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19 Oct 2007 : Column 1361Wcontinued
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice or consultancy services (a) the Waste Resources Action Programme and (b) his Department has provided to Broxbourne council in relation to charging for domestic rubbish collection or charging for containers which will hold domestic rubbish. [158250]
Joan Ruddock: No advice or consultancy services have been provided by DEFRA on these issues. The Waste and Resources Action Programme is currently considering a request for help from Broxbourne council, received on 16 October, for help with communications to increase participation in recycling.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of changes in the funding of (a) the Environment Agency and (b) British Waterways on the provision of flood defence. [155960]
Mr. Woolas: The changes in the funding applied to the Environment Agencys non-capital spend which funded items such as staff costs, operational spend and maintenance of defences. Funding for capital projects for new and improved defences to reduce risk was not cut and no current or planned capital improvement projects were delayed as a result. Funding to British Waterways was also reduced but these changes did not have a material impact on the provision of flood defence by British Waterways.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of fly-tipping incidents were accounted for by household waste in each year for which the Flycapture database holds figures. [158093]
Joan Ruddock: Flycapture, the national fly-tipping database, records the number of incidents of fly-tipping in which household waste is the predominate waste type. It does not record whether it is householders, businesses or illegal waste operators that actually fly-tip the waste.
The following table lists the percentage of fly-tips classified as household waste since Flycapture was introduced:
Flycapture year | Percentage of household waste |
2004-05 was the first year of the Flycapture database with 174 (49 per cent.) of local authorities submitting the required 12 monthly returns. This rose to 313 (88 per cent.) in 2005-06 and 323 (91 per cent.) in 2006-07.
Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the conservation of sea bass stocks. [159331]
Jonathan Shaw: Scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) suggests that the bass stock is fished sustainably.
Current European Union legislation protects sea bass by specifying a minimum landing size (MLS) of 36 centimetres, below which bass cannot be landed, and corresponding mesh sizes to be used for both fixed and trawl gear when bass is targeted. Some Sea Fisheries Committees (SFCs) have introduced a higher MLS of 37.5 centimetres which applies within the relevant district. The UK has also designated 37 specified areas in which bass fishing from a boat is prohibited.
I am currently considering the evidence for increasing the MLS for bass in England, and will make an announcement shortly.
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of employees in (a) his Department and (b) each (i) executive agency and (ii) non-departmental public body funded by his Department are above state retirement age. [158939]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office does not directly employ any staff; all staff are seconded from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice, as necessary. The Office does not hold personnel records that would allow age to be determined.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in the last 12 months. [158902]
David Cairns: Scotland Office hospitality expenditure for the last financial year is detailed as follows:
Financial year | Hospitality expenditure (£) |
All expenditure, including that on hospitality, has been incurred in accordance with the principles of Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff are seconded to his Department from outside Government; from which outside body each has been seconded; and what the length is of each secondment. [157916]
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [154472]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office spent £17,000 in 2006-07 on market research.
David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had since the Scottish parliamentary elections in May 2007 with returning officers on auto-adjudication during the counting. [158773]
David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 8 October 2007, Official Report column 7W.
David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information his Department provided to the inquiry led by Ron Gould into the conduct of Scottish elections in May 2007 on auto-adjudication without human supervision; and if he will make a statement. [158774]
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information his Department has provided to the inquiry led by Ron Gould into the conduct of the Scottish elections in May 2007 on automatic adjudication of ballot papers without human supervision. [159067]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office has provided information to the Gould inquiry about electronic counting which includes reference to user agreements. User agreements, where auto-adjudication is specified, were signed by each returning officer, who have statutory responsibility for the adjudication of ballot papers. The Scotland Office did not take any decisions on the inclusion of auto-adjudication and passed no specific information about it to the inquiry.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support he has made available to the Cotswold Heritage Academy; and if he will make a statement. [159361]
Margaret Hodge: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him on 2 March 2007, Official Report, column 1591, by my hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr. Lammy).
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to publish the Creative Economy White Paper. [158206]
Margaret Hodge: A Green Paper on the Creative Economy is expected to be published in the near future.
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on the culture part of its responsibilities in each year since 1995-96 at constant 2007-08 prices. [156711]
Margaret Hodge: The table shows how much the Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent on the Culture part of its responsibilities, from 1995-06 to 2006-07 at 2007-08 prices.
£ | |
(1)2003-04 figures increased due to certain NDPBs joining the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). |
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what contingency preparations his Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs were of those preparations. [157004]
Margaret Hodge: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Edward Miliband) on 15 October 2007, Official Report, columns 822-23W.
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what percentage of employees in (a) his Department and (b) each (i) executive agency and (ii) non-departmental public body funded by his Department are above state retirement age. [158952]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Using the current state retirement age of 65 for men and 60 for women, in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) there are nine (1.76 per cent.) employees above state retirement age. The Royal Parks Agency has one (1 per cent.) employee above state retirement age. DCMS does not hold centrally the information you have requested for the non-departmental public bodies funded by the department and this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in the last 12 months. [158931]
Margaret Hodge: Expenditure on official hospitality is made in accordance with principles of government accounting, Treasury handbook on regularity and propriety as well as the Department's internal guidance on hospitality. The Department's expenditure on hospitality in the last 12 months (to September 2007) was £74,979.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on first class train tickets in the last 12 months. [153269]
Margaret Hodge: The departmental expenditure on first class train tickets ordered via the Departments contracted travel agent was £81,157 in the last financial year. This amount excludes some travel booked directly which can be identified only at disproportionate cost.
All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many listed buildings were (a) substantially damaged and (b) destroyed in each year since 1997-98. [157220]
Margaret Hodge: Neither DCMS nor English Heritage collects data on how many listed buildings have been substantially damaged or destroyed. The management and care of listed buildings through the consent regime lies in the main with local authorities.
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what obligations there are on the owners of listed buildings to ensure they are fully insured. [157221]
Margaret Hodge: There are no specific legal obligations on the owners of listed buildings to ensure they are fully insured. Guidance for owners is available in the joint English Heritage/Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors publication Insuring your historic building.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much grant money has been awarded to each county council in England for arts projects in the last five years. [157330]
Margaret Hodge: This information is shown in the table
£ | |||||
2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
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