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resource transfers in from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) of £4,863,000 as a contribution to the National Meteorological Programme and Severe Weather Warning Service, £200,000 from the Cabinet Office in respect of future funding arrangements for the expansion of the Parliamentary Counsel Office, and £42,525,000 from the Security & Intelligence Services Agency in respect of support service funding for GCHQ;
a resource transfer out of £149,000 to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as a contribution to the Leeds Armouries Museum Pattern Room staffing costs, and a resource transfer of £4,000,000 out to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform as a contribution to the Global partnership against the spread of weapons and materials of Mass Destruction;
to use £55,000,000 of additional income that will be paid to the Consolidated Fund with a corresponding increase in Direct RDEL available to the Department;
to increase Request for Resources 2 by £1,315,000,000 Resource near cash DEL and £604,000,000 Capital DEL to reflect the costs of peace-keeping in Iraq and Afghanistan;
to transfer £70,000,000 from Voted Capital DEL to Non-Voted Near Cash Resource DEL to cover planned cash release of provision payments;
to transfer £455,000,000 Capital resource to Direct Resource within RfRl relating to Single Use Military Equipment (SUME) flexibility;
to recognise a Grant in Aid payment to the Royal Irish Benevolent Fund of £60,000 by increasing Non-Budget expenditure and reducing near cash resource DEL.
The changes to Resource DEL and Capital DEL will lead to an increased net cash requirement of £2,158,439,000.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Departmental Expenditure (DEFRA)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Jonathan Shaw): Subject to Parliamentary approval of any necessary Supplementary Estimate, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DEL will be increased by £11,579,000 from £3,605,014,000 to £3,616,593,000 and the Administration Budget will be increased by £108,420,000 from £285,524,000 to £393,944,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
| £’000 | |||||
| Change | New DEL | ||||
| Voted | Non-voted | Voted | Non-voted | Total | |
| (1)Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting. | |||||
The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:(i) a transfer of £26,800,000 to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills for the BREW programme; (ii) a transfer of £7,994,000 to the Forestry Commission for Farm Woodland Schemes; (iii) a transfer of £4,039,000 administration costs to the Department for Communities and Local Government for Government Office Funding; (iv) a transfer of £2,261,000 to the Ministry of Defence for meteorological services (this is shown in the Estimate as a transfer of £4,863,000 offset by an agreed correction of £2,602,000); (v) a claim on the reserve of £22,000,000 administration costs in respect of early release/early retirement schemes; (vi) a transfer of £5,605,000 from Department for International Development for the Montreal Protocol Fund; (vii) a transfer of £359,000 administration costs from the Cabinet Office for legal services provided by the Parliamentary Counsel's Office; (viii) a take up of £250,000 from HM Treasury for the 'Start Here' project; (ix) a take up of £86,000 from HM Treasury for the Energy Efficiency Programme (£100,000 administration costs and -£14,000 programme); (x) a transfer of £37,820,000 from non-budget for the British Waterways Board cost of capital.
The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from: (i) a transfer of £17,395,000 to HM Treasury in respect of the 2006-07 overspend; (ii) a drawdown of £142,000 End Year Flexibility for Invest to Save Budget projects; (iii) a drawdown of £6,000 End Year Flexibility for capital grants Invest to Save Budget projects.
The change in the administration budget element of the DEL not explained above is due to a transfer of £90,000,000 from programme to administration, £80,000,000 in respect of professional services and £10,000,000 in respect of the outsourced IT contract.
Departmental Expenditure (Forestry Commission)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Joan Ruddock): Subject to Parliamentary approval of any necessary Supplementary Estimate, the Forestry Commission's DEL will be increased by £10,104,000 from £82,288,000 to £92,392,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
a. A transfer of £7,994,000 from Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to allow the Forestry Commission to administer the Farm Woodland Premium scheme.
b. The take up of £3,610,000 end of year flexibility to meet expenditure on payment of private woodland grants, costs associated with efficiency initiatives and increased forecasts on both cost of capital and depreciation charges.
c. A transfer from resource to capital DEL of £1,800,000.
The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:
a. A transfer from resource DEL of £1,800,000 to support capital investment of e-business systems.
Municipal Waste Policy
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Joan Ruddock): Household waste recycling has quadrupled in the last 10 years and waste is growing much less quickly than the economy. Business has also been increasing its effort to reduce the amount of packaging it puts around the products that we buy. Last month we announced proposals for increased targets for recovery and recycling of packaging for 2008-12. In 2012 we now hope overall to see producers recycling and recovering 66 per cent. of all paper and 65 per cent. of all glass packaging.
But we need to do more. Methane emissions from biodegradable waste in landfill count for about 3 per cent. of UK greenhouse gas emissions. We still lag behind much of mainland Europe in recycling and we will face EU fines if we exceed landfill limits.
In May, we announced a revised Waste Strategy for England. It set out new ways for us all to reduce, reuse and recycle our waste for the sake of the environment. Incentives appeared as part of that strategy and we consulted on possible schemes to help local authorities influence residents' behaviour at a local level. These schemes were similar to those that had been successful in both Europe and in North America. The UK is currently the only EU15 country that prevents authorities from trialling or putting in place these type of incentives schemes. The Local Government Association and local authorities from across the political spectrum have called for powers to introduce similar schemes.
Following on from the consultation, we announced in the Climate Change Bill Command Paper that we would provide in the Bill a power for a small number of local authorities to pilot incentives for household waste minimisation and recycling. I am today announcing the detail of these proposals, which for the first time will mean that authorities will be able both positively to reward those who recycle and charge those who do not.
A maximum of five local authorities will be granted permission to pilot the schemes. Councils will be able to come forward with schemes to fit local circumstances but they will have to be approved by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and will need to be consistent with the framework set out in legislation. This approach will allow us to monitor the impacts of the pilots and report back to Parliament before a decision is made whether to roll them out more widely. Parliament would have a say in any final decision.
The framework covers a range of issues. First of all, since we are keen to avoid placing additional burdens on local residents, it says that if the authority collects any revenue through a scheme this must be returned to residents so residents as a whole will not be paying more. To further reduce the burden on both the public and local authorities, we are also enabling authorities to pay back rebates, and collect any payments, through Council Tax, should they wish to do so.
We have also built in further simple checks and balances to help ensure the right level of public protection. These are not about restricting local authorities' behaviour, as we continue to believe that they are in the best position to understand what is right for their area. Instead they are about helping the public to understand better what they might expect to see in a pilot scheme regardless of where they are in the country. For example, pilots could only be introduced where there was a good kerbside recycling service in place, and we ask that authorities take account in their plans of the needs of, or impacts on, potentially disadvantaged groups - for example young families. We also think that it is sensible for pilot authorities to review their policies for tackling flytipping, and to have a flytipping prevention strategy in place. Evidence from other countries where financial incentives schemes operate suggests that an increase in fly tipping is not an automatic consequence of introducing them, but having a strategy in place is good common sense. Government intend to retain a reserved power to create a cap in the future on the level of incentive, should this be necessary. We consider that this power provides a further protection for households.
Climate Change means that each of us needs to look at what we currently do and think hard about what more we could do both inside and outside the home.
This includes working together to reduce the amount of waste we generate. Our plan for incentives for waste fits into this.
To support this work on guidance and pilots, the Government will be making £1.5 million available every year for the next three years.
Copies of the summary of consultation responses and impact assessment have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The documents are also available on the website of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at: www.defra.gov.uk.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
General Affairs and External Relations Council
The Minister for Europe (Mr. Jim Murphy): The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) will be held on 19-20 November in Brussels. I will represent the UK at the Foreign Ministers discussions. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development will attend the Defence and Development Ministers' discussions.
The agenda items are as follows:
Preparation of the European Council on 13-14 December
The Council is expected to discuss the draft annotated agenda for the European Council in December on 13-14 December. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister explained to Parliament on 22 October the priority for the EU now must be the global challenges we face: employment, prosperity, competitiveness, climate change, and security. The Government look forward to the European Council addressing these issues when they meet next month.
The Commission is expected to brief the Council on maritime policy. The Government consider it important to maintain and promote the competitiveness of the EU maritime sector as part of the Lisbon Agenda.
Commission Legislative Work Programme 2008
The Council is expected to discuss the Commission Legislative Work Programme 2008, which the Government welcome, given its focus on delivering results, better regulation, tackling climate change, and promoting jobs and growth.
Preparation of the EU Summits with China and India
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