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24 Jun 2008 : Column 167W—continued
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the ability of people who have received grants under the Warm Front Scheme to continue to pay for their new heating equipment; whether the effects of recent changes in oil prices on the cost of fuel have been considered; and whether he plans to review the categories of persons entitled to grants. [213777]
Mr. Woolas: In view of both rising fuel prices and the need to reduce carbon emissions, Warm Front is currently piloting solar thermal systems to assess their suitability for integration into the scheme. If successful, it is anticipated that they could provide an alternative to oil systems for properties not connected to the gas network. We are currently considering further piloting of other lower carbon alternatives.
Warm Front is currently undergoing a value for money review by the National Audit Office (NAO). This study will include an assessment of the effectiveness of the scheme at targeting those most in need. NAO expect the report to be published in December 2008.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Warm Front Scheme against its objectives; and if he will make a statement. [213778]
Mr. Woolas: The National Audit Office (NAO) is currently performing a value for money study of Warm Front. This will provide an assessment of a variety of aspects of scheme delivery, including the effectiveness of the scheme at targeting those most in need, and the management of the scheme, including pricing, quality of service and customer satisfaction levels.
NAO expect to publish the report in December 2008.
Landfill
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much waste was sent to landfill outside the local authority of origin in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by local authority of reception. [212424]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 19 June 2008]: I am arranging for the information requested to be placed in the House Library.
The table provides data on inter local authority movements of waste for disposal to landfill in 2006, which is the most current data set available. The data relate to all types of waste deposited in landfill, including inert, hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.
Environment Agency data come from site input returns provided by landfill operators. Providing information on the origin of waste is not mandatory. This is reflected in the ‘not codeable’ category, which shows the quantity of waste that does not have an identified origin.
Olympic Games
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department plan to attend the Beijing Olympic Games; to what purpose in each case; and what estimate he has made of the cost. [212106]
Jonathan Shaw: No Ministers or officials from this Department will be attending the Beijing Olympic games in an official capacity.
Radioactive Materials: Waste Disposal
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Government has allocated for areas that will host nuclear disposal facilities. [212889]
Mr. Woolas: As set out in the “Managing Radioactive Waste Safely White Paper”, this is a long term project. At this stage we cannot define the level or nature of benefits.
The level, coverage and the point at which funding is available will be considered in the future.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Government spent in areas which host nuclear waste disposal sites in each year since the establishment of such sites. [212890]
Mr. Woolas: There are currently no facilities for ultimate disposal of higher activity radioactive waste in the UK.
That is why we are aiming to establish one.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government have to identify sites for the location of nuclear waste disposal facilities in the event that no applications to host such a facility are received. [212891]
Mr. Woolas: This is a matter we would determine in the future.
Sewers: Repairs and Maintenance
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what improvements have been made to the resilience of water and sewerage infrastructure to hazards over the last 12 months. [212660]
Mr. Woolas: Measures to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure will require significant planning and investment, which will need to be made through the business planning process that companies are undertaking during the current periodic review of water price limits.
Ofwat and the Environment Agency are developing a framework for assessing critical asset resilience to flooding in order to advise all water companies on their business plans, and companies are expected to bring forward proposals to address this risk in their draft business plans which will be submitted to Ofwat in August.
In response to Sir Michael Pitt’s interim report, the Government have undertaken a scoping study to assess the vulnerability of the Critical National Infrastructure to natural hazards.
Thames Barrier
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the design life of the Thames Barrier is; and how many times it has been raised to protect London from tidal surges in each year since it was commissioned. [212807]
Mr. Woolas: The Thames Barrier is closed to protect London from high water levels in the River Thames. These high water levels result from tidal surge conditions in combination with high freshwater flows following rainfall over the Thames catchment. The Barrier closures may be characterised as predominantly tidal influenced or predominantly rainfall/fluvial influenced. Since construction, the Thames Barrier has been closed to prevent flooding during the winter flood season (generally October to April) on 109 occasions as follows:
| Tidal | Fluvial | Total | |
The Thames Barrier and associated defences currently provide London and most of the Thames Estuary with a flood defence standard of about 1:2000 years (0.05 per cent. risk of flooding in any given year).
It is expected that these defences will cope with rising tidal levels for many years to come.
However, with climate change and sea level rise, the level of protection will gradually decline, as was planned back at the original design stage of the barrier, to a 1:1000 year (or 0.1 per cent.) risk of flooding by the year 2030.
Through the Environment Agency’s project “Thames Estuary 2100” we are already looking at flood risk management for the Thames Estuary for the next 100 years including a second barrier. This will give us detailed guidance on what needs to be done and when.
Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges
Robert Neill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the decision of a local authority to become a pilot for the
new scheme of charges for collection of household rubbish will be a matter for the full council or the executive of the council in a council with a cabinet model. [211381]
Joan Ruddock: It is for local authorities to determine their own decision-making processes, including for any decision on whether they wish to pilot a waste incentive scheme.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Accountancy
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s (a) chart of accounts and (b) resource account codes and usage descriptions for the 2008-09 financial year. [210982]
Mr. Woodward: A copy of the Department’s current chart of accounts has been placed in the Library. In the Northern Ireland Office, there is no difference between the chart of accounts and the resource account codes. Each code has a brief description that describes its use.
Departmental Postal Services
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on sending mail overseas in each year since 2001, broken down by delivery company. [208521]
Mr. Woodward: The Department (excluding its agencies and Executive NDPBs) does not hold the spend data at the required level of detail to answer this question. This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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