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12 July 2006 : Column 1854W—continued
Plastic Bags
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the environmental impact of disposable plastic bags; and what support he is giving to research into bio-degradable alternatives. [81156]
Mr. Bradshaw: Plastic carrier bags make up 0.3 per cent. of the domestic waste stream and between 0.1 per cent. and 1 per cent. of visible litter. These figures are derived from municipal waste statistics and a visible litter survey conducted by INCPEN in 2004.
The Environment Agency is currently carrying out a study to consider the environmental impacts of a range of carrier bags (including disposable plastic carrier bags and bio-degradable alternatives) over their entire life-cycle, from raw material extraction through to product manufacture, use and final disposal. The study is due to report by the end of 2006.
The National Non-Food Crops Centre has also started work on Life Cycle Analysis comparison of plastic, oxodegradable and biodegradable bags, which will be available by March 2007. They have established a Thematic Working Group on Biopolymers which aims to promote and facilitate the expansion of this sector. Biopolymers are derived from renewable sources and can be used in a range of products including bags, which helps to develop a sustainable supply chain.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact on the environment of the (a) production and (b) use of plastic bags; and if he will make a statement. [82363]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 4 July 2006]: Plastic carrier bags make up 0.3 per cent. of the domestic waste stream and between 0.1 per cent. and 1 per cent. of visible litter. These figures are derived from municipal waste statistics and a visible litter survey conducted by the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN) in 2004.
DEFRA is working closely with the Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) and the industry to promote re-usable bags and encourage other sustainable schemes that will reduce the number of plastic bags produced and discarded.
The Environment Agency is currently carrying out a study to consider the environmental impacts of a range of carrier bags (including disposable plastic carrier bags and bio-degradable alternatives) over their entire life-cycle, from raw material extraction through to product manufacture, use and final disposal. The study is due to report by the end of 2006.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent discussions he has had with supermarkets about the production and use of plastic bags; and if he will make a statement; [82364]
(2) what steps he is taking (a) to reduce the production and use of and (b) to encourage the recycling of plastic bags; and if he will make a statement; [82365]
Mr. Bradshaw: DEFRA, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive have asked the Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) to carry out research on voluntary ways of reducing the number of free carrier bags taken by consumers from shops and supermarkets.
WRAP has recently conducted a pilot “Choose to Reuse” campaign to encourage consumers to reuse bags, whether they choose to purchase a “Bag for Life” made available through retailer schemes, or to bring their own bag with them each time they shop. The campaign was set up with a particular emphasis on supermarket shopping since the vast majority of
disposable free carrier bags are dispensed from these stores, and the frequency of visits enabled a more focused campaign with the aim of having the greatest impact on the consumer.
The pilots took place in two areas—Edinburgh and Bristol—running from mid-September until the end of November 2005. Retailers were invited to join in the campaign by WRAP and also encouraged by the British Retail Consortium, Scottish Retail Consortium and the Scottish Executive (in Edinburgh). The supermarket chains that decided to take part included ASDA, Tesco, Somerfield, Co-op, Scotmid and Waitrose.
The results will be published soon, and we will then look at how this work can be developed further.
Research Centre Closures
Mr. Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to be able to respond to the letter of 30 January 2006 to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office on proposals to close research centres under the Science and Innovation Strategy 2005 to 2008 which was subsequently transferred to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department in April 2006. [82677]
Mr. Bradshaw: I apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member’s letter. A response will be issued shortly.
Rural Enterprise Scheme
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Rural Enterprise scheme programme was ended; and how many applications were outstanding at that date, including those to which funding had been committed. [79686]
Barry Gardiner: The Rural Enterprise scheme (RES) closed to new applications on Friday 30 June 2006.
As of 6 July 2006, and across the whole country, some 641 applications for funding were undergoing validity and eligibility checks and technical assessment, or had completed those stages and were awaiting the next regional appraisal panel for them to be considered for funding.
Not all of these applications will ultimately be eligible for funding, and of those that are, Rural Development Service staff will have to consider which best meet the criteria of the scheme and offer best value for the limited funding that remains, in the context of regional priorities.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why Business Link was advertising the Rural Enterprise scheme after all the relevant funds had been committed. [80020]
Barry Gardiner: The Rural Enterprise scheme (RES) closed to new applications on Friday 30 June 2006. All eligible applications received by DEFRA's Rural Development Service up till that date are now being considered for the remaining funding on their merits and in competition with other projects.
DEFRA officials will work with Business Link to ensure that information on the scheme is updated appropriately.
Single Farm Payments
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many single farm payments (a) are outstanding and (b) have been made in each English region by the Rural Payments Agency; and if he will make a statement. [74636]
Barry Gardiner: The total number of Single Payment Scheme customers is approximately 120,000. As at 30 June, an estimated 8,500 claimants have yet to receive a payment. Approximately 460 currently have a claim value of more than €1,000.
Details of payments made in England up to 30 June 2006, including by constituency and county, will be published in due course.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people have yet to be paid any of their single farm payment; why the Rural Payments Agency computer was shut down between 27 May and 5 June; and for what reasons payments have yet to be made to eligible claimants. [77814]
Barry Gardiner: By close of business on 13 June 2006, 107,888 customers had received a full or partial payment. This means approximately 8,500 customers are yet to receive any payment. However, the vast majority of these claims are worth less than €1,000.
The computer system used by the Rural Payments Agency needed to be upgraded. This work was timed over the Bank Holiday weekend to minimise the impact on the business, but work carried on offline to continue processing and validation.
The reasons why customers have not received their payment yet vary widely between individuals but include customer registration issues, outstanding dual claims and Rural Land Register discrepancies.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers who have (a) valid claims, (b) part paid claims and (c) queried claims have yet to receive their full single farm payment. [77653]
Barry Gardiner [holding answer 15 June 2006]: The Rural Payments Agency is responsible for the administration of the Single Payment Scheme. As of 4 July 2006, 24,723 of an estimated claim population of 116,474 had not received their 2005 scheme payment in full. Some 16,176 farmers had received a partial payment and are awaiting the balance payment. The vast majority of the remaining 24,723 claims still have queries to resolve.
Veterinary Surgeons
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to encourage recruitment of veterinary surgeons to large animal veterinary practices; and how this is incorporated into the Government's animal health strategy. [83270]
Mr. Bradshaw: We are working in partnership with the veterinary profession to ensure that we have a sustainable large animal veterinary sector, which is able to play a full and effective part in the implementation of the animal health and welfare strategy, There are a range of challenges facing large animal veterinary practice and many of these are principally for the veterinary profession to address. I therefore welcome the recent Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' (RCVS) symposium “Postcards from the Future”, as a very helpful contribution to the ongoing dialogue.
We are training more veterinary surgeons than ever before and there is evidence that large animal work is still attractive to students. However, there are issues about the retention of newly qualified vets which were identified by research jointly funded by DEFRA and the RCVS. The RCVS’s initiatives on professional development phase and practice standards are examples of steps taken by the profession to help ensure that farm animal veterinary work provides a challenging and rewarding career for new graduates.
We are also working with the profession to better understand the trends within large animal veterinary practice and contributed to the RCVS 2006 Manpower survey. This information will help establish a stronger evidence base which should help keep the profession informed on key issues like recruitment and retention.
Water Companies
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to bring all water companies back into public ownership; and if he will make a statement. [84286]
Ian Pearson: No. Since the English and Welsh water and sewerage companies were privatised in 1989 they have become much more efficient and have greatly improved our drinking water quality and the water environment.
Leader of the House
EU Legislation
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Leader of the House what plans he has to improve the scrutiny of EU legislation. [83424]
Mr. Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) on 10 July 2006, Official Report, column 1560W.
Official Visits
David Simpson: To ask the Leader of the House on how many occasions he has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months. [84006]
Mr. Straw: Since being appointed on 5 May 2006, I have made no official visits to the regions in my capacity as Leader of the House. However, as Chair of the Select Committee on Modernisation, I visited the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff on 7 June, with other committee members, as part of the Committee's inquiry into the legislative process.
Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Leader of the House if he will allocate a slot during oral question time for an hon. Member appointed to take questions on the work of the parliamentary and health ombudsman. [82978]
Mr. Straw: I have no plans to do so.
Issues relating to the work and the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration can be raised with relevant departmental Ministers.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Khabra: To ask the Leader of the House what the cost to the Government was of administering written questions to Ministers in 2005-06. [83824]
Mr. Straw: The cost of answering a written question as notified to the House by the former Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Timms) on 22 March 2005, Official Report, column 47WS, is £134.00.
The cost to Government of answering the total of 78,152 written questions (ordinary and named day) tabled from the start of the current session until 30 June 2006 is estimated to be £10,472,368. This sum does not include costs of printing and those of the House.
Education and Skills
Foreign Language Courses
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research the Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the merits for students studying English language to be able to compare it with foreign languages. [82755]
Jim Knight: The Department is currently in the process of commissioning research which, through case studies, will assess the impact of modern foreign language learning on Key Stage 2 pupils over three years. This will include exploring whether language learning impacts on the attainment levels of other subjects such as English. The research is expected to report in the autumn 2009.
Free School Meals
Mrs. Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many secondary school pupils were eligible for free school meals in each local authority listed in ascending order in (a) the last year for which figures are available and (b) 1997; and what percentage of secondary school pupils took up free school meals in each year. [82664]
Jim Knight: The available information is shown in the following tables.
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