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Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of whether Denmark's inclusion of social criteria in its policy for timber procurement complies with the requirements of the European Forestry Certification Scheme; and if she will make a statement on the implications for inclusion of social criteria in UK policy. [222183]
Mr. Morley: The UK Government accept that social criteria are complementary to environmental and economic criteria in the context of sustainable forest management and that international guidelines, including the Pan European Operational Level Guidelines, recognise this principle. The UK Government timber procurement policy has been devised so that one outcome will be the enhancement of forest dependent peoples' well being through an increase in the amount of legal timber and timber from well managed forests being supplied.
European procurement directives require public sector contracting authorities to limit their contract specifications to criteria that are relevant to the product or service being purchased. The UK Government believe that forest dependent people play a part in sustaining forest health and vitality. However, as far as the procurement directives are concerned, their well being does not appear to be sufficiently relevant to the subject matter of contracts to warrant inclusion as contract specification criteria. The UK's interpretation of the directives is based on legal advice and on advice from officials responsible for procurement policy. It would appear that a different view is taken by Denmark. However, if it were ever to be established beyond reasonable doubt that the well being of forest dependent people could feasibly be included as a requirement in public sector contracts, then the UK Government would reconsider its position.
Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of the World Trade Organisation appellate body's decision on the Brazil-United States cotton case WT/DS267/AB/R for the eligibility of the Common Agricultural Policy's single payment scheme as a green box measure as defined by the WTO. [222589]
Alun Michael:
The implications, if any, of the appellate body's ruling are not immediately apparent, not least because it does not set a directly applicable precedent under WTO law, and an individual case
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relating to the single payment scheme would be considered on its own merits. However, we will discuss further with the European Commission which has indicated that it will also be considering the implications of the ruling for the EU.
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many pensioners have received assistance from the Warm Front Scheme in Newcastle-under-Lyme. [223232]
Mr. Morley: Between the launch of the Warm Front scheme in June 2000 and the end of February 2005 approximately 1,100 pensioner households in Newcastle-under-Lyme received assistance from the scheme.
Of these, 440 received assistance under Warm Front and 650 from Warm Front Plus.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether she met a delegation of representatives from the waste management industry on 15 March; and if she will make a statement; [222966]
(2) what plans the Government have to ease the zero-tolerance policy towards contamination of sorted municipal waste. [222967]
Mr. Morley: I met with representatives of the waste management industry on 15 March to discuss the issue of exports of household recyclables.
Exports of waste destined for disposal are prohibited from the UK. Export of mixed municipal waste is regarded as waste destined for disposal and is thus prohibited. Suitably separated, clean recyclable material is acceptable for export subject to certain controls, which may require pre-notification of the shipment. Operators must check the relevant rules. The Environment Agency has recently issued a regulatory guidance note on this issue.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government have to change the guidelines to local authorities on recycling and collection of sorted municipal waste to increase efficiency. [222968]
Mr. Morley: Following a public consultation in 2004, Defra will shortly be publishing Guidance for Waste Collection Authorities on the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003. The Act requires English local authorities to collect at least two types of recyclable material separately from the remainder of the waste by 2010.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) Recycling and Organics Technical Advisory Team (ROTATE) advises local authorities on best practice for recyclate collection methodologies. In addition, the Environment Agency has just issued regulatory guidance on the export of household recyclables for recovery.
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Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the costs to farmers of implementing the (a) Waste Framework Directive, (b) the Landfill Directive and (c) the Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2005. [223820]
Mr. Morley: I announced that the Government have published for consultation the draft Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 on 9 December 2004, Official Report, column 106WS. The main purpose of the draft Regulations is to repeal the current exclusion in section 75(7)(c) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and to apply to agricultural waste the national controls that are already in place to comply with the Waste Framework Directive and the Landfill Directive. 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 consultation paper includes a Regulatory Impact Assessment which estimates the total disposal cost to farmers of complying with the extension of controls to agricultural waste to be £26.5-£65.3 million per annum with the mid-point of the range being £45.9 million pa.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to ensure that increases in water charges are used to (a) improve (i) reliability of supply and (ii) water quality and (b) reduce (A) sewer flooding and (B) pesticide run-off. [222975]
Mr. Morley: Water companies may increase their charges only within the price limits set by Ofwat. Ofwat's approach to setting price limits is to allow no more than is necessary for efficient companies to finance their functions. In co-operation with the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Ofwat monitor companies' delivery of their functions and levels of service and takes regulatory action where their performance falls short.
In the period covered by new price limits, 2005 to 2010, companies will be undertaking a range of measures in order to meet their water supply duties. Companies will, for example, take measures to increase the security of supply where supply is most at risk, including measures to reduce leakage. They will be making improvements to water treatment works to continue to meet the standards of drinking water quality, as well as improving the taste, colour and odour of drinking water in areas where this has been an issue of local concern. They are also expected to reduce the number of homes at risk from sewer flooding so that by 2010 no more than 0.01 per cent. of properties will be at risk of internal flooding from overloaded sewers at least once every 10 years.
The reduction of pesticide run-off is the responsibility of the farmers and growers who apply the pesticides to their crops not the water companies. The Government
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encourage farmers and growers through advice and Codes of Practice to minimise their use of pesticides to avoid the risk of run-off to surface waters.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many zoological parks there are in the West Midlands. [223385]
Mr. Morley: The Department's records indicate that there are seven establishments in the West Midlands which are licensed as zoos under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. Definitive records of licensed zoos are kept by local authorities.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much land is occupied by zoological parks and gardens, broken down by individual park. [222852]
Mr. Morley: The Department does not hold information on how much land is occupied by zoological parks and gardens, either in total or broken down by individual park.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the revenue generated by zoological parks and gardens in England in 2004. [222853]
Mr. Morley: The Department does not estimate or hold information on the revenue generated by zoological gardens in England.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance the Government have issued regarding the keeping of animals in captivity. [222854]
Mr. Morley: The keeping of animals in captivity is a very broad subject, potentially covering everything from zoos and aquaria to farmed animals, game birds and companion animalsincluding exotic species. The Department has issued a wide range of guidance relevant to these matters. For example, the Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice set out the standards recommended for keeping animals in zoos. A list which includes a number of other relevant publications can be found on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/publications/pubcat/anh.htm
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the expansion of zoological parks and gardens; and if she will make a statement. [222855]
Mr. Morley: Zoos are subject to a comprehensive system of licensing and inspection, under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, to ensure that appropriate standards are maintained.
Beyond the regulation provided by this Act, the Department has no further policies specifically addressing the issue of expansion of zoological parks and gardens, either in relation to total numbers of zoos or expansion of individual zoos. Both matters are likely to be subject to controls under the Town and Country planning regime.
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I believe well-managed zoos can play an important role, both in raising public awareness about wild animals and their habitats, and participating in wildlife conservation activities.
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