---

16 Mar 2005 : Column 256W—continued

Marine Environment

Mr. Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for protecting the marine environment. [221923]

Mr. Morley: We have announced in the Defra five-year strategy that we will bring forward a Marine Bill some time in the next Parliament to deliver our vision of clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. A Marine Bill will provide the framework within which those who regulate marine activities can ensure the sustainable use and protection of our marine resources.

We are introducing regulations later this year to extend the conservation requirements of the EU Habitats and Bird's Directives offshore, and will identify further special areas of conservation and special protection areas as part of that process.

We are committed to having a representative and ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas in the OSPAR region by 2010.

New Rural Agency

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice she has received from English Nature about the creation of the new agency for rural delivery; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the advice received. [211148]

Margaret Beckett: I have received, and given due weight to, advice and representations from a number of organisations and individuals about the creation of the 'Integrated Agency' from English Nature, much of the work of the Rural Development Service and the landscape, access and recreation responsibilities of the Countryside Agency. Ministers have received advice from English Nature in the form of letters from the chair and deputy chair of English Nature. As English Nature gave oral evidence to the inquiry into the Rural Strategy 2004 by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee of the House, their position on the creation of the Integrated Agency is already in the public domain. Most recently, they have welcomed the draft Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill published on Thursday 10 February 2005, to which they made a significant input. I am not minded to disclose the specific advice I have received as I consider to do so would be harmful to future free and frank discussions, and thus inhibit the development of good policy.
 
16 Mar 2005 : Column 257W
 

Rendering

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether animal by-product rendering is considered to be a waste process; and if she will make a statement. [221334]

Mr. Morley: A statement was made on 9 December 2004, Official Report, column 106WS, that the Government had published for consultation the draft Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2005. The consultation paper is available in the Library of the House and on the Department's website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/agwaste-regs/index.htm. The application of the waste framework directive (WFD) to waste animal by-products is discussed in paragraphs 8, 3.24–3.28 and 4.7–4.21 of the consultation paper.

In summary, it is the Department's view that a range of animal by-products are consigned to rendering plant as waste within the meaning of the WFD and that the processing of this waste in rendering plant is a waste management operation subject to control under Articles 9 or 10 of the directive. The animal by-products which the Department has identified as waste include those which Articles 4(2), 5(2) and 6(2) of the EU Animal By-Products Regulation require to be processed in rendering plant and disposed of by incineration, co-incineration or landfilling; or recovered in biogas or composting plants.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the recent developments in waste product marketing by the Waste and Resources Action Programme. [221508]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 15 March 2005]: Defra monitors the performance of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on the basis of delivery of or progress towards targets which are agreed with Government, and which are published in its business plan. The targets cover its work on market development.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the development of recycled wood products by the Waste and Resources Action Programme. [221509]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 15 March 2005]: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has a target to deliver an additional 150,000 tonnes recycling capacity for waste wood into added-value end markets by March 2006. WRAP will do this through: supporting further diversification of waste wood recycling, focusing on higher-value applications; increasing the consumption of waste wood by the panel board manufacturing industry; incentivising demand for recycled wood products by raising awareness and encouraging action among potential buyers in targeted sectors; exploiting the commercial opportunities identified by research on treated timber recycling; and, promoting the increased segregation of wood waste for recycling at household waste recycling centres, in the furniture recycling industry and during construction and demolition activities.
 
16 Mar 2005 : Column 258W
 

Defra is monitoring WRAP's progress towards achievement of this target and will assess whether it has been met in the course of 2006.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Civil Society Challenge Fund

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many not-for-profit organisations in the UK benefit from his Department's Civil Society Challenge Fund. [221760]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: In the current financial year, 2004–05, DFID is supporting 231 projects with 84 UK-based, not-for-profit organisations through our Civil Society Challenge Fund.

Since its introduction in 2000, we have supported 339 projects with 114 UK-based, not-for-profit organisations through the fund.

Departmental Accounts

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether Ministers in his Department have issued written instructions to override his Department's accounting officer's objections since 1997. [221113]

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member for Banbury to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 14 March 2005, Official Report, column 80W.

HIV/AIDS

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 55W, on HIV/AIDS, (1) how the spending of funds for HIV and AIDS orphans and vulnerable children through his Department's African country programmes will be monitored; [221648]

(2) what proportion of the money for HIV and AIDS orphans and vulnerable children spent through his Department's African country programmes will take the form of budget support to Governments; and how it will be monitored. [221639]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The spending target to meet the needs of orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS covers the next three financial years: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08. At this stage, in advance of money being spent, we cannot predict with certainty what proportion of the money going through this Department's African country programmes will take the form of budget support to Governments, and what proportion will be spent directly on programmes. Early estimates indicate that spend through budget support will account for a relatively small proportion of the £85 million that will be spent through African Country Programmes out of the £150 million we have committed for OVCs worldwide.
 
16 Mar 2005 : Column 259W
 

Monitoring of spend against programme, sector and budget support will be through a combination of annual Country Assistance Plan (CAP) reviews and central tracking of expenditure against Policy Information Markers relevant to HIV and AIDS and orphans and vulnerable children.

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2005, Official Report, column 1639W, on HIV/AIDS (Children) which sub-Saharan African countries have drawn up national orphans and vulnerable children action plans; [221655]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2005, Official Report, column 623W, which sub-Saharan African countries have developed national action plans for orphans and vulnerable children. [221658]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Last year, UNICEF, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) worked together on an initiative to focus on accelerating responses to the situation of orphans and vulnerable children. They undertook a Rapid Assessment, Analysis and Action Planning (RAAAP) exercise in 17 countries in sub-Saharan African countries with high HIV prevalence rates and orphan populations. These countries were: Botswana, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The RAAAP exercise consisted of three basic elements: situation analysis, response analysis, and preparation of two-year costed action plans for scaling up responses. Sixteen countries (all except Botswana) presented country profiles and plans to a UNICEF meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, last September. Uganda and Zimbabwe already had long-term plans of action. Botswana's focus was and remains the evaluation of their Short Term Plan of Action in order to develop a longer term plan in the future.

Independently of the above, Ghana has also produced "National policy guidelines on orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS". We expect to see other plans for orphans and vulnerable children developed—whether under a second wave of the RAAAP process or independently.

---