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26 May 2005 : Column 181W—continued
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Air Transport (Emissions)
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of (a) carbon dioxide emissions and (b) Kyoto basket emissions are estimated to have come from air transport flights taking off from and landing in UK airports in 2003. [694]
Margaret Beckett: The proportion of emissions in the UK greenhouse gas inventory of (a) carbon dioxide (CO 2 ); and (b) the Kyoto basket of greenhouse gases (GHG) from air transport flights taking off from and landing in UK airports in 2003 are shown in the following table.
The data cover emissions from all civil domestic passenger and freight traffic movements inside the UK. Under guidelines agreed internationally, emissions from international aviation taking off and landing at UK airports are not included in UK total emissions, but are estimated for information purposes. Emissions of CO 2 and all greenhouse gases from international aviation in 2003 are estimated to have been 29.7 and 30.0 MtCeq/yr respectively.
Badgers
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to review the working of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. [130]
Jim Knight: The Department is looking at how it implements its licensing responsibilities under the Act. This process has already started with a public consultation which closed on 5 February 2004. The Department is in the process of summarising those responses. It is hoped that these will be published by the end of August.
From these responses we will develop proposals for change and we will go out for further consultation on these. The potential effect of the coming together of the two licensing authorities (English Nature and parts of Defra) into the new integrated agency, Natural England, will also need to be considered.
This review of licensing procedures does not include any plans to open up the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 for amendment.
Countryside and Rights of Way Act
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanism exists to review the status of land designated for public access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. [1508]
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Jim Knight: Section 10 of the Act requires the Countryside Agency to review the conclusive map of open country and registered common land not more than ten years after the time that the conclusive map was first issued and not less frequently than every ten years thereafter. These periods may be amended by regulation. At the time of the review the Agency must consider whether land shown on the conclusive map as open country and registered common land remains open country and registered common land, and whether any other land covered by the conclusive map for that area should now be shown as open country and registered common land.
Section 11 of the Act makes provision to make regulations supplementing the provisions of section 10 of the Act including the procedure to be followed by the Countryside Agency in reviewing the maps.
Horse Manure
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent changes have been made to regulations governing disposal of substantial amounts of horse manure by equestrian establishments. [150]
Mr. Bradshaw: Changes have recently been made to a number of exemptions from waste management licensing in the Waste Management Licensing (England and Wales) (Amendment and Related Provisions) Regulations 2005. These amendments are due to come into force on 1 July 2005 and include changes to the composting exemption.
The amended composting exemption will require establishments and undertakings to compost manure on an impermeable pavement with sealed drainage. A charge will also be made for registration of the exemption. The charge will depend on size of operation and is made so that the Environment Agency can recover the cost of regulation.
These changes will not apply to the storage of manure. They will only apply to the active mixing of manure with other biodegradable waste to make compost.
All individuals and most liveries, stables and other establishments that keep horses will not be subject to the recent changes. If the pile is simply manure there is no need to apply for a waste licence or register an exemption from one.
Marine Environment
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to bring forward legislation to protect the marine environment. [92]
Mr. Bradshaw:
The Government are committed to publication of a draft Marine Bill in the first session of this Parliament. Introduction of the Bill will follow later in this Parliament, once we have considered the outcome of both a public consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill.
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Quota Fishing
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the consequences for the Spanish Government of losing ECJ case C-42/03 (OJ C19 of 22 January 2005) on failing to control excess to quota fishing; what representations she has made on the issue; what the scale of surfeit was; and if she will make a statement. [502]
Mr. Bradshaw: The ECJ found that the Spanish Government failed to fulfill obligations relating to the management of its fishing quotas during the period 1990 to 1997, and ordered Spain to pay the costs of the case. On the basis of information provided by Spain the amount of overfishing was as shown in the table.
| Amount (tonnes) | |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 1,186 |
| 1991 | 1,728 |
| 1992 | 2,196 |
| 1993 | 179 |
| 1994 | 378 |
| 1995 | 3,737 |
| 1996 | 62 |
| 1997 | 72 |
It is for the Spanish Government to consider the implications of the court's ruling. The UK Government has made no representations on this case.
Sewerage
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce requirements that all sewers and drains are laid by suitably qualified persons. [942]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 25 May 2005]: A protocol for the construction of new sewers was published in 2002. Its aim is to put into practice a common approach for the design and construction for new development, to enable wider adoption of sewers in England and Wales.
A review of the effectiveness of the protocol was recently undertaken on the Department's behalf. Its findings indicate that developers are not always adhering to the protocol. The Government are now considering the results of this review and its possible implications for the current arrangements for the construction of sewers.
I understand that Energy and Utility Skills Ltd, the Sector Skills Council whose purpose is to identify the skill needs of employers and provide effective training solutions in the electricity, gas, waste management and water industries, offers a 13 week Ambition Energy programme. This has been designed for operators who are involved in the maintenance of the sewerage infrastructure.
Snares and Traps
Mark Tami:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish
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a summary of responses to the consultation on "Snares and Traps, The Way Forward", which closed on 13 November 2003. [744]
Jim Knight: Defra carried out an informal consultation in England on traps and snares at the end of 2003. As the consultation sought general views on the use of snares under Section 11 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and traps under section 8 of the Pests Act 1954, there is no requirement to publish a summary of responses.
The principle outcome of the consultation was the convening of an independent snares working group. The aim of the working group is to agree good practice guidelines, produce a code of good practice and advise Defra on the next steps.
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