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15 Jan 2008 : Column 1106W—continued
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Iguana Services
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of Warm Front grants have been awarded to Iguana Services Limited (a) by number and (b) by value in each of the last three years. [177005]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
| Total number of heating installations under Warm Front | Total number of heating installations completed by Iguana | Percentage of installations completed by Iguana | |
| Total value of heating installations under Warm Front | Total value o f heating installations completed by Iguana | Proportion of value of installations completed by Iguana | |
Oil: Moray Firth
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on oil and gas exploration at the Moray Firth; and if he will make a statement. [177674]
Jonathan Shaw: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Hilary Benn) had no recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on oil and gas exploration at the Moray Firth.
Pitt Review
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of the 15 recommendations for urgent action made by the Pitt review he plans to act on immediately; and if he will make a statement. [178434]
Mr. Woolas: The Government have said that it agrees with all 15 of the urgent recommendations in the report and we will work with all of the organisations involved to implement them.
Railways
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on first class train tickets in the last 12 months. [171261]
Jonathan Shaw: From information held centrally, the core-Department spent £1,030,331 on first-class train tickets in the period October 2006 to September 2007 inclusive.
First-class travel by Ministers, by officials accompanying Ministers and by officials is undertaken in accordance with departmental guidance which encourages people to use public transport wherever possible.
Not all rail travel taken is first class.
Sea Fisheries Committees
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to increase the representation of recreational sea anglers on Sea Fisheries Committees; and if he will make a statement. [177664]
Jonathan Shaw: Recreational sea anglers are currently represented on each SFC. All appointments to SFCs made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State last for a maximum of four years and the current round of appointments will end on 30 June 2009. The Marine Bill White Paper set out proposals to reform SFCs in England, including adjustments to their membership structure to improve decision-making and local stakeholder involvement. Sea anglers will continue to be represented on reformed SFCs but I have not at this stage made any decisions regarding the future level of that representation.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many recreational sea angling representatives were on each Sea Fisheries Committee in each year since 1997. [177667]
Jonathan Shaw: All appointments to SFCs made by the Secretary of State last for a four year period. For the appointment periods 2001-05 and 2005-09, each SFC had the following number of appointees with a known interest in sea angling (information for 1997-2001 is not readily accessible in the format required):
| SFC | 2001-05 | 2005-09 |
Within the above appointment periods, the level of angler representation may have varied in some instances where vacancies have arisen due to resignations.
Members appointed by the Secretary of State are required to represent all the local fishing and marine environmental interests in the SFC district in a balanced way. Appointees are reminded that they should not regard themselves as representing any one particular interest, and may have experience across several sectors.
Appointments to South Wales SFC are a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.
Sea Fishing: Licensing
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether he plans to introduce a recreational sea angling licence; what estimate he has made of the revenue that a recreational sea angling licence would raise; and if he will make a statement; [177660]
(2) pursuant to the Marine Bill White Paper and associated Regulatory Impact Assessment, what estimate he has made of the cost of administering and enforcing a recreational sea angling licence; and if he will make a statement; [177661]
(3) pursuant to the Marine Bill White Paper and associated Regulatory Impact Assessment, to what use the revenue raised from a recreational sea angling licence would be put; and if he will make a statement. [177662]
Jonathan Shaw:
The Marine Bill White Paper published in March 2007 includes proposals to introduce a chargeable licensing scheme for recreational sea angling. The RIA accompanying the White Paper estimated that the revenue from such a scheme could generate £9 million to £12 million per annum in licence fees, depending on uptake and the rate of the charge. The RIA also estimated the
one-off set-up cost to the Government could be between £0.1 million to £1.5 million, with annual running costs including enforcement between £1.2 million and £2.8 million, depending on how the scheme is implemented and the level of compliance.
The White Paper explained that the revenue raised from a recreational sea angling licence would be used to help support measures such as:
(i) improved scientific data to inform the development of management measures for stocks of specific interest to anglers;
(ii) protection and improvement of shore access and parking;
(iii) provision of more small boat launching facilities;
(iv) access to existing and new shore structures;
(v) creation of artificial inshore and offshore reefs; and
(vi) clear displays of relevant rules, codes of conduct and other useful data on the shore, at boat launch sites and aboard charter boats
The revenue would also cover the costs of administration, monitoring and inspection and evaluation of any measures introduced for the benefit of anglers.
Seas and Oceans: Legislation
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy not to introduce the draft Marine Bill before the Planning and the Energy Bills receive Royal Assent; and if he will make a statement. [177440]
Jonathan Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 868W.
Shellfish
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has reached an agreed approach on (a) brown crab and (b) lobster conservation with the devolved Administrations; and if he will make a statement. [177621]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA is in discussion with the devolved Administrations to explore whether an agreed approach would be the most appropriate course of action in relation to brown crab and lobster conservation.
Stray Dogs
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reasons were for the decision to transfer responsibility for stray dogs from the police to local authorities. [177657]
Jonathan Shaw:
In July 2002, the Police Bureaucracy Taskforce made recommendations on the transfer of a range of ancillary tasks from the police service to other agencies in order to free up officer time to focus on core policing activities. Included in those recommendations was that responsibility for stray dogs should become the sole responsibility of local authorities. Implementation of the recommendation was agreed by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Local
Government Association. Parliamentary approval was received by enactment of section 68 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 which removes any statutory responsibility on the police for stray dogs. The provision is due to be commenced on 6 April 2008.
Waste Management: Finance
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been allocated to research and development on the waste management programme in each of the next three years; and from what budget these resources will be drawn. [179286]
Joan Ruddock: DEFRA was allocated a total budget of about £4 billion under the comprehensive spending review for 2008-11.
No allocations have yet been determined for research and development on DEFRA's waste management programme, although the Department expects to do so before March this year.
Water Supply
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to encourage private water boards to improve their pipe networks to prevent leaks and wastage. [177645]
Mr. Woolas: The independent regulator, the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) sets leakage targets for the water companies and has regulatory powers which it can use should it consider that to be necessary. Across England and Wales leakage has been reduced by 24 per cent. overall since 1997 and most companies continue to meet the targets set by Ofwat. Ofwat has set water companies targets to reduce leakage by a further 2.9 per cent. from 2006-07 levels by 2009-10.
Water: Meters
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to impose compulsory water meters on currently unmetered family homes. [176526]
Mr. Woolas: Under the Water Industry Act 1999 water companies have powers to impose a meter on an individual household for discretionary purposes. They may also make a case that the water resources situation in their area requires compulsory metering of all properties.
Whaling
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions he has had with (a) the Prime Minister and (b) Cabinet colleagues in relation to whaling since the IWC59 meeting of the International Whaling Commission; and if he will make a statement; [177612]
(2) when he last wrote to his Cabinet colleagues about whaling; and if he will make a statement; [177613]
(3) with reference to the answer of 19 February 2007, Official Report, column 195W, on whaling, whether he has received a response to the letters sent to his Cabinet colleagues; and if he will make a statement; [177682]
(4) with reference to the answer of 19 February 2007, Official Report, column 195W, on whaling, when Cabinet colleagues have drawn to the attention of their foreign counterparts the subject of (a) whaling, (b) whale conservation and (c) the whale watching industry; and if he will make a statement. [177683]
Jonathan Shaw: Cabinet members, along with all hon. Members, were sent a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter sent by my predecessor in June last year, which provided a full report of the outcome of last year’s annual IWC meeting. The letter emphasised the UK’s efforts to increase the number of conservation-minded countries in the IWC. The report of the meeting made clear that the UK remains vigorously opposed to whaling and details our position on issues such as the importance of welfare considerations and whale watching.
The UK has led efforts to recruit more conservation-minded countries to the IWC through our publication ‘Protecting Whales—A Global Responsibility’. The Prime Minister emphasises the UK’s strong commitment to whale conservation in the foreword to this document stating:
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