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Roads
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average cost to public funds was of a road fatality in the last period for which figures are available. [80199]
Dr. Ladyman: The values used to estimate the benefits of the prevention of road accidents and casualties are set out in the “Highways Economic Note No. 1: 2004 Valuation of the Benefits of Prevention of Road Accidents and Casualties” which can be found on the DfT website at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/qroups/dft_rdsafety/documents/divisionhomepage/030763.hcsp
The average values, based on 2004 casualty data, are £1,384,463 for a fatality and £1,573,217 for a fatal accident. These amounts are the values to be used in the appraisal of road traffic schemes. The casualty figure takes account of lost output (which includes any non-wage payments paid by the employer), medical and ambulance costs and human costs based on willingness to pay values representing pain, grief and suffering. The accident figure is higher because it includes non-casualty specific costs such as the costs of policing, insurance and administrative costs and damage to property, and because on average more than one casualty is involved in each accident.
Included within these values are the costs to public funds for medical, ambulance and police costs (emergency services) which in 2004 averaged at £817 per fatal casualty and £7,076 per fatal accident. In addition some element of the lost output cost would be considered as a cost to public funds.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much central Government funding has been allocated to East Riding of Yorkshire council for road improvements in each year since 1997-98; and if he will make a statement. [80529]
Gillian Merron: The following table shows the funding allocated to The East Riding of Yorkshire council in the local transport capital settlements since 1997-98. The funding allocation includes the integrated transport block, road maintenance block and approximately £5 million provided in 2004-05 for the replacement of the Dutch River Bridge.
The integrated transport block allocations are available for local authorities to use on road and public transport improvements, according to their local priorities.
| East Riding of Yorkshire council | |
| Total funding (£000) | |
In addition central funding support for services, including routine highways services, is provided through revenue support grant. This is not allocated by the Government between individual council services.
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to announce (a) the regional funding allocation for the South West and (b) funding for the upgrade of the A358. [81160]
Dr. Ladyman: We are currently considering the South West region’s advice on the priority it attaches to the upgrade of the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton and other major transport schemes in the South West. We hope to announce our response to the region’s advice before the parliamentary summer recess.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Bovine TB
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the case for the planned badger cull since the publication of his Department’s most recent figures for new cases of notified bovine tuberculosis. [78618]
Mr. Bradshaw: We welcome the fact that the number of new bovine TB incidents in Great Britain overall has decreased over the last few months. However, given the cyclical nature of the disease it is too early to draw any conclusions about whether this is a temporary or more sustained reduction and we will continue to monitor the position closely. The reduction is likely to be caused by a complex combination of factors.
In considering whether to cull badgers, we are taking into account all the evidence including the science, and considering how an effective cull might be delivered on the ground. Any policy must form part of a holistic approach to bovine TB that balances cattle and wildlife controls.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who the members of the Gamma Interferon Working Group are; and when each was appointed. [78345]
Mr. Bradshaw: Members of the working group were drawn from officials across the Department, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, the State Veterinary Service, the Welsh Assembly Government and SEERAD. They were appointed in October 2005.
Brixham Fish Market
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2006, Official Report, column 887W, on Brixham Fish Market, what the normal procedures referred to are; and when he expects a decision on the new fish market at Brixham to be made. [80661]
Mr. Bradshaw: In England, Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance grant applications are considered in quarterly competitive tranches. Applications are assessed by an internal panel of representatives from Defra, the Marine Fisheries Agency and the Regional Development Agencies. Those applications that appear to the panel to best match the criteria are prioritised for funding within budgetary limits. In this instance, the panel considered the Torbay council application on25 May. A final decision will be made when an assessment of the potential impact of a possible restriction of scallop dredging in Lyme Bay is completed. I expect this to be within the next few weeks.
Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary ofState for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will reply to the letter dated 12 May from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms C. Greenhalgh. [79486]
Mr. Bradshaw: The letter has been transferredto the Cabinet Office as the Department with responsibility for policy on civil contingency planning. Unfortunately, there was a delay in transferring the letter, for which I apologise to the Hon. member.
Disposable Nappies
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the time taken for a disposable nappy to decompose. [79267]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Wisard software tool used by the Environment Agency (EA) in their report, “Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Nappies in the UK”, assumed a 500 year time boundary for leachate in landfill. The EA therefore concluded that it would take that amount of time for the plastic part of a disposable nappy to decompose. The paper-fluff and faeces should take approximately 100 and 10 years respectively to degrade.
Field Mapping
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of accuracy in field mapping by the Rural Payments Agency; and what measures his Department is undertaking to improve accuracy. [80702]
Barry
Gardiner [holding answer 27 June 2006]: The Rural
Payments Agency (RPA) is responsible for the maintenance of the Rural
Land Register (RLR), and information from the RLR is used to support
claims to the Single Payment Scheme. The process of digitising land and
amending existing land registrations has been amended recently, with
activity brought back onto RPA’s main computer system. This
followed a period
when an outsourced provider was used to digitise land during a period of
exceptionally high
demand.
The digitisation process itself includes a number of quality checks to ensure that the correct land parcel and area are digitised. Where errors are found they are corrected before maps are issued to customers. Further amendments are made where customers identify issues with the maps they receive. RPA is aware of a number of cases where there have been issues with maps sent to customers. The re-establishment of an in-house process will aid the cross check of new and amended land areas to customer details.
Fish Farms
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary ofState for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the outbreak of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia at a fish farm on a tributary of the Ouse in Yorkshire; and what steps his Department is taking to prevent the spread of the disease; [78188]
(2) what plans his Department has to instigate the compulsory slaughter of diseased fish reared on fish farms; [78190]
(3) if his Department will compensate those fish farm owners who have their stock compulsorily slaughtered as a result of disease; and if he will make a statement. [78191]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 June 2006, Official Report,column 903W.
On 19 June, the National Control Centre of the Cefas, Weymouth Laboratory confirmed that viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VMS) has been detected in a sample of grayling taken from the River Nidd below the outlet of the farm infected with the disease, although the infected fish showed no clinical signs of the disease. Further comprehensive sampling and testing is taking place on fish in the river, both below and above the infected farm.
Fish disease experts at Cefas advise that although there is no scientific evidence that VMS virus infection causes significant outbreaks in wild freshwater fish stocks, any persisting infection in wild stocks could be a source of infection or re-infection for trout farms in the vicinity through VMS virus contamination of the river supply to the farm.
There are no plans at present to carry out compulsory slaughter of fish on farms in the areas of the River Ouse and River Don affected by the current outbreak but the matter will be kept under review. No further cases of VMS have been detected on fish farms.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the locations are of fish farms on which the presence of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia has been detected in the UK. [78189]
Mr.
Bradshaw: Viral haemorrhagic septicaemiawas
confirmed in rainbow trout at Nidderdale TroutFarm, Low
Laithe, Summerbridge, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG3 4BU on 26 May
2006. No further cases
of the disease have been detected so far at any other farm during a
comprehensive sampling and testing
programme.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the incidence and spread of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia among farmed fish populations. [78192]
Mr. Bradshaw: Following the confirmation of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VMS) in farmed rainbow trout on a fish farm in Yorkshire on 26 May 2006, my Department, through its Executive agency Cefas, commissioned an epizootiological investigation into the source of the infection. This investigation includes the testing of farmed and wild fish populations which may have had contact with the infected stock, as wellas all of the other potential pathways of disease transmission.
The Department has acknowledged the seriousness and potential impact of this most important disease on the UK aquaculture industry, and has previously funded research projects on epidemiology and mathematical modelling of disease outbreaks, the pathogenicity and transmission of different strains of the virus, and studies on the detection of the virus in fish and cell cultures.
Fishing Fleets
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much and what proportion of the EU fund for the modernisation of fishing fleets he expects to be allocated to British-owned vessels. [80160]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 26 June 2006]: No decisions have been taken on what will be funded under the new EU fisheries fund (EFF). The UK expects to receive, subject to confirmation, around €112 million from the EU; the overall EU resources available for the fund will be €3,849 million.
The operational programme to implement the EFF will set out priorities for using the fund and we will consult on this later in the year. Modernising the fishing fleet is only part of the range of measures available, and we do not want to fund anything which could increase capacity.
Our over-arching aim is to have a sector which is sustainable and profitable and supports strong local communities, managed effectively as an integral part of coherent policies for the marine environment.
Freshwater Fish
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to introduce a compensation scheme in response to any need for the compulsory slaughter of freshwater fish stocks; and if he will make a statement. [79855]
Mr.
Bradshaw [holding answer 26 June 2006]: My
Department has no plans to introduce such a scheme.
Under successive Governments, compensation has not been available for
the compulsory slaughter of fish due to an outbreak of serious fish
diseases; this remains my Department's
policy.
Household Waste
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government has to reduce household waste. [79189]
Mr. Bradshaw: The waste minimisation programme run by the Government-funded Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) is working to stem the growth of household waste. This is part of a package of measures to enable the UK to meet the requirements of the landfill directive and move towards sustainable waste management.
As part of the programme, WRAP is working with 13 major retailers to reduce the amount of waste from supermarkets, including looking for ways to redesign packaging as well as support for research and development into waste minimisation. It is also working with local authorities to establish greater participation in home composting through its targeted National Home Composting Programme.
In its recent consultation on the review of its Waste Strategy, the Government identified the importance of waste prevention for reducing waste, including in the household. So far only limited progress is being made to prevent waste, and so more needs to be done. The revised Waste Strategy, due to be published later this year, will identify what further steps should be taken.
The revised Waste Strategy will also outline what can be done to build on recent improvements in household recycling. The consultation on the review proposed target increases for household waste recycling to 40 per cent. by 2010, 45 per cent. by 2015 and 50 per cent.by 2020.
Local authorities received £45 million in 2005-06, £105 million in 2006-07 and £110 million in 2007-08 under the Waste Performance and Efficiency Grant to help them develop new and more efficient ways to deliver waste reduction and increase recycling and diversion from landfill.
Landfill Directive
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what percentage of the biodegradable waste required to meet the first EU Landfill Directive has been diverted from landfill in the UK; [78529]
(2) whether local authorities will be financially liable for the UK’s compliance in meeting the EU Landfill Directive’s targets. [78535]
Mr. Bradshaw: Article 5(2) of the EC Landfill Directive sets three target years (2006, 2009 and 2016) by which member states must reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill in proportion to the amount produced in 1995.
The directive also allows member states which landfilled over 80 per cent. of their municipal waste in 1995 to postpone the targets by up to four years. The Government have informed the European Commission of its intention to make use of this four-year derogation, which means the target years for the UK are 2010, 2013 and 2020.
The UK target for 2010 is to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to no more than 75 per cent. of that produced in 1995. For England, this equates to 11.2 million tones in 2010. It is estimated that in 2003-04, around 14.7 million tonnes was disposed of in this way, with a provisional estimate of a further reduction to around 13.9 million tonnes in 2004-05(i.e. 124 per cent. of the 2010 target).
In preparation to the first 2010 target year, the UK have already taken steps to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill. The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS), was launched in April 2005, and is one of the Government’s key measures to encourage progressive reductions in the amount of biodegradable municipal waste that disposal authorities are able to send to landfill sites.
Should any waste disposal authority have landfilled more waste than it holds allowances for, it can use the sixth month reconciliation period (from March to the end of September), to trade, borrow or bank allowances to manage their liabilities. Any waste disposal authority which has landfilled biodegradable municipal waste in excess of the allowances it holds at the end of the reconciliation period will be liable to a financial penalty of £150 per tonne (according to section 9(2) of the Waste and Emissions Trading Act).
The LATS regulations also provide for supplementary penalties (in addition to any penalties for exceeding allowances) that are proportional to(a) any fines imposed on the UK in respect of obligations under the Landfill Directive and (b) the amount by which an authority exceeds its allowance in a Landfill Directive target year, or subsequent scheme years following Landfill Directive target years.
Due to the nature of a tradable allowances scheme,it is not possible to accurately assess now whether any waste disposal authority is likely to landfill biodegradable municipal waste in excess to that which it holds allowances for until the Environment Agency has completed the reconciliation process for the LATS scheme year 2005-06, expected by the end of September.
Marine Bill
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to bring forward a draft Marine Bill; and if he will make a statement. [78416]
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to publish a draft Marine Bill; what steps are being taken to ensure that the Marine Bill is introduced and passed at the earliest opportunity; and how the Marine Bill will protect the marine environment of the UK. [78619]
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Government expect to publish the draft Marine Bill. [79057]
Mr. Bradshaw: Defra published a consultation document on 29 March 2006 setting out the Government’s thinking in a number of key areas to be addressed by a Marine Bill. These include marine spatial planning, nature conservation, licensing reform, and the possibility of setting up a new marine organisation. We had already undertaken initial consultation on some fisheries issues that will also be dealt with in the Bill.
The final scope of our proposals for a Marine Bill, including the strategic direction we should take, will not be decided until we have fully considered the responses to the consultation exercise. The consultation period ended on 23 June 2006. We will publish a summary of the responses within three months.
We will need to take these responses into account before any decision is made on the timing of further consultation on detailed proposals for a draft Bill. Introduction of a Marine Bill will follow later in this Parliament, subject to the availability of parliamentary time. We want to move forward swiftly, but this is a complex area and we must make sure that we take sufficient time to consult effectively and get our proposals right.
The Government’s primary purpose for a new Marine Bill is to introduce a stronger framework for the seas, based on marine spatial planning, that balances conservation, energy and resource needs. Together with a planning system for the marine area, we have proposed a number of possible approaches for the reform of marine nature conservation legislation. These include new mechanisms for the conservation of marine ecosystems and biodiversity, including protected areas for important species and habitats.
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