process will meet that definition, in which case it would not be permissible for local authorities to count it towards meeting their recycling targets.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria are used to determine whether material produced for composting constitutes controllable waste. [196813]

Mr. Morley: The definition of waste in force in the United Kingdom is the definition in Article 1(a) of the Waste Framework Directive (as amended). Whether or not a substance is discarded as waste, and when waste ceases to be waste, are matters which must be determined on the facts of the case and the interpretation of the law is a matter for the Courts. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued several judgments on the definition of waste which are binding on member states and their "competent authorities".

Composting is classified as a waste recovery operation under the Directive. This means that, in England and Wales, composting must be carried out under the terms of a licence issued by or a licensing exemption registered with the Environment Agency.

The ECJ has ruled that

"..whether [a substance] is waste, must be determined in the light of all the circumstances, regard being had to the aim of the Directive and the need to ensure that its effectiveness is not undermined."

In practice, this means that waste does not cease to be waste until it has been fully recovered within the meaning of the Directive and there is certainty of its use as a product without undergoing a further recovery operation. The Environment Agency considers that (a) source-segregated waste which, after composting, meets a recognised and suitable quality standard (e.g. BSI PAS 100) is likely to meet the first criterion; and (b) mixed waste which is composted is likely to remain waste until it is used in a further recovery operation (e.g. land treatment resulting in agricultural benefit or ecological improvement) subject to control by the Agency under a licence or registered licensing exemption.
 
15 Nov 2004 : Column 999W
 

Consultants/Advisers

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the top 20 consultancy firms by contract value used by her Department in each of the last five years. [196883]

Alun Michael: Consultancy expenditure is part of the Department's expenditure on professional services. As part of its preparations for and implementation of the Gershon value for money agenda in Defra, a detailed analysis of departmental expenditure on professional services is being undertaken currently, and I will place a copy of the analysis in the House of Commons Library in due course.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much expenditure her Department has incurred in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004 to date on employing external consultants; and if she will make a statement. [196386]

Alun Michael: Consultancy expenditure is part of the Department's expenditure on professional services. As part of its preparations for and implementation of the Gershon value for money agenda in Defra, a detailed analysis of departmental expenditure on professional services is being undertaken and I will place a copy of the analysis in the House of Commons Library in due course.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the contracts awarded by her Department to external consultants in each of the last seven years, stating in each case (a) the name of the consulting company, (b) the value of the contract, (c) the purpose for which the contract was awarded and (d) whether the contract was completed. [196690]

Alun Michael: Defra came into being in June 2001. The information requested is not held centrally.

nsultancy expenditure is part of the Department's expenditure on professional services. As part of its preparations for and implementation of the Gershon value for money agenda in Defra, a detailed analysis of departmental expenditure on professional services is being undertaken currently, and I will place a copy of the analysis in the Library of the House in due course.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) maximum rate per day paid to private sector consultants and professional advisers employed within her Department, (b) average rate per day paid to consultants and professional advisers employed within her Department and (c) average rate per day paid to civil servants employed by her Department is in 2004–05. [197188]

Alun Michael: The average rate per day paid to civil servants employed by the Department is £75 per day if the average salary is divided by 365 days. The rate is £105 if the average salary is divided by the number of working days (including leave and public holidays for which civil servants are paid). These figures refer to permanent staff in core Defra.
 
15 Nov 2004 : Column 1000W
 

The maximum rate and average rate per day paid for externally provided professional services within the Department are being calculated currently as part of a detailed analysis of expenditure on professional services, of which consultancy is a part.

Comparing rates for externally provided professional services with rates per day paid to civil servants is misleading as the professional services rates include a variety of overheads including the need to make a commercial return. Overheads for directly-employed staff are allowed for elsewhere in the Department's budget.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the use of private sector consultants and professional advisers employed by her Department are subject to external audit. [197227]

Alun Michael: All public expenditure on goods, services and works are subject to audit by departmental auditors, the National Audit Office, the European Commission's auditors and various other Government and public bodies having regulatory and investigative functions connected with the probity and propriety of public expenditure.

Information given to auditors would be available to Ministers if required subject only to consideration by Defra's Audit and Risk Committee, which is chaired by the Permanent Secretary as Defra's Accounting Officer.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost of processing (a) a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species import licence, (b) an Article 10 certificate, (c) a licence under the Balai Directive and (d) a Dangerous Wild Animals licence was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [196414]

Mr. Morley: The average cost of processing CITES and Article 10 certificate applications in the financial year 2002–03 was £120 (this figure includes import, export and re-export applications).

Approval of a premises under the Balai Directive is dealt with on an individual basis. The average cost to the Department for an approval is £500.

The Department does not hold detailed information on the cost of processing Dangerous Wild Animal Act licences as this licensing function is carried out at local authority level. Licence fees are set by each local authority at a level sufficient to cover its costs.

Countryside Agency

Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether, in appointing a new head of the Countryside Agency, shortlisted candidates were asked their views on (a) field sports and (b) hunting. [193354]

Alun Michael: The interviews of shortlisted candidates for appointment to the Chair of the Countryside Agency were based on the advertised criteria. These included a strong grasp of the challenges facing rural England and the English countryside and evidence of a strong
 
15 Nov 2004 : Column 1001W
 
commitment to the English countryside and the social and economic well-being of rural society, as well as the ability and experience to lead an organisation such as the Countryside Agency. Candidates were not asked their views on field sports and hunting because these matters are nothing to do with the Agency's core business.

---