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3 Mar 2006 : Column 1014W—continued
Digital Maps
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many digital maps issued by the Rural Payments Agency have been returned due to error; and if she will make a statement. [54264]
Jim Knight: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is responsible for the administration of digital mapping in England. The digital mapping data capture work is being subject to a continuous quality assurance checking process. Just under a third of all land parcels captured or amended are being checked, with 2.2 per cent. of land parcels checked requiring amendment before the map is sent to applicants.
RPA does not assess whether changes requested to maps are due to errors in the data capture or due to further amendments.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the time taken to receive a digital map from the Rural Payments Agency; and if she will make a statement. [54265]
Jim Knight: Over the past seven months the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has received well over 100,000 requests to register land or modify existing registrations. That number reflects an increase in demand of over 1000 per cent. over previous levels. Against this level of demand it is not surprising that requests have taken longer to process than had been previously been the case. In view of the unprecedented demand RPA introduced new procedures to reduce the processing timetable. Since the start of 2006 each request has taken on average six weeks to process.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average time taken was for the Rural Payments Agency to send out a digital map in the latest period for which a figure is available. [54266]
Jim Knight: Since 1 January 2006 the average time taken by Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to send a digital map is six weeks, timed from receipt of the request at RPA to the map being mailed.
Fly-tipping
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of fly-tipping were reported in (a) Uxbridge constituency and (b) the London borough of Hillingdon in each year since 1997; how many prosecutions were made as a result; and if she will make a statement. [53636]
Mr. Bradshaw: Defra has worked with the Environment Agency to establish Flycapture, the national database of 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. It is important to note that the data are probably an underestimate and will increase as authorities get better at collecting and reporting the data.
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The London borough of Hillingdon reported 2,128 incidents of fly-tipping between April 2004 and March 2005 (an average of 177 per month) and 1,799 between April 2005 and December 2005 (average 200 per month). During the same time periods the Environment Agency investigated 11 and 4 incidents respectively in Hillingdon.
The data submitted for prosecutions are incomplete but show that the London borough of Hillingdon took one prosecution in 2004–05 and six to date in 2005–06. The Environment Agency took two prosecutions in both 2004–05 and so far in 2005–06.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of trends in the amount of fly-tipping since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001. [54551]
Mr. Bradshaw: No national data were previously available before Flycapture, the national database for fly-tipping incidents, was launched in April 2004. Data from the first year's Flycapture reports have indicated that local authorities and the Environment Agency dealt with 955,426 incidents of fly-tipping in England and Wales between April 2004 and March 2005.
Gamma Interferon Working Group
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the terms of reference are for the Gamma Interferon Working Group; and when it is due to report to Ministers. [53875]
Mr. Bradshaw: The terms of reference for the Gamma Interferon Working Group are to consider and plan the use of the gamma interferon test as a policy delivery measure.
Although there is no set date when the group will report to Ministers, it will do so before the wider roll out of the test occurs later this year. In the meantime, Defra continues to facilitate the use of the gamma interferon test in certain prescribed circumstances.
Horse Riding
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from horse riders and horse riding organisations about access to (a) sites of specific interest and (b) national nature reserves; and if she will make a statement. [52731]
Jim Knight [holding answer 27 February 2006]: We have worked closely with both the British Horse Society (BHS) and the British Horse Industry Confederation on the production of the joint Horse Industry Strategy for England and Wales which was launched in December 2005. The strategy includes a range of proposals on increasing access to off-road riding. During consultation we received a number of representations covering a variety of horse related issues.
English Nature manages most of England's national nature reserves and is also responsible for administering the SSSI regime. It promotes and works to increase access and recreation on NNRs whilst also ensuring the protection of the special interest features of sites. My Department has recently received correspondence
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relating specifically to horse riding at Saltfleetby National Nature Reserve, to which a reply will be sent shortly.
House of Lords
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any (a) employee of her Department, (b) person engaged by her Department as a consultant and (c) paid adviser to her Department is a member of the House of Lords; and if she will make a statement. [52895]
Jim Knight: There are no records in the Department of any current employee, consultant or paid adviser also being a member of the House of Lords.
Natural Reserve
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the basis is of the calculation of the Natural Reserve; and if she will make a statement. [55650]
Jim Knight: National Reserve awards under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) have been calculated in accordance with the provisions of Article 42 of EU Council Regulation no. 1782/2003 and Articles 18—23a of EU Commission Regulation no.796/2004. Those provisions and details of how member state discretion, where provided for, has been exercised in England, were summarised in section F of the "Single Payment Scheme Handbook and Guidance for England 2005", a copy of which was sent to all SPS applicants in 2005. I am arranging for copies to the placed in the Libraries of the House.
Pension Liabilities
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the net present value of accrued pension liabilities in respect of (a) present and (b) former employees of her Department and its predecessors. [52113]
Jim Knight: The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefit scheme and individual departments' pension liabilities are not available. The Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts for 2004–05 showed that the total pension liability at 31 March 2005 was £84.1 billion. The value of pension liabilities was assessed as follows:
deferred pensions and contingent pensions for dependants in respect of members no longer contributing—£12.7 billion
As a result of a change in the discount rate used for calculating pension liabilities with effect from 1 April 2005, the total pension liability at 1 April 2005 increased by £10.6 billion to £94.7 billion.
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