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19 Dec 2006 : Column 1781W—continued
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on bottled water since the last period for which figures were given in the answer of 19 January 2006, Official Report, column 1461W, on departmental expenditure. [107707]
Barry Gardiner: The Department has spent £8,327.68 on bottled water between the periods of January to end November 2006.
Departmental Finance
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what departmental capital projects exceeded their original funding allocations in 2005-06. [106117]
Barry Gardiner: The Department does not currently allocate and account for its internal capital budgets by individual programmes or projects, although it is planning to introduce such changes from April 2007. Instead capital budgets are allocated and reported upon along functional lines to Directorates that oversee the policy area and to executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to sustain their asset base. For example, capital budgets are allocated to the DEFRA units responsible for the Departmental estate; IT; flood defence; and waste management. Many of these individual projects are then carried out by third parties such as local authorities. Because capital expenditure is captured in this format the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay Rates
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what average hourly rate was paid for (a) a member of staff employed at his Department and remunerated through an employment agency and (b) a member of staff employed and remunerated directly by his Department in the latest period for which figures are available. [101119]
Barry Gardiner: The average hourly rate paid to civil servants covered by the core-Department’s pay arrangements (core-DEFRA, State Veterinary Service, Pesticides Safety Directorate, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Marine Fisheries Agency and Government Decontamination Service) is £13.21. From information held centrally, the mean hourly charge rate paid by DEFRA for staff engaged and remunerated through an employment agency is £10.38.
Emissions Trading Scheme
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress has been made on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. [109183]
Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 14 December 2006, Official Report, column 1242W.
Flood Prevention
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2006, Official Report, column 730W to the hon. Member for Southport(Dr. Pugh), on flood prevention, which flood prevention schemes (a) will be and (b) have been affected by the reduction of the Environment Agency's flood risk management budget for 2006-07. [109684]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 18 December 2006]: No current or planned capital flood risk improvement projects have been affected by the budget reduction in 2006-07. There has been a in-year reduction, however, in the scale of strategic assessment for works that may be needed in the longer term.
Forestry
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has carried out regarding the link between deforestation in the UK and carbon dioxide levels. [104235]
Ian Pearson: DEFRA commissions research at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology into emissions from land-use, land-use change and forestry, including deforestation. This work enables the UK to report these emissions as part of its annual inventory submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The following table shows the estimated greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation since 1990 expressed as million tonnes carbon equivalent and as a percentage of total UK emissions. New planting since 1990 has exceeded deforestation and by 2004 was responsible for removing about 0.59 million tonnes of carbon equivalent from the atmosphere.
| UK emissions from deforestation and afforestation since 1990 | |||||
| Deforestation | New planting | Net since 1990 | All UK forest | ||
| Million tonnes carbon equivalent | As percentage total UK greenhouse gas emissions | Million tonnes carbon equivalent | Million tonnes carbon equivalent | Million tonnes carbon equivalent | |
The increase in emissions from deforestation is largely due to the delayed effect of soil disturbance in earlier years of the period since 1990, rather than a proportionate increase in the deforestation rate. Afforestation results in a net removal of carbon from the atmosphere and is therefore represented as a negative emission. There is a small initial emission from new planting due to the disturbance of the soil.
The UK greenhouse gas inventory including an account of the research by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology is available at http://www.naei.org.uk/index.php
Greenhouse Emissions
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on policies to combat emissions of greenhouse gases in each of the last 10 years. [109766]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 18 December 2006]: Since DEFRA’s inception in June 2001, we have provided significant funding for a wide range of schemes that aim to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
(i) those governed by the Carbon Trust, which leads in encouraging business and public sector energy efficiency and low carbon innovation
(ii) the Energy Saving Trust, whose activities are aimed at increasing demand for household sector energy efficiency
(iii) the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which reduces carbon emissions at least cost to industry
(iv) the Climate Change Communications Initiative, which aims to change attitudes toward climate change within the general public, with a central focus on local, grass roots and regional engagement
(v) and Energy Efficiency promotion.
DEFRA is also active in the international arena, especially in relation to emerging economies including China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Additionally, DEFRA contributes funding to a variety of research programmes, including the flagship Climate Prediction Programme at the Hadley Centre.
DEFRA is currently spending more than £180 million each year on these headline activities to combat climate change and over twice as much as this on peripheral activities. Full and detailed historic figures for DEFRA’s expenditure on all programmes that directly or indirectly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Local Site Systems
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how he plans to ensure the implementation of his Department's “Guidance on Local Site Systems” published in April 2006; and if he will make a statement. [109706]
Barry Gardiner: In April, DEFRA published guidance on the identification, selection and management of local sites in order to promote more transparent and consistent approaches in the operation of local sites systems. The overall objective is to create a more consistent sense of the value and importance of local sites. The guidance is available on the DEFRA website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/ewd/local-sites/localsites.pdf.
We are organising a local sites seminar, to be held on 25 January 2007, which is designed to promote the guidance further and enable practitioners to share good practice.
Official Cars
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cars run by his Department were manufactured (a) in the UK and (b) abroad. [104820]
Barry Gardiner: Information on cars operated by the Government Car and Despatch Agency is available on page 14 of its annual report and accounts 2005-06, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members
Vehicles for which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has direct control are obtained under the terms of cross-Government call-off
contracts. Details of where these vehicles were manufactured are not recorded and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Private Finance Initiatives
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total capital value is of each private finance initiative scheme overseen by his Department which has reached financial close; over what period repayments will take place; and what the total cost of repayment will be. [103603]
Barry Gardiner: Details of the total capital value of each private finance initiative (PFI) scheme overseen by Defra, which has reached financial close, are shown in the following table. The table also shows the length of each contract over which the repayments will take place and the estimated total unitary charge payments for each scheme. The repayment of the capital value is an element of this unitary charge but it is not the only cost covered. Other elements of the unitary charge can include inflation and service provision. We are not able to specify the exact breakdown of the unitary charge payments into these different elements, but have indicated for each scheme the type of costs that are covered by the charge. In each case, the unitary charge payments are projections to the end of the contract and are conditional on the performance of the private sector contractor.
As well as schemes undertaken by the core Department and its agencies, Defra also provides support in the form of PFI credits to allow local authorities to enter into PFI contracts to provide waste treatment facilities, and we have therefore included details of these schemes.
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