Fourth Report of the Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs Committee
The Water Framework Directive (HC 130-I)
Session 2002-03
Published 19 March 2003
Government Reply:
Sixth Special Report (HC 749)
Session 2002-03
Published 10 June 2003
Recommendation: The scale of the task involved
in achieving good ecological status in our waters is not yet known.
Response: The Government will publish a revised
overall assessment of the costs of implementing this Directive
later this year.
Has this revised assessment been made? When
will it be published?
The Government published a partial revision of the
estimated costs of implementing the Directive in August 2003.
In particular it updated the estimates of costs to agriculture.
Defra is currently finalising the RIA to update overall
costs. The assessment will be published online and will accompany
the Regulations when they are laid before Parliament.
A general update on progress made in implementing
the Directive would be welcomed by the Committee.
The Government published in August a third consultation
paper including draft transposing regulations. The full text of
the consultation paper, including the RIA, is at http://defraweb/corporate/consult/waterframe3/consultdoc.pdf
Defra is working closely with the Environment Agency
(EA) on all aspects of implementation, as the competent authority
in England and Wales.
The EA continues its work on river basin characterisation
which entails the identification of River Basin Districts and
associated water body categories, types and reference conditions.
A draft register of protected areas for each river basin district
is also being established. For each district the significant pressures
and impacts in catchments and the risk of failing the objectives
for water bodies are being identified. It is planned that draft
reports will be available for public review during September 2004.
The Ribble Pilot was launched in June of this year
and is managed by the EA. The pilot will have two key phases of
work:
- Testing of the Common Implementation Strategy
(CIS) on the 'Planning Process' and 'Public Participation'. This
will be completed by July 2004.
- Preparation of a prototype River Basin Management
Plan and Programme of Measures for the Ribble Basin by May 2007.
The pilot is working closely with regional stakeholders
to explore methods and techniques for engaging regional and local
stakeholders in the river basin planning process. Key stakeholders,
including regional representatives for business, industry, wildlife,
environmental and farming organisations, are closely involved
in the development of the pilot project. The prototype plan will
be finalised as part of the draft River Basin Management Plan
and Programme of Measures for the North West River Basin District.
The UK continues to vigorously engage at European
level in the EU's Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) working
groups especially with Working Group 2.A "Ecological Status"
where the UK co-leads and on the preparation of a joint UK/France/Commission
paper on the assessment of the Recovery of Costs for Water Services
which comes under the auspices of the CIS Drafting Group "Eco
1", a strand of Working Group 2b "Integrated River Basin
Management".
The WFD National Stakeholder Group (covering England)
has met most recently on 22 May and 8 October where stakeholders
have been updated on progress and asked for comments and feedback
on how implementation is progressing. Similar stakeholder groups
are being organised in Scotland. The WFD Inter-Departmental Steering
Group (ISG) which ensures a cross-UK and cross- departmental approach
to the Directive met most recently on 9 October.
Defra and the EA have jointly appointed a communications
consultancy to develop a WFD Communications Strategy for England
at the request of the WFD Stakeholder Communications Sub-Group.
The consultant made a presentation and sought initial views at
the most recent Communications Sub-Group Meeting on 8 October
where stakeholders broadly supported the objectives for the strategy
including the plans to maximise stakeholder involvement through
a series of interviews and workshops. The strategy is to be finalised
by the end of 2003 and will inform how Defra/EA communicate their
messages on WFD to key audiences over the next 2-3 years.
Parallel work on the public participation requirements
of the Directive (Article 14) is also in progress. The EA is aiming
to consult on the draft strategy by the end of 2004. Pilot studies
using public participation techniques across the UK and Europe
(including the Ribble) will help inform this work.
* * *
Sixth Report of the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs Committee
Rural Payments Agency (HC 382)
Session 2002-03
Published 8 April 2003
Government Reply:
Seventh Special Report (HC 830)
Session 2002-03
Published 24 June 2003
Recommendation: We welcome the prospect that new
means of electronic delivery will simplify IACS forms. However,
we are not yet fully persuaded that RPA is treating simplification
of such forms with sufficient urgency. The matter should now be
given the highest priority.
Response: RPA will test new form designs with
customers and incorporate their views.
Have new forms been developed and tested with
customers? What has been customer reaction?
Since we responded to the Committee on Recommendation
4, the CAP Reform package has been agreed and RPA has re-assessed
priorities for its Change Programme. As a result the RPA's modernisation
programme will now concentrate on the development of the new Single
Integrated Payments Scheme (SIPS) to be implemented from 1 January
2005. As we acknowledged in our earlier response, we will test
new form designs with customers and incorporate their views.
Legacy systems will therefore operate for one additional
year based on existing forms and IT systems. When developing
forms for the final years of the schemes, we will adopt the same
approach as taken with SIPS and involve customers in the testing
of any changes to form design. Our aim continues to be to make
the process as simple as possible
* * *
Seventh Report of the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs Committee
Badgers and Bovine TB (HC 432)
Session 2002-03
Published 9 April 2003
Government Reply:
Eighth Special Report (HC 831)
Session 2002-03
Published 24 June 2003
Recommendation: We welcome in principle the proposal
to use 'lay' testers to clear the backlog of outstanding tests.
We therefore recommend that the Government publish more detailed
proposals about the qualifications it will require, taking into
account the views of particularly the veterinary profession.
Response: The Government is planning a full public
consultation exercise in the summer of 2003 on a proposal to introduce
an Exemption Order, under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, to
permit trained and competent lay people to perform tuberculin
skin testing of cattle.
Has the consultation exercise been completed?
What was its outcome?
The Government's consultation on the proposal to
introduce an Exemption Order, under the Veterinary Surgeons Act,
to permit trained and competent lay people to perform tuberculin
skin testing of cattle ended on 26 September 2003. We are currently
analysing the responses received, although we await the responses
from the British Veterinary Association and the Royal College
of Veterinary Surgeons which will be submitted after the RCVS
Council on 30 October. A summary of the responses will be made
available on the Defra Website.
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Recommendation: We recommend that the Government
publish the terms of reference of and the plan of work for its
review as quickly as possible.
Response: Government is developing, in consultation
with stakeholders, a TB strategy. This will cover a period of
up to 10 years. Government expects to issue a consultation document
later this year.
When will the consultation paper be published?
The Government hopes to issue a TB Strategy consultation
document by the end of the year. This will open debate on the
development of a new TB Strategy for GB and propose short term
measures for improved TB controls. Pre-consultation meetings
with key stakeholder groups have been held and will inform the
consultation document.
* * *
Eighth Report of the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs Committee
The Future of Waste Management (HC 385)
Session 2002-03
Published 22 May 2003
Government Reply:
Ninth Special Report (HC 1084)
Session 2002-03
Published 16 September 2003
Recommendation: We are pleased that the Government
is pressing for higher penalties for serious environmental crimes.
We recommend that the proceeds of fines imposed for such crimes
be passed to the Agency to support its work.
Response: We plan to consult on proposals at the
end of the summer and to publish a policy statement once this
has been completed.
Has the consultation been launched? When will
it conclude?
The consultation is due to issue in Spring 2004 with
a closing date 12 weeks later.
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Recommendation: We recommend that the Government
complete its deliberations about local authority household incentive
schemes as soon as practicable and certainly by the time of the
next Pre-Budget report.
Response: In response to the Strategy Unit report,
the Government has undertaken to carry out further work before
any decision is taken to enable local authorities to implement
direct or variable charging for waste
The work will be carried
out in co-operation with the Local Government Association and
other stakeholders and will start this summer thus enabling Government
to review its position on this in 2004.
Has the work started?
Work is now being taken forward to look at the potential
for household incentives in influencing waste management behaviour,
and how they might be implemented.
The Local Government Association and local authorities
have been involved in discussions on what can be done within the
constraints of existing legislation, what can be learnt from their
experiences, and what their preferences would be in establishing
a system of household incentives.
This work will allow the Government to review its
position in 2004.
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Recommendation: It remains to be seen whether
the total pot of money available for local authorities to spend
on more sustainable waste management is large enough. However,
we are dissatisfied that what funding there has to be bid in competition
with other authorities, or is not specifically for waste, or is
tied to the introduction of Private Finance Initiatives.
Response: In line with this the Government announced
in the budget that the existing Waste Minimisation and Recycling
fund will be replaced with a Performance Reward Grant. The Government
expects to announce more details of the new arrangements, including
the timing of its introduction, later in the year.
Have further details been announced? If not,
when will they be?
Defra announced in August that there would be one
more round of the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund of £135m
covering 2004/5 and 2005/6. The Performance Reward Grant will
start in 2005/6 - initially with £45m, and £90m per
annum thereafter.
The final round of bidding for the Waste Minimisation
and Recycling Fund was announced on 20 October 2003.
Work on the design of the Performance Reward Grant
is underway. The Government expects to issue a consultation on
this before the end of the year.
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Recommendation: We are disappointed that the Commission
does not appear to include recycling under its Environmental Guidelines
for state aid, and recommend that the Government support WRAP
in its negotiations with the Commission.
Response:
We will continue to work towards
developing an interpretation that recognises the contribution
that recycling can make to improving the environment and the legitimacy
of public funding support to tackle certain market barriers, both
through individual notifications and in any subsequent review
of the Guidelines.
What progress has been made in negotiating
with the Commission?
We have continued to support WRAP in its negotiations
with the Commission and, since this response, WRAP has received
further state aids clearance for its grants. However, the interpretation
that the Commission has taken is that the aid under the Environmental
Guidelines is for grants to companies to improve their own environmental
performance by reducing emissions, rather than for broader environmental
benefits such as increased recycling benefits the country as a
whole.
We are continuing to work with the Commission to
encourage them to examine their interpretation of the guidelines.
* * *
Ninth Report of the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs Committee
The Delivery of Education in Rural Areas (HC 467)
Session 2002-03
Published 5 June 2003
Government Reply
10th Special Report (HC 1085)
Session 2002-03
Published 16 September 2003
Recommendation: Defra has a key role in monitoring
the effect of the various government initiatives and pilot projects
to help post-16 students attend school and college. We recommend
Defra publish examples of good practice by LEAs in rural areas,
and also identify those LEAs where students are prevented from
attending school and college because of poor transport provision.
Response: The Government is publishing a Good
Practice Brochure featuring 12 of the most successful Transport
Development Pathfinders, and references to 4 exemplary Local Education
Authority Transport Policy Statements. It will be published in
September 2003 and disseminated to all Local Education Authority-
led Transport Partnerships to assist in the development of improved
transport services and support.
Has the brochure been published?
DfES intend to publish the brochure at the end of
January 2004.
* * *
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