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31 Mar 2008 : Column 490W—continued

Carbon Offsetting Fund

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy for payments from the Department for Communities and Local Government towards the Carbon Offsetting Fund to be used to support offsetting or renewable energy projects in local communities in the UK. [194769]

Mr. Woolas: There are currently no viable energy efficiency or renewable energy UK offsetting projects due to our membership of the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS).

This is because the UK prefers to meet its targets through direct emission reductions, rather than offsets.

Chemicals: Waste Disposal

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which municipal waste disposal sites received chemical waste generated by Monsanto in the latest period for which data are available. [195192]

Joan Ruddock: Wastes are categorised as hazardous, non-hazardous or inert. Specific waste streams are then sub-categorised using the European Waste Catalogue. The term “chemical waste” is not a category that is currently in use.

The Environment Agency authorises waste types that are appropriate for landfilling but does not normally authorise individual and specific waste sources. The Environment Agency is therefore not able to state categorically which of 1,500-plus operational and closed landfill sites in England and Wales have received chemical waste from Monsanto.

Consignment notes held by waste management facilities would record the source of the waste. Prior to 2005, the Environment Agency was sent copies of these consignment notes, but the cost of extracting the
31 Mar 2008 : Column 491W
required information from these records would be disproportionate. The Environment Agency retains these records for four years so would not be able to provide a full account of wastes deposited by Monsanto even if data were readily available.

Climate Change

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what research he has evaluated to develop his policy on anthropogenic climate change; [196405]

(2) what assessment he has made of the reliability of the scientific evidence on which each of the four Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports has been based; and if he will make a statement; [196408]

(3) what assessment he has made of the reliability of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports in developing his policies on climate change. [196409]

Mr. Woolas: The scientific basis for understanding anthropogenic climate change is extremely strong. DEFRA evaluates the evidence provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its comprehensive reports, as well as through DEFRA and Ministry of Defence funded climate research undertaken by the UK's world-leading Met Office in Hadley Centre, in Exeter; and through ongoing contact with other climate researchers in the UK and elsewhere.

Four assessment reports have been completed in 1990, 1995, 2001 and the latest in 2007. The UK fully supports the work of the IPCC and regards its assessments as providing the most authoritative view of climate change. The IPCC assessments have fully informed the development of domestic climate policy and the UK position in international climate negotiations.

Hundreds of UK scientists were involved in the preparation of the fourth assessment report and DEFRA supports lead authors and review editors to participate in IPCC writing groups.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change; and if he will make a statement. [196406]


31 Mar 2008 : Column 492W

Mr. Woolas: DEFRA has received no representations on the Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change.

Departmental Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what percentage of staff in his Department were making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions in each of the last two years. [193566]

Jonathan Shaw: 599 members of staff in core-DEFRA and those Executive agencies covered by the core-Department's terms and conditions: Animal Health, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Government Decontamination Service and Pesticides Safety Directorate (9.75 per cent. of total number of staff employed in core-DEFRA and the named Executive agencies) were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2007. This has decreased to 544 members of staff (9.74 per cent. of total number of staff employed in core-DEFRA and the named Executive agencies) who were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2008.

Domestic Wastes: Contracts

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) subject and (b) cost was of each research contract (i) his Department and (ii) WRAP have commissioned on household waste since 2001. [192176]

Joan Ruddock: The Waste and Resources Research Programme (now renamed the Waste and Resources Evidence Programme since the publication of DEFRA’s Waste and Resources Evidence Strategy 2007-11 in September 2007) only started commissioning research projects from the summer of 2005. The following table lists those projects that have some association with household waste issues.

Details of the research contracts on household waste that were commissioned by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) can be found on its website at:


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Contracted project title Lead contractor WRT code SIS code Total project value (£)

Household Waste Prevention Policy Side Research Programme

The Environment Council

251

WR0103

160,695

Lifestyle Scenarios: Futures for Waste Composition

Brook Lyndhurst

202

WR0104

139,100

Project REDUCE M and E: Developing Waste Prevention Measurement Tools

Waste Watch

192

WR0105

118,378

Achieving Household Waste Prevention and Promoting Sustainable Resource Use though Product Service Systems

Cranfield University

129

WR0106

190,971

Modelling Impacts of Lifestyle Changes on Household Waste Arisings

AEAT

218

WR0107

177,864

Understanding Household Waste Prevention Behaviour

University of Paisley

109

WR0112

62,863

Refillable Packaging Systems

Loughborough University

151

WR0113

140,183

Building Understanding of Techniques and Processes to Promote SWM through Behaviour Change Programmes

Global Action Plan

113

WR0114

186,868

Household Waste Prevention Activity in Dorset

Dorset County Council

264

WR0116

227,413

Towards a Materials Resource Authority: Promoting Practical Waste Prevention and Exploring Options for Resource Management

Hampshire County Council

195

WR0117

225,000

Recycling of Low Grade Clothing Waste

Oakdene Hollins

152

WR0201

154,500

Enhancing Participation in Kitchen Waste Collection

Brook Lyndhurst

372

WR0209

224,200

Biowaste Management: Policy Options for Climate Change Benefits

ERM

370

WR0210

85,675

Unlocking the Potential of Community Composting

Open University

400

WR0211

209,647

Optimising Inputs and Outputs from Anaerobic Digestion Processes

Southampton University

404

WR0212

203,090

Factors Influencing the Performance of CA Sites' Recycling

Resource Futures

457

WR0215

32,694

Delivery of Waste Management Facilities in EU Member States: Comparative Review and Lessons Learned (co-funding contribution)

CIWM/SLR

288

WR0216

85,643

Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety Risks of Waste Collection and Handling Systems

Health and Safety Executive

309

WR0217

67,500

Biowaste Scoping Study

Composting Association

278

WR0218

18,000

Landfill Settlement: Controlling the Time to Completion

Golder Associates

381

WR0301

76,450

Forced Air Flow and Distribution in Landfill Wastes

Southampton University

350

WR0302

129,800

Science and Strategies for the Sustainable Management of Residual Wastes and Landfills (Third party contribution)

Veolia Environmental Body

329

WR0303

11,020

Towards Sustainable Landfill: Passive Fail-safe Design and Engineering

Golder Associates

279

WR0304

71,000

Science and Strategies for the Long Term Management of Landfills (co-funding contribution)

EPSRC/ Southampton University

424

WR0305

200,000

New Approach to Fly Ash Processing and Applications to Minimise Wastage to Landfill

Dundee University

395

WR0401

254,647

Replicating Success: Social Enterprises and the Waste Sector in London (co-funded by LDA)

Brook Lyndhurst

250

WR0501

230,888

Social Enterprises and SWM: Evaluating Impacts, Capacities and Opportunities

Cardiff University

162

WR0502

153,736

Fly-Tipping: Incentives, Causes and Solutions

University College London

274

WR0503

193,000

Establishing the Evidence-base for Delivering Community-based Pro-environmental Behavioural Change

Brook Lyndhurst

296

WR0504

102,652

Post Evaluation of Household Incentive Pilot Schemes

University of Brighton

452

WR0505

4,500

Benefits of Third Sector Involvement in WM

Resources for Change

318

WR0506

100,490

Behaviour Change: Scoping the Way Forward

AEAT

087

WR0508

9,775

Attitudes towards the Use of Organic Resources on Land

Open University

049

WR0510

203,666

Evaluation of the Household Waste Incentives Pilot Scheme

AEAT

330

WR0512

19,744

Health and Environmental Impacts of Vermin/Insects in the Context of WM Operations

CSL

100

WR0601

26,724

Carbon Balances and Energy Impacts in Managing UK Waste Streams

ERM

237

WR0602

108,320

Review of Landfill Surface Emissions

Colder Associates

369

WR0604

40,000

Rapid Response Monitoring Network for Bioaerosol Emissions

National Physical Laboratory

281

WR0605

293,000

Dose-response Relationships and Bio-aerosol Data

IOM Consulting

282

WR0606

45,750

Scoping the Development of an Industry-wide Health and Safety Initiative

CIWM/Entec

454

WR0607

47,000

Emissions from WM: Frameworks for Assessment of Data Quality and Research Needs

ERM

083

WR0608

115,000

Impact of EfW and Recycling Policy on UK GHG Emissions

ERM

327

WR0609

39,750

Evaluating the Costs of 'Waste to Value' Management

Ceres Logistics

142

WR0702

99,700

Infrastructure Needs for a Resource Efficient Economy

Institute of Civil Engineers

292

WR0703

7,000

Updated Life Cycle Study on Reusable and Disposable Nappies (Co-funding contribution)

EA/ERM

333

WR0705

17,552

Impacts of Household Charging in England

Eunomia

450

WR0708

35,160

Data Deficiencies in WM Policy and Practice

AEAT

215

WR0801

119,710

Impact of Promotion and Education Programmes on Recycling Participation

Enviros

455

WR0802

40,000

Municipal Waste Composition: Garden Waste Data Composition

WRAP

495

WR1502

2,932

Total

5,509,250


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