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6 May 2008 : Column 724W—continued
Horseracing: Death
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether racecourse administrators are required to report the deaths of racehorses on the racecourse to his Department; and if he will make a statement. [196325]
Jonathan Shaw: Racecourse administrators are not required to report the deaths of racehorses on the racecourse to DEFRA.
Land: Contamination
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to issue guidance to local authorities on the management of contaminated land. [202941]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA has been working closely with the Environment Agency, the Health Protection Agency, the Food Standards Agency and other stakeholders, on the complex issue of how technical guidance on the assessment of long-term health risks to exposure from contaminated land might be updated and improved. DEFRA plans to announce significant improvements soon.
In the meantime, existing technical guidance produced by the Environment Agency continues to be available to help local authorities assess risks posed by contaminated land. This can be found on the Environment Agency's website. The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) has also published relevant guidance in “Planning Policy Statement 23: Planning and Pollution Control” which can be found on CLG’s website.
Press
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of the press offices of (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies was in each year since1996-97; what the cost was in each quarter since 1 April 2007; and if he will make a statement. [189654]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA was established in 2001. The total annual cost of press officers in core DEFRA is tabulated as follows.
| Core DEFRA | |
| Total expenditure (£) | |
The DEFRA press office provides services for the Central Science Laboratory, Government Decontamination Service, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Veterinary Laboratory Agency, and Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
The total annual cost of press officers in each of the remaining DEFRA agencies of CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences) and the Rural Payments Agency, in each year since 2001 is tabulated as follows.
| RPA | |
| Total expenditure (£) | |
| CEFAS | |
| Total expenditure (£) | |
In addition to support from the DEFRA press office, Animal Health (formerly the State Veterinary Service) employs a head of communications and an external communications manager.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many press office staff were employed by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies (i) in each year since 1996-97 and (ii) at the latest date for which information is available. [189655]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA was established in 2001. The number of press officers in core DEFRA is tabulated as follows, with the census point for the number of press officers taken as June for each year. The staffing numbers for the press office fluctuate during the course of any one year.
The following figures exclude numbers for ancillary or support staff; numbers have varied, ranging from three to seven during the review period.
| Staff numbers as at June | Press officers |
The DEFRA press office provides services for the Central Science Laboratory, Government Decontamination Service, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Veterinary Laboratory Agency, and Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
The number of staff employed in the Press Offices of each of the remaining DEFRA agencies of CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences) and the Rural Payments Agency, in each year since 2001 is tabulated as follows, with the number of ancillary support staff in brackets (the RPA did not have any ancillary staff associated with the press office).
| Agency | ||
| CEFAS | RPA | |
In addition to support from the DEFRA press office, Animal Health (formerly the State Veterinary Service) employs a head of communications and an external communications manager.
The “White Book” of contacts in Government Departments and agencies contains listings for DEFRA and is updated twice yearly.
Transport
A12
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the current programme of A12 improvements will be completed in Essex; and what plans there are for a further programme of improvements to the A12 in Essex to provide for (a) better safety and (b) increased capacity. [203415]
Mr. Tom Harris: The A12/M25 Brook Street Interchange was opened on 10 March 2008. Major maintenance schemes are currently programmed to be undertaken at Kelvedon in 2008-09 and at Witham to Hatfield Peverel in 2009-10.
Future major improvements of safety and capacity to the A12 are dependent on schemes being prioritised for funding by the East of England from its Regional Funding Allocation for major transport schemes, or from other sources.
A12: Accidents
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents there have been on the A12 and at junctions on the A12 in Essex which have resulted in serious injury or death over the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available; and how many people were (a) seriously injured and (b) died as a result of these incidents. [203414]
Mr. Tom Harris: The following table shows the number of people killed and seriously injured on the A12 in Essex over the past five calendar years. The Highways Agency does not currently hold any full accident figures for 2008.
| Accidents A12 Essex | ||
| Fatal | Seriously injured | |
Asphalt
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) quantity and (b) type is of fossil fuels used to extract, refine and manufacture each metric tonne of road-quality asphalt used on roads. [202511]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally. The Highways Agency has developed a framework for calculating the carbon footprint across all of its operations, including asphalt, and this is being applied this financial year. We have asked the UK Roads Liaison Group to consider what further research and advice will be helpful to local authorities.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the level of carbon dioxide emissions per metric tonne of road-quality asphalt from (a) all stages of its manufacture for use on roads and (b) the process of laying on to road surfaces in the latest period for which figures are available; and what assumptions are made in each calculation. [202512]
Ms Rosie Winterton: No specific estimate has been made of the levels of carbon dioxide emissions associated with the asphalt used for roads. The Highways Agency is developing a whole life value assessment tool for highway pavements which will include carbon dioxide emission calculations. It plans to implement this tool as part of its Sustainable Development Action Plan. We have asked the UK Roads Liaison Group to consider what further research and advice will be helpful to local authorities.
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