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14 Jan 2008 : Column 858W—continued
Fly Tipping: Romford
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have been brought against fly tippers in Romford in the last four years. [177644]
Joan Ruddock: Flycapture, the national fly-tipping database records data at the local authority, not district or ward, level. Prosecution data for Romford will therefore be included in the total data for the London borough of Havering.
Data are only available from 2004 onwards.
I have arranged for a table to be placed in the Library of the House showing the number of fly-tipping incidents and prosecutions recorded in each local authority by local authorities on Flycapture for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Following the release of the 2006-07 Flycapture statistics on 9 October 2007, this information has been sent to all MPs.
It is also available to download electronically on DEFRA's Flycapture website at:
Game Birds
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 1000W, on game birds, what steps he takes to assess the reliability of data from reports by other organisations referred to by him in answers to parliamentary questions. [177424]
Joan Ruddock: It is my understanding that before publication the report referred to in the answer of 17 December 2007 was peer reviewed by Emeritus Professor David Colman of Manchester university, President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists.
In general, scientific data referenced in parliamentary questions are drawn from peer reviewed publications or are reviewed by staff within the Department or its statutory advisers.
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people awarded Warm Front grants have been asked to make an excess payment in (a) Shropshire, (b) West Midlands and (c) England. [177001]
Mr. Woolas: Since June 2005 the number of households who have been asked to make excess payment contributions towards their Warm Front measures are shown in the following table.
| Total excess payments required (households) | |
| Number | |
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of Warm Front grants have been subject to an excess payment in (a) Shropshire, (b) West Midlands and (c) England. [177002]
Mr. Woolas: Since June 2005, the proportion of households which have been asked to make an excess payment contribution towards their Warm Front measures are shown in the following table.
| Warm Front grants subject to excess payment | |
| Percentage | |
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value of Warm Front grants made in (a) Shropshire, (b) West Midlands and (c) England has been in 2007-08. [177003]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is shown in the following table:
| Scheme year 2007-08 | |
| Value of grants (£) | |
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the grant limits for the Warm Front scheme will be reviewed. [177006]
Mr. Woolas: We are currently reviewing the Warm Front grant limits.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will ensure that excess payments for the Warm Front scheme are collected via the scheme’s managing agents. [177009]
Mr. Woolas: Clients are asked to pay excess payment contributions directly to the installation company in order that the work can proceed as quickly as possible, and to reduce the administrative costs of another agency handling the payment.
There are no current plans to instruct the Warm Front scheme manager to collect client excess payments.
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Heating
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many backboilers have been replaced under the Warm Front scheme; how many such backboilers have been disconnected rather than removed; and how many chimneys have been converted to allow a gas fire to be installed. [177640]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 10 January 2008]: Since June 2005 7,543 back boiler heating systems have been replaced through Warm Front.
Data on the number of back boilers disconnected but not removed through Warm Front are not held.
No chimneys have been converted to allow a gas fire to be installed through Warm Front.
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Standards
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms his Department uses to ensure high standards of workmanship and service by Warm Front contractors. [177007]
Mr. Woolas: To ensure that installation work performed through the Warm Front Scheme meets the required standards, the Scheme Manager of eaga plc, inspects all central heating installations as well as a proportion of other completed work.
All contractors are assessed against a vendor-rating system, which analyses performance against various criteria, including (but not limited to) customer service, professionalism and workmanship. The vendor rating of each contractor determines the amount of work they receive in the future.
Contractors who fall short of these standards are removed from the Warm Front Scheme.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the average waiting time for (a) receipt of a quotation and (b) completion of work under the Warm Front scheme in the latest period for which figures are available. [177010]
Mr. Woolas: Data on the waiting times for the receipt of a quotation are not collected.
Average waiting times since April 2007 are 65.3 working days for heating measures and 26.7 working days for insulation measures, from the point of the Warm Front assessment survey.
Landfill: Plastics
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the percentage of waste which went to landfill in England that was made up of plastics that could not be recycled in each of the last five years. [175743]
Joan Ruddock:
The Government's waste strategy, published last year, includes estimates for quantities of plastic waste and its management based on a published
DEFRA-funded research report ‘Carbon balances and energy impacts of the management of UK Wastes’ by ERM. Based on this, and figures on total waste to landfill, it can be estimated that broadly around 5 per cent. of the total waste to landfill is plastics (dense and film).
Virtually all plastics can be recycled, however, this recyclability is ultimately determined by collection and reprocessing facilities available.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities received grant funding from the (a) Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund, (b) Waste Performance and Efficiency Grant and (c) Behavioural Change Local Fund in each year since 2005-06; and what projects received grants in each case. [176564]
Joan Ruddock: Local authorities were able to bid for funding under the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund. £135 million was made available across 2004-05 and 2005-06. £20.55 million of this was specifically set aside for local authorities in London. Successful projects funded are listed on DEFRA's website.
The Waste Performance and Efficiency Grant (WPEG) awarded £40 million in 2005-06, £105 million in 2006-07 and £110 million in 2007-08 to all local authorities in England. The grant was allocated by formula and was 'unringfenced', in line with the Government's policy of giving freedom and flexibility to local authorities.
A full list of WPEG allocations to local authorities in 2006-07 and 2007-08 is available on DEFRA's website.
I have arranged for the list of local authorities awarded funding under the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) Behavioural Change Local Fund from 2005-06 to be placed in the House Library.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire's letter to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, dated 23 November 2007, on the future of British Waterways. [178019]
Jonathan Shaw: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 4 January 2008. I apologise for the delay in replying.
Mercury: Health Hazards
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what adverse health reactions arising from exposure to mercury have been reported among those working in the manufacture of mercury barometers in the UK in the last 10 years. [175989]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 7 January 2008]: Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 a report must be sent to the enforcing authority where a person at work suffers from mercury poisoning. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority for all manufacturing activities, including mercury barometer manufacture. HSE statisticians advise that from 1993-94 to 2006-07 (inclusive), there have been five cases of ‘poisoning by mercury’ reported to HSE. The latest of these were two cases in 1999-2000.
Mercury released from barometers, on breakage or ultimate disposal, will persist in the environment and as such can indirectly lead to risks to human health.
Natural England: Finance
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of how changes in funding for Natural England will affect the Government's 2010 target of halting biodiversity loss; and if he will make a statement. [177562]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 10 January 2008]: We have started discussions with Natural England on options for its budget for 2008-09 but do not expect to take final decisions until February. It is therefore too early to set out what the implications will be.
Securing a healthy natural environment remains a top priority and is one of my Department's two high level goals alongside tackling climate change. Natural England will be a key contributor to this work. Following decisions on next year's funding settlement, we will be working with Natural England to finalise its next corporate plan, which will set Natural England's priorities and the outcomes to be achieved.
Nature Conservation: Seas and Oceans
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the establishment of a network of marine conservation zones to protect marine wildlife; what steps he plans to take on better co-ordination of the activities of commercial (a) dredging, (b) fishing and (c) energy production; and if he will make a statement. [174646]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA has received representations from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs).
Through the Marine Bill, we aim to create a marine planning system that will be a key tool in helping the UK Government deliver their vision for the marine environment in which resources and activities in UK waters are strategically managed and coordinated, integrating conservation, energy and resource needs.
Marine planning will take a strategic view of the way in which all marine activities (including dredging, fishing and energy generation) interact and will address possible conflicts between them more quickly. It will also consider the cumulative impact they have on the marine environment, and guide decisions on licence applications and other issues providing users of the sea
with more certainty. Marine plans will also take account of designated marine conservation zones, and the information gathered during planning will help us to ensure that we are properly protecting the areas that need it.
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