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Marine Conservation
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to promote marine conservation. [79399]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Government are committed to a Marine Bill which will introduce a new framework, based on marine spatial planning, that balances conservation, energy and resource needs. The aim is to obtain best value from different uses of our valuable marine resources by maintaining and protecting the ecosystems on which they depend. We are developing integrated criteria for the selection of marine protected areas (MPAs), including those for wider nature conservation.
We are also considering how many additional protected areas might be needed to protect marine ecosystems and biodiversity and fulfil the international commitments we have made in this area.
Poultry Industry
Mr.
Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent
discussions he has had within the EU on the provision of financial
support to the poultry industry (a) in the UK and (b)
other member states.
[79587]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 26 June 2006]: A number of recent discussions involving the Commission and member states took place, between7 April 2006 and 21 June 2006. These culminated in the adoption of an amendment to Article 14 of Council Regulations 2777/75 and 2771/75 on the Common Organisation of the Market in Eggs and Poultrymeat, respectively.
The amendment provides legal powers to make special support measures available to member states in the event of significant evaporation of consumer confidence in poultry products as a direct result of avian influenza, causing the market to collapse.
Radon Gas
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice the Government have issued on the account which should be taken of levels of radon gas in decisions on building new schools. [77686]
Angela E. Smith: I have been asked to reply.
Resistance to contaminants, including radon, is covered by requirement C1 (2) of the Building Regulations. This requirement applies to all buildings including schools.
Recycling
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what representations he has received from local authorities on the recycling of televisions and computer monitors containing cathode ray tubes; [78442]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the national operational capacity for the recycling of televisions and computer monitors containing cathode ray tubes; [78440]
(3) how many (a) televisions and (b) monitors containing cathode ray tubes have been recycled from local authority civic amenity sites since July 2005. [78452]
Mr. Bradshaw: No such representations fromlocal authorities have been received. The majority of inquiries on the recycling of televisions and computer monitors received by DEFRA officials have been referred to the Department of Trade and Industry, who lead on implementation of the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive.
There are an increasing number of WEEErecovery plants opening in anticipation of the UK’s implementation of the WEEE directive that are capable of dealing with waste televisions andcomputer monitors. These plants are regulated by the Environment Agency under a waste management licence.
Information on the number of televisions and monitors which have been recycled from local authority civic amenity sites is not currently gathered by the Department.
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many public recycling bins are available in London; and what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) maintaining, (b) emptying and (c) replacing these bins in 2006-07. [79373]
Mr. Bradshaw: Latest available data show that London has 38 civic amenity sites and 2,715 recycling sites. A recycling site usually consists of more than one bin and, therefore, data are not available for numbers of public recycling bins in London. No estimate has been made centrally regarding costs.
A range of information and statistics on waste and recycling in London is available from Capitalwastefacts (an online fact-file developed by the Greater London Authority and London Remade), which is available at the following address:
http://www.capitalwastefacts.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx.
Rubbish Collection (Charging)
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect of variable charging for rubbish collection on levels of fly-tipping. [78244]
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of the introduction of variable charging for household waste. [78538]
Mr. Bradshaw: We have no current plans to introduce charging for household waste. The Government are considering what further steps are needed to tackle household waste as part of the review of the Waste Strategy, which will be published later this year. We are also looking at the spending pressures local authorities face, with regard to waste management, ahead of the comprehensive spending review.
Variable charging is one of a number of tools that could be used to encourage waste minimisation and recycling of household waste. Local authorities already have powers to run incentive schemes or require householders to separate their waste for recycling. Recent research shows that at least half of English local authorities have run, or are running, some form of incentive scheme and some, such as Barnet, require householders to separate their recycling.
Many countries, including some in the European Union, have introduced successful household waste charging schemes, achieving reductions in waste arisings and increases in the separation of waste for recycling. (Evidence from studies of this international experience shows a small increase in fly-tipping incidents when schemes are introduced, but this quickly tails off where schemes are well designed and effective enforcement action is taken.)
Rural Enterprise Scheme
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department plans to continue to process all applications for the Rural Enterprise Scheme, Processing and Marketing grant that are received up until 30 June; what the status is of the bid from Perry’s Cider of Dowlish Wake, Ilminster; and if he will make a statement. [80008]
Barry Gardiner [holding answer 27 June 2006]: All applications that are received by the closing date of30 June and which meet the eligibility requirements for the Rural Enterprise Scheme and Processing and Marketing Grant will be processed and given due consideration for funding.
The bids from Perry’s Cider of Dowlish Wake, Ilminster are currently undergoing technical assessment and, subject to meeting eligibility requirements, will be considered for funding by the RDS South West Regional Appraisal Panel at their final meeting on 25 and 26 July.
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has undertaken into live tests for bovine spongiform encephalopathy; and whether this included studies of prion proteins. [79812]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 26 June 2006]: Scientific investigation of a live animal test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy has been a priority part of the research programmes funded by DEFRA and other Government Departments for several years. Information on these projects can be found on the DEFRA and Medical Research Council websites:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/research/project data
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/current-research/current-mrc_tse_portfolio.htm
A wide range of possible diagnostic markers of the disease have been studied, with a particular focus on prion proteins.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance he has issued on whether cattle suspected ofbeing infected with a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy must be culled within a specified period under EC Regulation 999/2001. [79813]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 26 June 2006]: State Veterinary Service (SVS) staff are instructed to slaughter cattle suspected of being affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) at the time of their examination. In a minority of cases, the SVS arrange for live suspects to be transported to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) in Weybridge, subject to an assessment of fitness to travel and journey time considerations. BSE suspects received at the VLA are slaughtered within 72 hours of arrival. However, most BSE suspects are slaughtered on-farm.
Waste and Resources Action Programme
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s total annual expenditure was for (a) projects, (b) salaries and (c) office premises in each of the last five years. [78532]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested is set out in the following table:
| £ | |||
| Project | Salary | Premises | |
Waste Exports
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to tackle the illegal export of waste televisions and computer monitors containing cathode ray tubes. [78439]
Mr. Bradshaw: Waste electrical electronic equipment, such as television sets and computer monitors containing cathode ray tubes, are classified as hazardous waste for the purposes of shipment out of the UK. Under the Waste Shipment Regulation, the export of hazardous waste to non-Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries is prohibited. Exports of this waste to other OECD countries is permitted for recovery operations but such shipments would be subject to prior informed consent procedures.
The illegal shipment of waste abroad for disposal under the guise of recycling is totally unacceptable and the UK Government and competent authorities, such as the Environment Agency, take such matters extremely seriously. The Environment Agency will continue to monitor the scale and destination of waste at major UK ports through ongoing inspections, and will not hesitate to take enforcement action where evidence of illegal activity is found.
Trade and Industry
Clear Skies Scheme
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value was of the total funding pot under the Clear Skies scheme. [80772]
Malcolm Wicks: The Clear Skies programme had a £13.25 million budget over three years beginning January 2003.
Housing
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what value the current total funding pot has under Stream 1 of the low carbon buildings programme for householders. [80771]
Malcolm Wicks: The current funding for Stream 1 household applications under the low carbon buildings programme is £6.5 million over three years for the financial years 2006-07 to 2008-09.
Landlords (Retained Deposits)
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many actions have been initiated by trading standards officers against companies which have unfairly retained deposits paid on student accommodation; [75887]
(2) what estimate he has made of the amount of money unlawfully retained by companies from deposits on student accommodation in the last 12 months; [75888]
(3) what steps he is taking to encourage action against companies which unlawfully retain deposits paid by students who have rented student accommodation. [75889]
Angela E. Smith: I have been asked to reply.
The Government are committed to ensuring that where tenants pay a deposit to their landlord in good faith that it will be returned at the end of the tenancy, providing the tenant does not cause any damage or theft to the property. Provisions contained in Part 6 of the Housing Act 2004 will make it a requirement that any landlord who offers assured shorthold tenancies and wishes to take a monetary deposit must safeguard that deposit with a tenancy deposit scheme (TDS).
The Department does not hold information on the actions of trading standards officers or the level of deposits that may have been withheld by landlords.
Zimbabwe
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his policy is on investment by UK companies in Zimbabwe; and what steps he is takingto improve standards of corporate behaviour in Zimbabwe. [78630]
Mr. McCartney: The EU does not have economic or trade sanctions with Zimbabwe, and therefore we do not place any barriers on investment in Zimbabwe. UK companies will take decisions on investing in Zimbabwe on the basis of their commercial assessment of those investments.
There are no specific initiatives to improve corporate behaviour in Zimbabwe. HMG is however committed to promoting responsible business practice by British companies wherever they operate. We do this through a combination of sector-specific activities, such as;
The
extractive industries transparency initiative, which aimsto
increase transparency over payment by companies to
Government and Government linked entities, as well as transparency over
revenues by those host country
Governments.
The voluntary principles on security and human rights which aims to maintain the safety and security of extractive operations, whilst ensuring that human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected.
HMG also supports international organisations active on corporate responsibility such as the UN global compact, which seeks to promote responsible corporate citizenship so that business can be part of the solution to the challenges of globalisation.
International Development
Burmese Refugees
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what help he has made available to support relief groups in Thailand assisting those people displaced from their homes in Burma. [76022]
Mr. Thomas: There are three types of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Burma. These are (with the latest available numbers, from October 2005):
(i) people in temporary settlements in ceasefire areas administered by ethnic nationalities (340,000);
(ii) villagers who have been evicted by the Burmese Government and moved into designated relocation sites (108,000); and
(iii) civilians hiding from the Burmese Army in areas most affected by armed conflict (92,000).
The recent military offensive against the Karen people has swelled the number of civilians hiding in conflict areas by at least 15,000. DFID’s approach to providing emergency assistance to these IDPs has been to use our comparative advantage (the fact that we have a small presence inside the country and a strong network of relationships with ethnic minority and other groups) to reach the IDPs using local community groups inside Burma. This is a complementary approach to the use of relief teams operating cross-border from Thailand, and it enables access to IDPs who would not be reached by any other means, and through a mechanism which is much less-well supported by other donors. The development of civil society within the country is also a fundamental step in a successful transition to democracy.
The number of IDPs that we can reach from inside the country is limited. Access is difficult, and the small local groups with whom we are working do not currently have the capacity to deliver greater volumes of emergency relief, although we are working to strengthen their ability to do more. Those delivering assistance to IDPs cross border from Thailand face similar challenges. Therefore we recognise the importance of maintaining co-ordination with all donors (both those delivering assistance cross border, and those working inside the country) to ensure that together we manage to reach as many IDPs as possible.
DFID also
provides support to IDPs in temporary settlements in ceasefire areas in
eastern Burma through the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC),
to which we provide £500,000 a year, of which approximately 75
per cent. is attributable to work with displaced people in this
area.
In addition, our health, education and rural livelihood projects provide assistance in eastern Burma, and support internally displaced people in temporary settlements and designated relocation sites there, as well as other vulnerable people. For example, in Karen State, our Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar supports World Vision projects in two townships, Save the Children UK projects in four townships and Care projects in five townships, as well as supporting other national non-governmental organisations (NGOs). DFID-funded rural livelihoods and pre-primary education projects are also about to start in Karen State.
DFID is also providing support to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working among displaced Burmese people in the refugee camps on the Thai side of the Thai-Burma border—as a grantto the Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) of£1.8 million over three years. In addition, the UK contributes approximately the same amount again as its share of the EC’s support to the TBBC. The British embassy in Bangkok advocates on behalf of Burmese refugees living in Thailand through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to improve the situation in the refugee camps in Thailand and to bring about a relaxation of the regulations prohibiting freedom of movement and employment outside the camps.
Timber (Papua New Guinea)
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received regarding illegal logging in Papua New Guinea; and if he will make a statement. [78899]
Mr. Thomas: DFID has been informed of the seriousness of illegal logging in Papua New Guinea by my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Roger Berry) and by the British high commissioner. DFID has no programmes in Papua New Guinea through which it can offer assistance. However, DFID has raised this matter with the European Commission which will consider assistance.
Defence
Abuse of Power Reports
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons have been subject to disciplinary or administrative procedures as a result of failure to report an incident of abuse of power in the Army in the past 12 months. [79837]
Mr. Ingram: None. The most recent case concerned Corporal Daniel Kenyon who was convicted in February 2005 of failing to report an incident involving the abuse of Iraqi civilians.
Afghanistan
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how long he expects British troops to be based in Afghanistan. [80636]
Des Browne: As announced by my right hon. Friend, the then Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Reid) on 26 January 2006, Official Report, column 1529, the Helmand Task Force is planned to be a three year deployment. It is impossible to predict exactly how long there will be a UK military presence of somekind, as part of wider international support to the Government of Afghanistan, beyond that period.
Cluster Munitions
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with British manufacturers on the decision of the Belgian Government to ban cluster munitions. [79688]
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