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Pigeons (London)

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of London's pigeon population in each year since 2000. [42447]

Mr. Bradshaw: We do not hold information on London's pigeon population.

Racehorses

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many racehorses were reported as (a) being poorly treated, (b) lost and (c) stolen in each of the last seven years. [43711]

Mr. Bradshaw: We do not hold information on the number racehorses being poorly treated, lost or stolen.
 
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Recovered Fuel Oil

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment she has made of the environmental consequences of a switch from recovered fuel oil to virgin fuels in those industries that use recovered fuel oil; [39340]

(2) what assessment she has made of the alternatives to recovered fuel oil that will be used in (a) the manufacture of coated road stone and (b) other industrial processes after the Waste Incineration Directive is implemented in domestic law; [39389]

(3) what recent studies she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated to compare the carbon dioxide and other emissions from burning (i) recovered fuel oil and (ii) gas oil. [39390]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Department has not made these assessments and studies. That is because industries switching from the use of recovered fuel oil to virgin fuels will remain subject to environmental regulation under the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000. It is therefore for the regulator to set emission limits and other permit conditions according to the general principles of those Regulations that installations should be operated in such a way that (a) all the appropriate preventative measures are taken against pollution, in particular through application of the best available techniques; and (b) no significant pollution is caused. Those principles apply irrespective of the type of fuel and provide a high level of protection for the environment. However, where oil is waste as defined under the EU Waste Framework Directive, the regulator is obliged to set emission limits at least as stringent as those set out in the Waste Incineration Directive.

Recycling

Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many recycling points there are per 1,000 population in (a) the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood, (b) the London borough of Hillingdon, (c) Greater London and (d) England. [41826]

Mr. Bradshaw: Requested figures, based on the 2003–04 Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey and 2003 mid-year population estimates are shown as follows:

	recycling points per 1,000 population
London borough of Hillingdon	0.29
Greater London	0.55
England	0.41

Recycling points are considered as both civic amenity and recycling sites within the area.

Data at constituency level are not available.
 
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Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department is the lead department drafting the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation. [39915]

Mr. Morley: The Department for Transport leads on the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation. They consult closely with the other Departments, including DEFRA, which have an interest in this issue.

River Thames (Raw Sewage)

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cubic feet of raw sewage has been discharged into the River Thames in London in each of the last three years. [41613]

Mr. Morley: The current estimates, from the supplementary report by the Thames Tideway Strategic Study, of average annual volumes of overflow discharges (sewage mixed with collected rainwater) from the London system is 32 million cubic metres from the sewer overflows and 20 million cubic metres from treatment works. A combined average annual total of about 52 million cubic metres.

Work is now in hand to increase the capacity of the treatment works at Beckton, Crossness and Mogden to reduce the frequency and volumes of overflows connected with these works. And I, along with Ofwat, am considering what further actions may be required in the light of the two latest reports on the sewage overflow discharges, received in December 2005, from the Thames Tideway Strategic Study and from the independent review commissioned by Ofwat.

Scrapie (North Ronaldsay)

Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many instances of scrapie have occurred in North Ronaldsay sheep in each of the last five years. [42063]

Mr. Bradshaw: Three instances of scrapie have occurred in North Ronaldsay sheep in the last five years. Two cases occurred in 2004 (although one of these was a North Ronaldsay crossbred sheep). One case occurred in 2005.

Sustainable Development

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the report, Leading by Example? Not Exactly, published by the Sustainable Development Commission on 16 December 2005. [41536]

Mr. Morley: The Sustainable Development in Government (SDIG) Report 2005 published by the Sustainable Development Commission demonstrated that there had been some improvement in departmental performance against the operational targets in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. However, it also clearly signalled that there was much more to be done to improve the way that the Government manages sustainably its land and buildings.
 
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The Government accepts that more needs to be done to improve its operational performance. In order to address this issue, the UK Sustainable Development Strategy (Securing the future, March 2005) included a commitment to review the framework and deliver a significant improvement in its operational performance.

The SDC's report was the first SDIG report to be published wholly independently of Government.

The UK SD strategy commits all Government Departments and their Executive agencies to produce focused sustainable development action plans (which cover both policy and operational issues) based on the strategy by December 2005. Departments are then expected to report on their actions by December 2006, for example in their departmental annual reports and regularly thereafter. The Sustainable Development Commission will be commenting on these plans during 2006.

Turkey

Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make representations to the Turkish Government requesting that the slaughter of birds in that country necessitated by the spread of avian influenza is carried out humanely. [42798]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Chief Veterinary Officer has already discussed this issue with the European Commission. In addition the State Veterinary Service Director of Operations is travelling to Turkey shortly to lead a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation mission explicitly discussing disease control and animal welfare issues. We have also been asked to provide specific expertise in animal disease emergency work to help with the control of avian influenza in Turkey. We will continue to engage practically and positively on these issues.

UK National Allocation Plan

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the EU is taking concerning the UK National Allocation Plan. [41925]

Mr. Morley: Following the judgment of the Court of First Instance the European Commission must consider the UK's amendment to its National Allocation Plan. It does not direct the Commission to accept our proposed increase in the total cap to 756m allowances. The UK awaits the Commission's considered decision before taking further steps.

Wildlife

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the veterinary profession on veterinarians' responsibilities for the treatment of wildlife. [42252]

Mr. Bradshaw: There have been no specific discussions on this issue with the veterinary profession, although general guidance issued by the British
 
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Veterinary Association reminds veterinary surgeons of the need to bear in mind their professional and ethical obligations.

There are, of course, a number of animal diseases where wildlife may act as a reservoir or a source of infection. The veterinary profession is closely consulted on the control of such diseases and is aware of legislative controls relating to animal welfare and the taking, treatment and release of wildlife specimens.

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