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10 Mar 2006 : Column 1798W—continued
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Cetaceans
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what resources have been deployed by her Department during the last three years to assess, monitor and measure the (a) level and (b) cause of cetacean strandings on the western approaches; and to which institutions. [56151]
Mr. Bradshaw: Strandings data is obtained under the DEFRA-funded UK Cetacean and Turtle Strandings Scheme. The scheme is co-ordinated by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Institute of Zoology, the Scottish Agricultural College and Marine Environmental Monitoring. Over the past three years, DEFRA has provided total funding of £1,296,322 to these organisations to carry out this scheme across the UK.
During this period, DEFRA has also commissioned an associated research project investigating anthropogenic acoustic damage to cetaceans in UK waters, through the detailed examination of the auditory apparatus of stranded or by-caught cetaceans. To date, DEFRA has provided the Institute of Zoology with total funding of £25,000 to undertake this work.
Fisheries
Norman Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many of the UK vessels using bottom set gillnets and tangle nets in ICES areas VII e, f, g, h and j that are required to use acoustic deterrent devices (pingers) as of 1 January to prevent the deaths of harbour porpoises and other cetaceans (a) are complying with this requirement by using pingers and (b) are not using pingers; how much
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netting effort this represents in each case; and what measures she has in place (i) to enforce compliance and (ii) to assess the efficacy of this measure in preventing the incidental capture of porpoises; [55455]
(2) what measures she plans to put in place to (a) ensure that UK fishing vessels using bottom set gillnet or entangling net in ICES areas VII e, f, g, h and j comply with the requirement to use accoustic deterrent devices from 1 January 2006 under Regulation (EC) No. 812/2004 and (b) assess the efficacy of this measure in preventing the incidental capture of harbour porpoises; [38833]
(3) what steps are being taken to prevent the deaths of harbour porpoises and other cetaceans in UK gillnet and tangle net fisheries in the Western Channel and Celtic sea caused by vessels which fail to use acoustic deterrent devices from 1 January 2006. [38834]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answers 2 March 2006]: The Seafish Industry Authority (Seafish) has produced a report on the efficacy, costs and availability of pingers. My officials are in active discussions with the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation, Seafish and the pinger manufacturers to address the issues raised in the report and are undertaking final trials to establish the most suitable device. Further, the European Commission, responding to a paper submitted by the Irish Government, are holding a meeting of technical experts from affected member states to consider the Seafish report and others from France and Ireland which reached similar conclusions.
This will mean that there will be delay in implementing the obligations of the regulation. I consider, however, that it is important that we are sure that the devices to be used are both effective for the industry and offer maximum protection to porpoises.
Landfill
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of capacity in landfill sites in England has been used in each of the last five years. [54323]
Mr. Bradshaw: Land raising, settlement and variations in density of the materials deposited, together with re-use of old areas within sites means that information is not usefully recorded in the form requested. Estimates in cubic metres of the remaining capacity of all licensed landfill sites were published in 1999 by the Environment Agency as Strategic Waste Management Assessment reports covering the nine planning regions of England. These showed an estimated remaining landfill capacity in England in excess of 27 billion (thousand million) cubic metres.
Recycling (Herefordshire)
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what targets her Department has put in place to encourage Herefordshire council to recycle (a) domestic waste and (b) commercial waste. [56723]
Mr. Bradshaw:
All local authorities in England have been set a statutory recycling/composting target for municipal waste. Herefordshire council's target for
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2005–06 is 21 per cent. These targets were reviewed and consulted on in 2005. The responses are currently undergoing analysis and a decision on future targets will be made on completion of that process.
To date local authorities have not been set recycling targets for commercial waste.
As an authority with waste disposal duties Herefordshire council has also been set a landfill allowance for the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) it sends to landfill. These allowances are designed to ensure England fulfils its obligation under the EU landfill directive to reduce the amount of BMW sent to landfill to 75 per cent. of the 1995 level produced by 2010, 50 per cent. by 2013 and 35 per cent. by 2020.
The allowance for each local authority is based on the amount of BMW it sent to landfill in 2001–02 and is driving local authorities to recycle/compost as much of this material as possible. The allowance for all waste disposal authorities for each year until 2020 is available on the DEFRA website at:
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Commission for Africa
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what timetable he has set for the implementation of the recommendations of the Prime Minister's Commission for Africa. [57534]
Hilary Benn: The Commission for Africa Report set out a wide range of recommendations for African countries and their donor partners. Each recommendation has its own timetable. This is reflected in the detailed report on what the UK has been doing to take forward the Commission's recommendations and make sure that the G8's commitments are implemented which has been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses today. It is vital that we all deliver on the promises of 2005.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what mechanisms his Department has put in place to ensure that the recommendations of the Commission for Africa are fully implemented. [57535]
Hilary Benn: As recommended by the report of the Commission for Africa, we are supporting the development of effective monitoring. As the UK, the Government have already published a Gleneagles Plan of Implementation setting out the milestones we need to meet to stay on track for delivery of the overall G8 package agreed last year which encompassed many Commission for Africa recommendations. This has been placed in the Library of both Houses and is updated regularly.
The UK Government have regular meetings at ministerial level to monitor implementation of CFA and G8 commitments. At the international level, the Africa Partnership Forum will be tracking delivery on the basis
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of a Joint Action Plan, which brings together the commitments of Africa and her development partners for the first time.
One year on from the launch of the Commission's report, and eight months after the Gleneagles Summit, this is a good time to take stock of progress. I am depositing in the Libraries of both Houses today a detailed report on what the UK has been doing to take forward the Commission's recommendations and to make sure that the G8's commitments are implemented.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendation by the Commission for Africa on the use of assessments of how to reduce the risk of violent conflict and improve human security in formulating country and regional assistance strategies. [57536]
Hilary Benn: The Commission for Africa Report set out a wide range of recommendations for African countries and its donor partners. Each recommendation has its own timetable. This is reflected in the detailed report on what the UK has been doing to take forward the Commission's recommendations and make sure that the G8's commitments are implemented, which has been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses today.
Specific examples of DFID's work on improving and increasing the use of conflict assessments include:
Much of the UK's conflict work in Africa is carried out through the interdepartmental (DFID, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence) Africa Conflict Prevention Pool (ACPP). Over the past few months, the ACPP has commissioned work on baseline conflict trends in Africa, this gives a much clearer picture of conflict across the continent and will be used to inform and revise sub-regional strategies for the ACPP and other UK government activities.
DFID's own Security and Development paper also recommended that country programmes should undertake more conflict assessments. Following on from this, DFID has recently undertaken a review of the use of Strategic Conflict Assessments throughout our country programmes. The report concludes with a range of recommendations to increase the use and improve the quality of conflict assessments among DFID country programmes and to mainstream these.
DFID has previously undertaken or supported conflict assessments, as part of the development of country assistance strategies, in Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenya, Angola, Uganda and, more recently, in Somalia.
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