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16 Jan 2006 : Column 904W—continued

EU Packaging Directive

Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the UK packaging business recovery and recycling targets for all materials were achieved in 2004; whether she expects the UK to meet EU packaging directive targets for 2008; and if she will make a statement. [40462]

Mr. Bradshaw: The UK met the glass, paper and wood interim business recycling targets in 2004, but narrowly missed the metals (by 0.1 per cent. each) and plastic (by 0.7 per cent.) targets.

The level of achievement attained in 2004 demonstrates that the UK is making good progress towards meeting the next packaging directive targets in 2008 and while the targets are challenging for the UK they are achievable.

Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps she is taking to increase the collection of packaging waste from households to meet the EU packaging directive targets for 2008; [40463]

(2) whether (a) local authorities and (b) producers are responsible for the collection and recovery of packaging within household waste. [40468]

Mr. Bradshaw: Local authorities have a duty to collect any household waste and to meet individual Statutory Performance Standards for recycling and composting of household waste. Each authority is free to choose the range of materials it collects to meet its target.

In addition, the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 requires waste collection authorities-subject to certain exemptions-to provide a kerbside collection service of at least two recyclable materials by 2010.

However, the Department has also put in place the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2005, the Packaging Regulations" which place obligations on businesses to recover and recycle packaging waste. As the packaging waste recycling targets, set in the regulations, increase between now and 2008 it is expected that producers will have to ensure that more packaging waste is extracted from the household waste stream for recycling. Producers will therefore need to work with local authorities e.g. through their packaging compliance schemes and/or accredited reprocessors/exporters, to ensure that packaging materials can be collected by local authorities for recycling, e.g. by co-financing such collections. This is particularly so where producers' needs extend beyond the local authorities' own recycling obligations.

Fisheries

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she expects the Agriculture and Fisheries Council will take at the meeting on 19 December to support the European
 
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Commission's proposed emergency measures to close the deep water gill net fishery off the west coast of Scotland. [38660]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Agriculture and Fisheries Council agreed to ban the use of fixed netting in deep waters to the west of the British Isles in 2006 with effect from 1 February. The Council also agreed on the need to improve knowledge of the effects of these fisheries and agree that measures to regulate these fisheries should be considered in the light of further scientific advice from the Commission's Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries.

Fixed Penalty Notices

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for (a) graffiti, (b) fly-posting and (c) dog fouling in each of the last four years. [42154]

Mr. Bradshaw: The power to issue fixed penalties for both graffiti and fly-posting offences commenced in April 2004.
GraffitiFly-postingDog fouling
2001–022,461
2002–032,036
2003–042,742
2004–0519572,329

Home Inspection Packs (Contaminated Land)

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place inthe Library a copy of the note produced by her Department's Contaminated Land branch on the Council of Property Search Organisations' proposals for a contaminated land report to be included in home inspection packs. [39501]

Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 December 2005, Official Report, column 2380W.

Fly-tipping

Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) incidents of fly-tipping were reported and (b) prosecutions were made as a result in (i) the Ruislip-Northwood constituency and (ii) the London borough of Hillingdon in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [41827]

Mr. Bradshaw: Defra has worked with the Environment Agency to establish Flycapture, the national database on fly-tipping, which has been operational since April 2004. No national data were previously available on illegal waste disposal or fly-tipping.

Flycapture collects data at local authority level only. The data are probably also an underestimate and are likely to increase as local authorities improve their collection and reporting of the data.
 
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The London borough of Hillingdon and the Environment Agency have reported the following data to Flycapture:
Number of incidentsLondon borough of HillingdonEnvironment agency
April 2004 to March 2005(2)2,12811
April 2005 to November 2005(3)1,6734
Number of prosecutions(4)
April 2004 to March 2005112
April 2005 to March 2006(5)6(5)2


(2)Average 177 per month.
(3)Average 209 per month.
(4)Data are incomplete.
(5)To date.


Greenhouse Gases

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures the UK Government have proposed to help developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [39728]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 10 January 2006]: The United Kingdom Government has proposed to help developing countries to reduce emissions through a number of different activities. Highlights so far include:

The UK is at the fore of the EU-China Partnership on Climate Change and is leading the near-Zero Emissions Coal (nZEC) project with China. The nZEC proposal was announced at the EU-China Summit on 5 September.

The UK actively promotes use of the Clean Development Mechanisms (COM) and COM related investments:


 
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The United Kingdom is also at the fore of the EU-lndia Initiative on Clean Development and Climate Change, with the aim of promoting cleaner technologies and their use.

Elsewhere, the UK supports research, which will help developing countries deal with climate change. Current research includes an assessment of how to improve climate modelling and monitoring for Africa, and two separate investigations into the impacts of climate change on Chinese and Indian agriculture.


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