---

19 Dec 2005 : Column 2392W—continued

Scrapie

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many dead sheep have been collected as a result of the national survey for scrapie. [37903]

 
19 Dec 2005 : Column 2393W
 

Mr. Bradshaw: So far this year, 10,505 fallen sheep aged over 18 months have been collected in the UK and submitted for testing under our national survey.

Single Farm Payment Scheme

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of digital mapping in relation to single farm payments is complete. [37240]

Jim Knight: Around 95 per cent. of the digital mapping required to support claims to the 2005 Single Payment Scheme (SPS) is complete based on the area within the Rural Land Register and the estimate of the area still awaiting digitisation. A significant proportion of the area was digitised prior to the inception of the SPS, but in excess of 130,000 mapping requests to modify or increase digitised areas have been received since September 2004.

Statutory Instruments

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what training is given to (a) policy officials and (b) lawyers in her Department responsible for drafting statutory instruments; and if she will make a statement. [33554]

Jim Knight: Statutory instruments are drafted by departmental lawyers based on instructions from policy divisions. Where SIs amend primary legislation, parliamentary counsel are consulted.

As members of the Government Legal Service (GLS), departmental lawyers receive extensive training on the preparation and drafting of statutory instruments. This consists of a combination of lectures and practical exercises run by experienced practitioners in the GLS, coupled with training given by legal advisers who advise the parliamentary scrutiny committees. In addition, senior managers in the GLS take a close interest in the quality of SIs and provide frequent feedback and on the job training to those with lead responsibility for drafting. This is an ongoing process and part of the continuing education of government legal advisers.

Sunset Clauses

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is in respect of the use of sunset clauses in legislation. [33556]

Jim Knight: The appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case by case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.

Timber

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether timber produced under the Australian Forest Standard scheme meets standards set by her Department for sustainability. [38655]

 
19 Dec 2005 : Column 2394W
 

Mr. Morley: In November 2004 the Government commissioned its Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) to examine five forest certification schemes to determine whether they provide credible assurance of legal and sustainable timber sources as defined in the model contract condition and specification used by central Government Departments. One of the schemes assessed was the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) which sets forest management and certification requirements for national bodies, endorsed by PEFC, to adopt and apply to suit local conditions. PEFC has endorsed the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) which means that forests and products that derive from the trees harvested in those forests that are certified as operating to the AFS can be marketed under the PEFC label.

CPET's initial assessment of the PEFC scheme was that on paper it provided credible assurance of legal harvesting but did not provide credible assurance of sustainable timber production. PEFC was judged not to have sufficient requirements for involving all relevant interest groups in the forest standard setting and forest management auditing process. This was judged to be a system failure at the international scheme level and was not influenced by actual situations at a national level. No national body was examined and there was no assessment of actual performance on the ground. PEFC has since changed its scheme requirements and been reassessed as providing a credible system, on paper, for assuring sustainable timber production as defined in Government contracts. However, the UK Government, aware that scheme changes at the international level are meaningless if not adopted nationally, gave notice that it would check to see that national PEFC bodies had implemented changes to their published requirements. CPET plans to make such checks in January 2006.

Waste Management

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of Government policy on waste management by (a) local authorities and (b) West Sussex county council. [37734]

Mr. Bradshaw: As part of the Audit Commission's role in ensuring that public money is spent economically, efficiently, and effectively on local government services, it inspects the waste and recycling services of authorities in England through the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). The assessment looks at refuse collection; street cleansing; education and enforcement; waste disposal; and, related services with an overall sub-score for waste management derived using best value inspection reports (where available), and performance indicator data.

In December 2004, the Audit Commission reviewed the waste management service of West Sussex county council and gave it a score of three out of a possible four for the way it is run.

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of Tamworth borough council's response to new waste regulations which place a duty of care on householders for their household waste. [37826]

 
19 Dec 2005 : Column 2395W
 

Mr. Bradshaw: Local authorities and the Environment Agency have powers to take enforcement action for breaches of the waste duty of care. It is for local authorities to develop their own local enforcement policy positions.

The Government are encouraging local authorities to actively promote legitimate waste disposal and to highlight the need for people to only use registered waste carriers. Local authorities are also being encouraged to investigate incidents of illegal waste disposal and to take action against offenders.

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many facilities burn municipal waste; and where they are located. [37622]

Mr. Bradshaw: There are currently 16 municipal waste incinerators in England, located in Bermondsey, Billingham, Birmingham, Bolton, Chineham, Coventry, Dudley, Edmonton, Grimsby, Huddersfield, Marchwood, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Stoke and Wolverhampton.

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government is taking to support local authorities in Bedfordshire in developing alternative methods of waste disposal; and if she will make a statement. [37637]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government continues to encourage all local authorities to move towards innovative methods of waste disposal which will reduce amounts of waste sent to landfill. In Bedfordshire all authorities have benefited from the award of approximately £2 million from the Government's National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund to invest in extending the collection of dry recyclables and garden waste. Additionally, a total of £304,000 has been awarded to the Bedfordshire authorities in 2005–06 through the Waste Performance Efficiency Grant—a figure that will be approximately doubled for 2006–07 and 2007–08.

Through Defra's Waste Implementation Programme and the Defra funded Waste and Resources Action Programme additional financial support and specialist advice has been taken up by the Bedfordshire authorities on strategic planning, communications and new technologies. It is pleasing to note that local authorities in Bedfordshire have taken full advantage of the Government support available to develop alternative methods of waste disposal.

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional measures the Government are taking to assist growth areas to develop alternative methods of disposing of waste; and if she will make a statement. [37647]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government continues to encourage all local authorities to move towards innovative methods of waste disposal which will reduce amounts of waste sent to landfill. In last year's Spending Review the Government announced an increase in the Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services (EPCS) Formula Spending Share block of £888 million by 2007–08 over 2004–05. Over the three-year period to 2005–06, authorities are also benefiting from a total of
 
19 Dec 2005 : Column 2396W
 
£294 million invested through the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund and its successor the Waste Performance and Efficiency Grant, will provide a further £260 million over the three years to 2007–08. Finally, through the private finance initiative (PFI), credits worth £355 million have been made available over the three years to 2005–06 as an extra source of funding, with a further £535 million available in 2006–07 and 2007–08.

In growth areas, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have held regional seminars to discuss how waste arising from increasing population, particularly from construction, demolition and excavation can be properly planned for to ensure that the necessary infrastructure can be developed. The ODPM are also in discussions with the Environment Agency to carry out a study to predict quantities and types of waste that are likely to arise in the Thames Gateway region and the results from this study will be applicable to other designated growth areas.

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria are used when awarding local authorities permits for the disposal of annual amounts of biodegradable waste in landfill sites; and if she will make a statement. [37648]

Mr. Bradshaw: The allocation of landfill allowances for each Waste Disposal Authority has been made until 2020. The allocation process is based on the total waste arisings and amounts sent for disposal, recycling, composting or recovery that were reported to Defra by each local authority in the 2001–02 Municipal Waste Management Survey.

Allocations for the target years (2009–10, 2012–13 and 2019–20) are based on applying each Waste Disposal Authority's percentage contribution to 2001–02 Municipal Waste Management Survey (the base year) and applying a percentage reduction of Biodegradable Municipal Waste that can be sent to landfills from England in target years. The allocation process ensures that all Waste Disposal Authorities make a contribution to England's landfill reduction targets.

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the facilities available in areas of major housing growth for the disposal of waste; and if she will make a statement. [37649]

Mr. Bradshaw: It is for local authorities, through the preparation of Regional Spatial Strategies and Waste Local Plans, to assess and plan for the facilities needed to deal with the waste arising in a region/area, including the growth areas.

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received regarding the permissible annual amounts of biodegradable waste which can be disposed of in landfill sites by local authorities in Bedfordshire; and if she will make a statement. [37650]

Mr. Bradshaw: A consultation on the provisional allocation of landfill allowances was held in August 2004. Bedfordshire county council responded
 
19 Dec 2005 : Column 2397W
 
expressing its concerns that the allocation of landfill allowances did not take into account the above-average population growth in the Bedfordshire area.

DEFRA officials will be meeting Milton Keynes council, Northamptonshire county council, Bedfordshire county council and Buckinghamshire county council, to discuss support to authorities with above-average population growth in January 2006.

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Government makes of projected increases in population and households in Bedfordshire when determining annual amounts of biodegradable waste permitted for disposal in landfill sites by local authorities; and if she will make a statement. [37675]

Mr. Bradshaw: A clear message from the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme consultation in 2003 was that all Waste Disposal Authorities wanted certainty in their allocations. It is our belief that basing the allocations on predictions of future population growth will not provide that certainty.

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is her policy to implement the Waste Incineration Directive in full by 28 December; and if she will make a statement. [33694]

Mr. Bradshaw: The legislation necessary to implement the Waste Incineration Directive in full was in place by 28 December 2002. I understand that applications to the regulators (the Environment Agency or the local authority, depending on the capacity of the installation) from the operators concerned for the necessary permits are in the final stages of determination with a view to completion by 28 December 2005.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much public money was spent on waste management and disposal in 2004–05; what proportion of gross domestic product this represents; and what changes in the cost are expected by 2010. [27879]

Mr. Bradshaw: In England approximately £47.5 million was spent directly by Defra and DTI in 2004–05.

In addition local authority revenue expenditure on waste management amounted to some £2.2 billion. The figures for capital expenditure for 2004–05 are not yet available.

Figures for English GDP are not separately published. The closest equivalent is Gross Value Added (GVA) which for 2003 (the most recent year for which figures were available) was some £815 billion.

An analysis of future waste-related costs will take place as a part of the Waste Strategy Review and the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of Gravesham council's response to new waste regulations which place a duty of care on householders for their household waste. [36950]

 
19 Dec 2005 : Column 2398W
 

Mr. Bradshaw: Local authorities and the Environment Agency have powers to take enforcement action for breaches of the waste duty of care. It is for local authorities to develop their own local enforcement policy positions.

Local authorities, including Gravesham, have been actively encouraging residents to use registered waste carriers, as well as following up and investigating illegal waste disposal.

---