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Oil Contamination

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of oil leaks on land in each of the last four years contaminated (a) sources of drinking water and (b) water used for recreation; what requirements exist to report such occurrences; what powers exist to require remedial action to be taken; and what the estimated cost was to public funds of such occurrences. [210356]

Mr. Morley: With respect to the proportion of oil leaks on land over the last four years, these data are not available. However, the Oil Care Campaign has commissioned research (sponsored by the oil industry) to review all sources of information on the causes of oil pollution. The conclusions of this work, including provisional data for 2004, are due for publication in the next two months.
 
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There are no general requirements for such spillages to be reported, although the Environment Agency (EA) encourages their reporting and has an emergency hotline for this purpose. In addition, the water companies are required to notify the Drinking Water Inspectorate of any incident which affects drinking water quality or where there may be a risk to consumers' health. This includes all instances of chemical contamination including oil leakage/spillage.

The EA has the power to serve a Works Notice in order to prevent the immediate threat of water pollution or to ensure that remedial action is taken following an incident. However, in most cases, the necessary action is secured without recourse to the formal issuing of a notice.

The estimated cost of such incidents to public funds is not readily available. However, the EA expects to be able to provide some indicative costs at the same time as the incident data.

Pheasants

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the change in use of large moveable pens for the rearing of pheasants following the removal of the chemical DMZ; and whether these pens are subject to (a) planning permission and (b) business rates. [207308]

Mr. Bradshaw: DMZ (dimetridazole) is the active ingredient in an antiprotozoal that was indicated for use in game birds for blackhead. Its use in food producing animals was banned by the European Commission for food safety reasons. An alternative way to prevent blackhead is to change husbandry practices such as rearing each year's birds on new pasture. We have not made any assessment of the changes made by producers to help prevent blackhead. Defra is not responsible for the rules governing planning permission and business rates.

Research and Development

Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what expenditure was made by (a) her Department and (b) agencies for which her Department is responsible on research projects by companies with headquarters in (i) the UK, (ii) other EU member states and (iii) non-EU states in each year since 2001–02. [206989]

Alun Michael: The Department does not keep this level of information on the organisations at which it funds research.

Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much and what percentage of her Department's expenditure went on research and development in each year between 2001–02 and 2003–04. [207004]

Alun Michael: The figures are:

	Defra R&D funding (£ million)	Percentage of total Defra expenditure
2001–02	144	3.1
2002–03	144	3.5
2003–04	146	3.4

 
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Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many research and development procurement opportunities were disseminated by the Department to small and medium-sized enterprises registered through the Small Business Research Initiative in each year since 2001–02 to date; and what the value of such opportunities was in each case. [207011]

Alun Michael: Defra fully supports the Small Business Research Initiative and all Defra research competitions are open to small businesses. Since 2002–03, when Defra began recording this information, our records show that we have funded research with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (both as main contractor and sub-contractor) as follows:

	Number of SMEs	Value (£)
2002–03	93	2,893,756
2003–04	53	3,131,117
2004–05 (Incomplete)14		2,734,526

Fairshare Scheme

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 17 January 2005, Official Report, column 713W, on tax credits, whether the fareshare scheme, previously funded under the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, is eligible for funding under the Waste Implementation Programme; and if she will make a statement. [210978]

Mr. Morley: In November I announced details of theCommunity Sector Support Programme, which is being administered by the Waste Implementation Programme. This funding package includes one year of grant support in 2005–06 for projects dealing with municipal waste, for which the deadline for applications was 4 January.

Wood Waste

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State forEnvironment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are being taken to divert wood from landfill to(a) coal-fired and (b) non-coal burning power stations. [210895]

Mr. Morley: The Government are committed to reducing the UK's reliance on landfill, in order to reduce its environmental impact and because landfilling is a missed opportunity to recover value from waste. This commitment applies to waste wood as it does to any other waste material. Using wood as a fuel in power stations is one alternative to disposal in landfills and, under the forthcoming review of the Renewables Obligation, the case for amending eligibility rules regarding electricity generated from mixed wastes, including wood, will be considered.

There are other ways of diverting wood from landfill, such as re-using or recycling it as a raw material in construction or for manufacturing wood based products. To encourage this, wood is one of the priority materials under the Government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which was
 
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established to create markets for recycled materials. By 2006 WRAP are aiming for a 150,000 tonne increase in the recycling of waste wood into added-value end markets.

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the amount of wood which is disposed of in landfill sites; and what action she plans to take to reduce that amount. [210896]

Mr. Morley: The Government have no basis for estimating the amount of wood being disposed of in landfills. However, they are committed to reducing the UK's reliance on landfill, in order to reduce its environmental impact and because landfilling is a missed opportunity to recover value from waste. This commitment applies to wood as it does to any other waste material. As a result, the Government encourage the re-use or recycling of wood as a raw material in construction or in manufacturing wood based products or used as a fuel, rather than being sent to landfill. In particular, wood is one of the priority materials under the Government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which was established to create markets for recycled materials. By 2006 WRAP are aiming for a 150,000 tonne increase in the recycling of waste wood into added-value end markets.

PRIME MINISTER

Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the occasions when his special advisers have made appearances before parliamentary select committees. [210504]

The Prime Minister: Alastair Campbell, my former Director of Communications and Strategy, gave evidence to the Public Administration Select Committee on 23 June 1998 and to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Wednesday 25 June 2003.

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