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26 July 2007 : Column 1514W—continued
Departments: Tribunals
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months. [153113]
Mr. Malik: DFID has spent no money on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months. DFID spent £1,500 in the form of compensation payments which originated from a tribunal in a previous period.
Developing Countries: Debts
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much developing countries' debt was written off by the UK Government in financial year 2006-07. [148432]
Mr. Malik: Final figures for debt relief expenditure in 2006-07 by the UK Government are not yet available. They will be published in the autumn in DFID’s new edition of Statistics on International Development, along with other information on how the UK uses financial resources to support international development.
Developing Countries: Overseas Aid
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding the UK provided for (a) education, (b) healthcare and (c) clean water in developing countries in financial year 2006-07. [148433]
Mr. Malik: Provisional estimates of DFID bilateral expenditure show that DFID spent £367.8 million on education, £514.7 million on health and £46.8 million on water and sanitation in financial year 2006-07. These figures do not include DFID contributions to a range of multilateral organisations, a significant proportion of which will also fund education, healthcare and clean water in developing countries.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 21 June 2007 on the global water crisis. [153493]
Mr. Thomas: The letter of 21 June 2007 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire about the global water crisis was received in DFID on 2 July. A reply to this was issued on 24 July.
North Korea: Overseas Aid
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions his Department has had with the European Aid Co-operation Office and the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) about ECHO ending its humanitarian support in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 2008. [152803]
Mr. Malik:
DFID has not had any discussions with ECHO or formally with the EuropeAid Co-operation Office this issue. The ending of the ECHO programme by May 2008 was agreed by member states in spring 2006 in the light of the relative stability of the humanitarian situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. EuropeAid will take over operations from ECHO. EuropeAid’s terms of reference will differ from those under which ECHO operates, although they will take
over responsibility for NGOS operating in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The EuropeAid programme will concentrate more on food security.
Sudan: Overseas Aid
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution the Government has made to the relief effort for those displaced by the floods in Central and Eastern Sudan; and if he will make a statement. [151032]
Mr. Thomas: DFID’s has not given any direct funding to flood relief as we work through multilateral mechanisms, ensuring more effective co-ordination and response. In 2007, we have contributed £40 million to the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and £40 million to the Sudan Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF), a pioneering multi-donor fund that allows the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator to direct resources to the most pressing needs. Both mechanisms have funding available and are awaiting appeals to be submitted to them by relief agencies involved in the flood response. DFID is working with the UN to ensure that these appeals will be promptly considered and, where approved, quickly processed. A multi-agency emergency response, including the Sudanese Government and co-ordinated by the UN, has created a shared mechanism to deliver food and other types of assistance to those most in need.
Vaccinations: Tuberculosis
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the new tuberculosis vaccine developed by the Global Plan to Stop TB will be available worldwide; and what assessment he has made of whether sufficient funding will be allocated to enable developing countries access to it. [152900]
Mr. Malik: The Global Plan to Stop TB are not developing a new tuberculosis vaccine. Development of a new TB vaccine is being carried out by a number of different organisations across the globe. It is estimated that a new TB vaccine will be available between 2014 and 2018.
Decisions about allocation for funding for access will be made once a vaccine is available.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Barbecues: Carbon Emissions
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the annual carbon emissions from barbecues based on figures for the total annual sale of charcoal and barbecue gas canisters. [151743]
Mr. Woolas: Carbon dioxide emissions from charcoal combustion are not included in the UK Greenhouse Gas inventory. This is because charcoal is a biomass fuel, rather than a fossil fuel. Emissions data on the use of barbeque gas canisters is not held.
Buildings: Carbon Emissions
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the per capita annual carbon emissions resulting from the (a) space heating and (b) air conditioning of domestic and non-domestic buildings. [151745]
Mr. Woolas: The Government’s Market Transformation Programme (MTP) estimates that in 2006 the total annual carbon emissions resulting from non-domestic buildings were approximately 10.5 million tonnes from space heating and 1.6 million tonnes from air conditioning.
Figures derived from the BREHOMES model of housing stock energy use indicate that the total annual carbon emissions in 2004 resulting from domestic buildings were approximately 20.5 million tonnes from space heating and 7,500 tonnes from domestic air conditioning.
The population of the UK in 2004 was 59.787 million so the emissions per capita for domestic space heating can be estimated as 343 kg carbon. Those for domestic air conditioning were about 0.13 kg carbon.
Conservation: Paper
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to reduce the Government’s paper consumption by 2010. [152449]
Joan Ruddock: The Government have set out their vision for sustainable waste management in their “Waste Strategy for England 2007”. In addition to setting the paper industry targets to reduce paper waste, Departments are required to meet cross-Government sustainable operations targets, launched June 2006, which include commitments to reduce all waste arisings, to increase recycling rates and to meet mandatory levels of recycled content in copier and printed paper. The report is available at:
Domestic Wastes: Environmental Health
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of (a) any change in incidence of vermin and (b) risks to public health following decisions by local authorities to move to fortnightly refuse collections. [150159]
Joan Ruddock: DEFRA has part-funded an independent study, carried out by Enviros Consulting and Cranfield university, to determine whether there are any additional risks to public health associated with the use of alternate collection systems for household waste, compared to weekly collection of refuse.
The study, which is published on the Enviros website, found no evidence of adverse health impacts or rises in vermin populations associated with fortnightly residual refuse collection, compared to weekly refuse collection. The study also included a review of other published studies.
The study found that the influence of domestic waste management arrangements on rats is likely to be insignificant in comparison to other factors, such as the age of the property, the area (urban or rural), and the adequate upkeep of drains. Where local authorities plan to change arrangements for the collection of residents' waste, it is essential that they consult local people and design schemes appropriately for local circumstances. New guidance in the form of the Waste and Resources Action Programme's recently published guidance for local authorities on the design and implementation of alternate collection services is available from their website at the following address:
I have placed copies in the Library of the House.
Environment Agency: Equal Opportunities
David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how people with disabilities are being consulted in relation to the disability equality duty by the Environment Agency in the Southern Region. [149546]
Mr. Woolas: National duties are placed on the Environment Agency by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005 that are not region specific. The Agency's national Disability Equality scheme and its associated action plan are available to the public on its website.
As required by the DDA 2005, ongoing and widespread consultation with disabled people, staff and stakeholders in the development of this scheme has taken place. This included interviews and focus groups with staff from across the organisation. The consultation included staff from a range of backgrounds and levels in the Agency, and external organisations which represent the interests of disabled people.
The Environment Agency views such consultation and engagement as essential to the development of the scheme and its continued progress.
Flood Control
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will assess the case for extension to other areas of the flood alleviation scheme in Scunthorpe constituency where money from the Rural Development Fund is used to reward farmers for using their land to retain water upstream from towns to prevent flood damage. [150617]
Mr. Woolas: Environmental Stewardship, the agri-environment scheme funded through the Rural Development Programme, does not contain any measures specifically targeted at flood alleviation. Environmental Stewardship can support complimentary measures, such as the creation of water meadows, which could contribute towards flood management. Under the scheme, however, the primary objective of such measures would be the restoration of natural habitats and thereby biodiversity gain.
Decisions about the targeting of Environmental Stewardship are taken through local consultation.
Natural England takes the lead in discussions with stakeholders and delivery partners such as the Environment Agency.
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent meetings he has had with ministerial colleagues to discuss future flood prevention. [150865]
Mr. Woolas: DEFRA Ministers have met with their counterparts at Treasury to discuss funding, in general and for flood risk management; at Communities and Local Government (CLG) to discuss planning issues in relation to flood risk; and at Treasury, CLG and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to discuss insurance in relation to flooding with the Association of British Insurers.
Meetings continue to be held with CLG, Cabinet Office and a range of other interested Government Departments to discuss recovery from the recent floods and the lessons learned review into the causes, management and response.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on flood defence schemes announced for construction in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement. [151147]
Mr. Woolas: The overall programme of flood and coastal erosion risk management works is prioritised on an annual basis in the light of demands on the system and the budget available.
Operating authorities (the Environment Agency, local authorities and internal drainage boards) are required to produce annual Medium Term Plans (MTPs) setting out their proposed flood protection and prevention schemes for the following three years. As follows is a list of Environment Agency schemes that were shown on their 2005 MTP with a construction start in 2006-07 and with a construction spend in 2006-07 of greater than £250,000.
Information on local authority and internal drainage board schemes is not held centrally and collating this information is likely to incur a disproportionate cost.
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