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29 Apr 2008 : Column 283W—continued
Fisheries: Sustainable Development
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration has been given to the situation of under-10 metre fleets that use sustainable rod and line fishing methods in formulating fisheries policy. [201922]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 28 April 2008]: As DEFRA continues to develop its policy on environmentally responsible fishing we will be considering the environmental impacts of all types of fishing, including rod and line fishing.
Flood Control
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the capacity of internal drainage boards to undertake responsibility for flood prevention beyond their traditional locations. [201325]
Mr. Woolas: The current consultation on surface water management seeks views on the role that internal drainage boards might play in producing surface water management plans in the future. It is suggested that internal drainage boards might play a greater role in managing surface water drainage in rural areas in a parallel role to the equivalent operating authority in urban areas.
The consultation suggests that operating authorities, in fulfilling their surface water drainage responsibilities, could set up a working group made up of the relevant local authorities, water companies, the Environment Agency and the relevant internal drainage boards. In certain circumstances, a local authority may choose to discharge its responsibilities for leading a surface water management plan through a relevant internal drainage
board in their area. This board would then play a lead role in preparing the plan and ensuring that other operating authorities' activities are consistent with it.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authority areas fall within the catchment of an internal drainage board. [201779]
Mr. Woolas: There are approximately 170 internal drainage boards (IDB) in England and Wales concentrated mainly in East Anglia, Yorkshire, Somerset and Lincolnshire. Most IDB catchments overlap several local authority boundaries. This means there is at least one, and usually multiple local authorities within each IDB catchment.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will encourage local authorities in areas where two tiers of local government exist to form joint bodies to oversee flood prevention measures. [201782]
Mr. Woolas: Local authorities have permissive powers (but no statutory obligation) to undertake works to manage flood risk from the sea and from watercourses for which the Environment Agency and internal drainage boards do not hold such powers. In areas where there are two tiers of local government, county councils will not normally exercise such powers unless this has been requested by the district council.
The current consultation on surface water management is considering the role that local authorities might play in preparing surface water management plans. It suggests that such plans should be prepared by the same tier of authority that currently prepares strategic flood risk assessments. In two-tier authorities, this is normally the district council, although this can depend on local circumstances.
Where flooding issues cut across district boundaries within a county, district councils would provide the detailed surface water management plan as the local planning authority, with county councils potentially exercising a scrutiny function across several local authorities.
We are currently reviewing the responsibilities of all delivery bodies involved in flood risk management and will look to the recommendations from the Pitt Review to determine how any changes might be implemented.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will encourage localised measurement of rainfall to present more accurate information on potential flooding. [201783]
Mr. Woolas: The Environment Agency maintains a network of 750 telemetered rain-gauges which feed data directly into computer models to forecast river levels, using the national flood forecasting system (NFFS). The Environment Agency is about to gain access to a further 110 telemetered rain-gauges that are owned by the Met Office. The Environment Agency also maintains a network of 2,250 rain-gauges across England and Wales that are monitored on a daily basis and which are used in a planning capacity to establish potential flood risk.
Due to the limitations of measuring rainfall at fixed point locations, spatial data on actual and forecast rainfall is provided by a network of weather radars (which measure rainfall to a resolution up to 1 sq km), and by the Met Office’s weather forecasting models. The Environment Agency has evaluated each area with a flood risk to ensure that each is served with information from an appropriate number of rain-gauges or data from weather radar. Where gaps are identified, then improvements in rain-gauge coverage (and/or weather radar) are under way.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers are available to a person who is appointed as a flood warden by a parish or town council. [201785]
Mr. Woolas: The Environment Agency recently produced a policy statement on the use of flood wardens for flood warning purposes and supports the practice of using volunteers in local communities in times of flooding. Flood wardens provide community cohesion and support during and after flooding.
The Environment Agency is not aware of any powers available to volunteers who undertake this role.
Floods: Construction
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions the Environment Agency has objected to a development on the basis of flood risk in the last five years, broken down by local authority; and what the outcome of the application was in each case. [201784]
Mr. Woolas: The high level target (HLT) 5 (previously HLT 12) and its appendices, provide information on the impact of the technical advice on flood risk provided by the Environment Agency on planning decisions made by English local planning authorities. This includes a list of all of the Environment Agency’s objections on flood risk grounds (major and minor development).
All annual HLT reports compiled by the Environment Agency, from 2000-01 on development and flood risk, have been submitted to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (and before that to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food), with recent reports copied to Communities and Local Government.
The Environment Agency’s list of all its objections lodged during 2006-07, are currently available via the Environment Agency’s website and copies of the annual HLT report from 2001-02 have been placed in the Library of the House.
Livestock: Exports
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) cattle or calves, (b) sheep and (c) other livestock species were exported from the UK for (i) further fattening and (ii) slaughter in 2007. [201169]
Jonathan Shaw: The information requested is not collected centrally and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
Local Food Scheme
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria he has established to determine eligibility for the local food scheme; and whether such criteria vary between regions. [201256]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply as Minister with responsibility for national lottery issues.
The Local Food programme is run by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts as an award partner of Big Lottery Fund. It is one of five England wide award partner programmes funded through the Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces programme. Not-for-profit community groups and organisations in England can apply to the Local Food programme. The eligibility criteria do not vary between regions. For full details of eligibility criteria and further information about the programme visit:
Natural Gas
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has commissioned or funded into gas use in households which have introduced energy efficiency measures. [201324]
Mr. Woolas: DEFRA has a research programme in place to test and quantify the in-situ performance of energy efficiency measures. We have also undertaken research into householder 'comfort taking'. This research feeds back into the modelling and the carbon savings prescribed to policies in the climate change programme.
Although yet to be fully quantified, we now know that UK gas consumption has fallen 12 per cent. since 2005, which we believe to be at least in part the impact of our regulatory energy efficiency policies such as the supplier obligation and building regulations.
Packaging: Recycling
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage the introduction of a standardised labelling system indicating the recyclability of product packaging. [201556]
Joan Ruddock: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has helped the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to develop a voluntary scheme for on-pack labelling on recycling. WRAP and the BRC consulted on the scheme in November 2007, and expect to launch it formally soon.
Pet Travel Scheme
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of failure of microchips used to obtain pet passports there were in each of the last five years. [200967]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 24 April 2008]: Animal Health (AH) do not hold records of pets whose microchips have failed when scanned by their local vet.
AH do hold records of microchip failures when pets are presented at ports of entry. These show that, between 1 January 2003 and 1 January 2008, 297 pets were presented at ports and were refused entry into the UK under PETS due to microchip failure.
Plastic Bags: Taxation
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to exempt plastic bags made from biodegradable film from the proposed plastic bag tax. [202677]
Joan Ruddock: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget on 12 March that we will introduce legislation to require retailers to impose a charge on single-use carrier bags from 2009, if retailers have not achieved a substantial reduction in the number of bags distributed on a voluntary basis.
The criteria for the types of bags subject to the charge, and any appropriate exemptions, will be a matter for secondary legislation. This will be consulted on beforehand.
However, as the purpose of the proposed charge is to reduce the numbers of all types of single-use carrier bags being distributed, there are no current plans to exempt bags made from biodegradable film.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether plastic bags manufactured before the start date for any plastic bag tax will be subject to the tax. [202678]
Joan Ruddock: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget on 12 March that we will introduce legislation to require retailers to impose a charge on single-use carrier bags from 2009, if retailers have not achieved a substantial reduction in the number of bags distributed on a voluntary basis.
The criteria for the types of bags subject to the charge, and any appropriate exemptions, will be a matter for secondary legislation. This will be consulted on beforehand.
However, as one of the aims of the proposed charge is to change consumers' behaviour by ensuring that they have to pay a small—but meaningful—charge every time they accept a single-use bag, there are no current plans to exempt bags on the basis of the date on which they were manufactured.
Recreation Spaces: Urban Areas
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what circumstances the public may be excluded from land designated as a town green under section 15(1) of the Commons Act 2006. [200072]
Jonathan Shaw: There is some uncertainty over this issue, but our view is that local inhabitants have a right to indulge in lawful sports and pastimes on a registered town or village green. However, such rights do not extend to the public generally.
Tobacco: Wastes
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the percentage of waste accounted for by tobacco-related products. [201327]
Jonathan Shaw: No estimate has been made of the amount of waste accounted for specifically by tobacco-related products.
However, the most comprehensive measure of litter on the street today is that provided by the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England, conducted by ENCAMS on DEFRA’s behalf. The survey is based on a random selection of 12,000 sites across a third of all England’s local authority areas. The percentage of tobacco related products is shown in the following table.
| Percentage of sites on which smoking related litter is found | |
Water: Conservation
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage the manufacture and sale of water efficient toilets that have a flush volume that is lower than the water regulation standard flush volume of six litres. [201555]
Mr. Woolas: The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations currently set minimum levels of water efficiency performance for key water using appliances such as WCs, urinals, dishwashers and washing machines. A review of the regulations over the coming year will include options for setting new performance standards for key water using fittings. These measures will apply to individual appliances installed in both new and existing houses and non-domestic buildings.
DEFRA is working with Communities and Local Government on measures to improve the standard of water efficiency in new homes. New provisions in building regulations and the Code for Sustainable Homes set new performance standards for new homes, which will encourage the take-up of efficient water fittings.
Additionally the enhanced capital allowance (EGA) scheme for water efficient technologies provides accelerated tax relief to businesses investing in designated sustainable water technologies, including efficient toilets with flush volumes below six litres.
To assess future consumption trends for WCs, and identify what actions are necessary to improve WC design and efficiency, the Government's market transformation programme (MTP) has published a number of documents related to the water use of WCs. These documents are available on the MTP website.
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