---

16 Mar 2006 : Column 2397W—continued

Flood Insurance

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what representations her Department has received on the availability of insurance to those who have been affected by flooding; [59438]

(2) what steps she plans to take to ensure that (a) commercial and (b) domestic properties in areas prone to flooding can obtain insurance cover; [59439]

(3) what discussions she has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on insurance for properties prone to flooding. [59440]

Mr. Morley: The Government continue to work with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) with a mutual aim of continuing affordable domestic flood cover into the future. The ABI has agreed and published on their website a Statement of Principles" which sets out the commitments made by the insurance industry to maintain flood insurance cover for the majority of domestic and small business properties at risk in association with commitments made by the Government on flood risk management.

Decisions by insurers are risk-based and unfortunately the industry is not able to provide insurance cover to 100 per cent. of properties at risk. Representations have been received relating to cases where people have experienced problems in obtaining insurance cover. However, the number of such representations is in line with our understanding that
 
16 Mar 2006 : Column 2398W
 
cover has continued to be available at competitive cost to the vast majority of properties in areas at risk of flooding.

Policy on insurance in general is a matter for Treasury. Officials from Treasury are included in our discussions with ABI but otherwise I have had no specific discussions on the matter with either the Chancellor or the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Mobile Telephone Masts (Guildford)

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has issued notice of contractual terminations to mobile phone companies relating to mobile telephone masts located in her departmental offices in Epsom Road, Merrow, Guildford. [58048]

Jim Knight: The Department has not issued a notice of termination to any mobile phone company in relation to telephone masts at its Epsom Road, Guildford offices.

A lease expires on 10 July 2006 and appropriate discussions will commence with the provider prior to that date.

Pandemic Influenza

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to ensure continuity of satisfactory water supplies in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza; and if she will make a statement. [58262]

Mr. Morley: My Department has liaised closely with water companies about their preparedness in the event of a flu pandemic. Water companies are aware of the Department of Health's influenza pandemic plan and are able to access it. They know the minimum staffing levels required for their key functions and they have taken this issue into account in their business continuity plans to ensure that they will have sufficient manpower available to maintain the delivery of water supplies.

Pollution

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what monitoring the Government undertakes of nitrous oxide levels in water supplies in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) England; and if she will make a statement. [58545]

Mr. Morley: Nitrous oxide is a trace gas in the atmosphere. It is produced naturally mainly by the bacteriological breakdown of nitrogen in oceans and the soils of rainforests. Its common name is laughing gas" and it is best known for its use as an anaesthetic in clinical dentistry. Approximately 65 per cent. of nitrous oxide emissions are accounted for by natural processes, the remainder is due to man's activities such as artificial fertilisers, manure fertilisers, fossil fuel combustion degradation (and nylon production. Other uses of nitrous oxide are as a propellant in aerosol cans, in place of CFCs and it is occasionally used in the fuel lines of racing cars to enhance acceleration.
 
16 Mar 2006 : Column 2399W
 

Drinking water supplies in England and Wales are tested for only those substances of relevance to public health. Tests are done routinely for nitrate and nitrite but not for nitrous oxide. The World Health Organisation has not found it necessary on health grounds to set a guideline value for nitrous oxide in drinking water. Likewise there is no standard set in the EU Drinking Water Directive and no requirement in the drinking water regulations for England and Wales for water companies to monitor drinking water supplies for nitrous oxide. Details of nitrate and nitrite standards and concentrations in drinking water are published on the website of the Drinking Water Inspectorate www.dwi.gov.uk. Consumers in Bedfordshire can obtain the most up to date drinking water quality testing results for their homes and workplaces directly from their local water company.

Because nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas, environmental scientists have shown an interest in its concentration in the water environment. A correlation between the natural water concentrations of nitrate and nitrous oxide is recorded in the scientific literature pointing towards nitrification in soil as a main production mechanism of nitrous oxide in groundwater. However, nitrous oxide is not only produced as an intermediate step in the process of nitrification of ammonia in the presence of oxygen but it is also produced by denitrification of nitrate in the absence of oxygen. A NERC funded study of groundwater concentrations in the R. Bure catchment area of Norfolk was undertaken by University of East Anglia in 2001. The Environment Agency is responsible for determining the monitoring requirements for rivers and groundwater in England and Wales.

Renewable Energy

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what her Department's policy is on biofuels; [57787]

(2) what support her Department gives to the agricultural sector to grow and process alternative crops for renewable energy; [57788]

(3) what steps she is taking (a) to promote alternative crops for renewable energy and (b) to encourage the establishment of biofuel processing plants in England; [57789]

Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps she is taking to promote oilseed rape and sugar beet farming for the biofuels industry in rural areas; [58371]

(2) what steps she is taking to promote the domestic biofuels industry in the UK. [58372]

Mr. Morley: Bio-energy has an important role in supporting the Government's objectives for improving sustainability, reducing the impact of climate change, farm diversification and supporting rural jobs and areas.

Farmers growing certain crops for transport biofuels or the generation of heat and electricity can receive the single payment for crops on set-aside land or where the €45/ha energy aid payment is claimed for crops on non set-aside land. Grants are available to farmers to establish energy crops for heat and power generation
 
16 Mar 2006 : Column 2400W
 
and to develop supply chains for energy crops and wood fuel, from harvest and processing through to delivery to end-users. Research has been commissioned to improve pest and disease resistance and crop yields.

The production of transport biofuels is supported through the 20 pence per litre cut in the duty rate for biodiesel and bioethanol. This has brought forward sales amounting to around 0.25 per cent. of all road fuel sales. In order to further develop supply, the Government have announced that a renewable transport fuels obligation will be introduced. This will require 5 per cent. of road fuel to come from a renewable source by 2010. Other measures are being considered, such as duty incentives to encourage the mixing of biomass with hydrocarbons in the conventional refinery process, and an enhanced capital allowance scheme for the cleanest biofuels processing plants. The latter scheme would allow the cost of capital assets to be written off against taxable profits. Regional support grants for capital investment in production plants are already available. A number of companies are either building, or have plans to build, biofuel processing plants that will include UK-grown oilseed rape, wheat or sugar beet as a feedstock.

£66 million has been allocated to develop markets for biomass, including energy crops, in heat and electricity generation. Electricity suppliers are required to source 15 per cent. of their electricity from renewables, including energy crops, by 2015. Co-firing of energy crops with fossil fuels in conventional power stations is developing. A cross-departmental team is looking at the recommendations of the Biomass Task Force on ways to overcome the barriers to developing biomass heat and power. The Government will publish a full response by the end of April.

---