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22 May 2006 : Column 1305W—continued
Milk Quotas
Mr. Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether milk quotas may be traded between member states of the European Union. [70315]
Mr. Bradshaw: Milk quotas cannot be sold or leased between member states. Council Regulation 1788/2003 specifies total quota levels for each member state. Our view is that any attempt to transfer quota to another member state would be contrary to that legislation. In recent discussions the EU Commission confirmed it shared our view.
Ministerial Flights
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the flights taken by Ministers in his Department since 2001; and what measures to offset the carbon emissions were taken for each flight. [68938]
Ian Pearson: All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Library. Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. Copies of the lists are available in the Library. Information for 2005-06 is currently being compiled and will be published when it is ready.
All central Government ministerial and official air travel is being offset from 1 April 2006. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to a central fund. The fund purchases Certified Emissions Reductions credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with high sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries. In addition, offsetting the flights of DEFRA Ministers have been backdated to 1 April 2005.
Other detailed information on flights could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for Ministers of State in his Department on foreign visits in each of the last three years. [69090]
Barry Gardiner: All ministerial travel, including overnight accommodation, complies with the terms of the ‘Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers’. When travelling on official business Ministers make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. DEFRA's financial records for ministerial travel do not separate out overnight accommodation and this information could be generated only at disproportionate cost.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions Ministers of State in his Department stayed overnight in (a) five star, (b) four star and (c) three star hotels on foreign visits in each of the last three years. [69091]
Barry Gardiner: All ministerial travel, including overnight accommodation, complies with the terms of the ‘Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers’. When travelling on official business Ministers make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. DEFRA's financial records for ministerial travel do not include details of the rating of hotels at which Ministers stayed on foreign visits and this information could be generated only at disproportionate cost.
Nappies
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what progress has been made towards the Waste and Resources Action Programme Real Nappy Campaign's target of diverting 35,000 tonnes of waste from landfill by April 2006; [72308]
(2) what plans he has to establish further targets for the Waste and Resources Action Programme Real Nappy Campaign. [72309]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) reports annually on its overall progress in meeting targets, including work under the Real Nappy Programme. WRAP’s latest annual achievements report will be published towards the end of July.
At the start of the programme, 91 per cent. of expectant parents said they intended to use disposable nappies. Work done for the Environment Agency suggested the figure could be as high as 94 per cent. WRAP will survey parents again at the end of the programme to establish the level of change in intended behaviour. An estimate of the level of diversion will also be made and published at that time, taking account of the survey and other quantitative evidence.
There are no further plans to establish targets. The Real Nappy Campaign was funded for three years from April 2003 to March 2006, although some funding has been provided for 2006-07 to meet existing commitments.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department allocated to Real Nappy Week 2006; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the event. [70930]
Mr. Bradshaw: Real Nappy Week is supported by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) as part of their Real Nappy Initiative and receives funding from DEFRA and the Scottish Executive. The budget for all aspects of the week’s events was £250,000.
This year marked the 10(th )Anniversary of Real Nappy Week. More than 500 events were planned throughout the UK and a record number of supporters signed up to back the event. This included over 90 per cent. of all UK local authorities and 155 MPs, MSPs, MEPs and Welsh AMs.
WRAP will provide a full report on Real Nappy Week once all the information has been collated. This is expected in June.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department's review of England's Waste Strategy will address the promotion of reusable nappies. [70931]
Mr. Bradshaw: The review of England's Waste Strategy will discuss a range of waste minimisation and prevention measures. It is too early to state whether re-usable nappies will specifically be addressed.
North Sea Ministerial Meeting
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Ministers were present for each day of the North Sea Ministerial Meeting on the Environmental Impacts of Shipping and Fisheries in Gothenburg, Sweden on 4 and 5 May; what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Executive on the meeting; and if he will make a statement. [71925]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 18 May 2006]: The list of attendees at the North Sea Ministerial Meeting on the Environmental Impacts of Shipping and Fisheries held in Gothenburg, Sweden on 4 and 5 May can be found at http://www.seas-at-risk.org/pdfs/SAR_GothenburgPressRelease_03.pdf
Nuclear Power
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with (i) representatives of and (ii) advisers to the nuclear power industry in each of the last two years; who he met on each occasion; and what the purpose was of each meeting. [72288]
David Miliband: The Secretary of State has had no such meetings. Departmental records also show no such meetings.
Oak Trees
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to promote the planting of oak trees. [71581]
Barry Gardiner: In the Action Plan for our Statement of Policy for England’s Ancient and Native Woodland we promote woodland creation which extends, buffers and links ancient woodland through both the Forestry Commission’s English Woodland Grant Scheme and DEFRA’s Environmental Stewardship grants. In order to respect the biodiversity values of ancient woodland much of this type of woodland creation will involve the use of native species including a significant proportion of oak.
Most new woodland planting and restocking that is carried out by private landowners is grant aided by the Forestry Commission. The incentives available favour the planting of native broadleaves and a large proportion of these will be oak.
In England the Forestry Commission has embarked on a programme to restore 15,000 hectares of ancient semi-natural woodland on the public forest estate by 2020 and this will include planting and regenerating native tree species, including oak. In addition most new planting by the Commission will be with native broadleaves and, where site conditions are suitable, oak will be well represented in these new woodlands.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of mature oak trees in England and Wales in each of the last five years. [71617]
Barry Gardiner: A national woodland survey is carried out by the Forestry Commission at intervals of between 15 and 20 years. The most recent report for England was published in 2001 and for Wales in 2002.
The survey reports include estimates of: (a) the area of oak woodland; (b) individual oak trees; and (c) numbers of oak trees growing in small groups or narrow linear features.
An estimate of the planting year is included in the reports where woodland is, or could become, capable of producing wood of a size and quality suitable for sawlogs (High Forest Category 1).
This information for England and Wales is reproduced in the following tables:
| All oak woodland and trees (i.e. groups a-c above) | |
| Planting year class for oak (i.e. High Forest Category 1) | ||
| Hectares | ||
| Planting year | England | Wales |
Private Office Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of his private office staff is (a) male, (b) female and (c) disabled. [69098]
Barry Gardiner: For all ministerial private offices in DEFRA the proportions are:
(a) 23 per cent.
(b) 77 per cent. and
(c) 0 per cent.
Recruitment
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on recruitment, search and selection agencies in each of the last five years. [68341]
Barry Gardiner: This information is not held centrally within the Department, and therefore could be made available only at disproportionate cost.
Recycling
Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the average cost per tonne of recycling waste material in (a) Swindon and (b) England in each of the last three years. [71652]
Mr. Bradshaw: DEFRA does not gather information on individual recycling schemes or the costs of recycling waste material. These will vary depending on a number of factors, including the collection method used by a local authority, the materials collected and the market for recycled materials.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the schemes used by local authorities which have achieved the highest recycling rates for household waste. [69940]
Mr. Bradshaw: Government sets statutory recycling and composting targets for all waste collection authorities in England. Each individual authority is free to choose its own method of collection (i.e. the
type of recycling scheme). However, DEFRA does not collect this information from local authorities.
The top 10 performing local authorities for household recycling and composting in 2004-05 used a range of DEFRA-funded and supported schemes, including the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund (NWMRF), the Local Authority Support Unit's Direct Consultancy Support Programme (LASU DCS), the Household Incentives Scheme, New Technologies Supporter Programme and the Waste Performance and Efficiency Grant (WPEG). In addition, the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) ROTATE service is resourced by DEFRA to provide impartial support to authorities on kerbside collection of recyclables.
The following table provides a breakdown of schemes used:
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