Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 15 October 2008
Church Commissioners
Churches: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Drew: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what recent discussions the Church Commissioners have had with HM Treasury on funding for the repair and upkeep of church buildings; and if he will make a statement. [226693]
Sir Stuart Bell: Representatives of the Church of England have had constructive discussions with Ministers and officials from the Treasury, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Office of the Third Sector and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. These interdepartmental discussions are ongoing and I would hope to be able to report the outcome before the Christmas recess.
By way of a statement, the overall aim is to examine the contribution made by church buildings of all faiths to the agendas of Departments and to identify available funding from national, regional and local government sources. From there, the working group is looking at ways of ensuring that these funding streams are fully accessible to churches.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Bluetongue Disease
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information he holds on which EU countries currently have bluetongue epidemics; and what strain is prevalent in each case. [225539]
Jane Kennedy: Currently, there are several bluetongue serotypes circulating in different parts of the EU, including serotypes 1, 2, 4, 8, 9 and 16. A map of the current protection zones in place for each serotype can be found on the European Commission website.
Of most importance to the UK are bluetongue serotypes 1 and 8. Bluetongue serotype 8 (BTV-8) was first found in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Western Germany and in parts of North Eastern France in summer/autumn 2006. In 2007, Northern Europe experienced a dramatic increase of new cases in all existing infected areas, and cases numbered into the tens of thousands as disease steadily spread across Europe.
In 2008, the number of new cases of BTV-8 in many EU member states has declined, but depending on weather conditions, it is possible that there may be
further outbreaks this year. BTV-8 continues to be highly prevalent in France (with over 16,000 new cases in 2008) and Germany (over 1,300 new cases). BTV-1 is prevalent in Spain (over 1,000 new cases) and France (over 2,600 cases).
Departmental Paper
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of paper used (a) for photocopying and (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last two years. [220727]
Huw Irranca-Davies: From information held centrally, the figures are as follows:
| Tonnes | Percentage from recycled sources | |
DEFRA’s sustainable procurement policy is adherence to the highest standards of recycled paper. DEFRA currently buys paper that contains 75 per cent. recycled fibre for coated paper used in publications and for office paper (copier) and publications using uncoated paper, there is a 100 per cent. recycled fibre target. The only exceptions to these standards are where recycled paper is not available for a specific process e.g. some coloured stocks, security paper and non-carbon reproduction (NCR). Meeting the targets owes much to the fact that a considerable proportion of DEFRA’s printed publications are commissioned from a single central business unit using a centrally negotiated contract for recycled paper. The increase in photocopier usage is accounted for by print jobs related to cattle statements, herd statements, herd movements, single payments scheme and animal health disease outbreaks.
Departmental Press
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on subscriptions for magazines, newspapers and other publications in each of the last 24 months. [215211]
Huw Irranca-Davies: In the last 24 months, DEFRA spent £26,031.55 on subscriptions for magazines and newspapers. It is not possible to give a monthly breakdown as the amount varies depending on the length of the subscription.
Floods
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what critical infrastructure has been identified as vulnerable to flooding; and what the location and level of risk of each is. [224221]
Jane Kennedy
[holding answer 17 September 2008]: The following table shows the number of critical facilities sites at risk of flooding. The Environment Agency is
unable to give the location of these sites for national security reasons.
| Number of sites in flood zone (flood risk probability) | ||||
| Asset | Significant (1 in75) | Moderate (1 in 75-200) | Low (1 in 200 or fewer) | Total in all three zones |
| Note: Taken from an Environment Agency study showing infrastructure overlain on flood risk maps (river and sea floodplains). | ||||
International Panel on Climate Change: Correspondence
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of correspondence between Dr. John Mitchell, Chief Scientist at the Hadley Centre, and the International Panel on Climate Change occurring in the last 12 months. [225013]
Mr. Kevan Jones: I have been asked to reply.
The Meteorological Office will review correspondence between Professor Mitchell and the IPCC in the last 12 months. Where appropriate, copies will be placed in the Library of the House.
Non-Departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 September 2008, Official Report, columns 2421-2W, on non-departmental public bodies, what is the net change is in the (a) amount and (b) percentage of (i) resource, (ii) capital and (iii) total budgets for each of his Department’s executive agencies and sponsored bodies from 2008-09 to 2009-10 in (A) cash and (B) real terms; and what savings were achieved in each spending area of each such organisation in that period. [226942]
Huw Irranca-Davies [holding answer 14 October 2008]: Requested details for arms length bodies and gross controlled agencies for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 are provided in the following tables. HM Treasury deflators have been used to derive net change in real terms at 2008-09 prices.
DEFRA’s other Executive Agencies: the Central Science Laboratory (CSL), the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) recover their full economic costs through charges made to customers for services provided.
How the changes in budget levels between the two years will be applied, are matters for the chief executives of individual NDPBs and Executive Agencies, in consultation with Ministers.
| Arms length bodies: 2008-09 to 2009-10 Budgets | ||||||
| £ million | ||||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |||||
| Resource | Cap | Total | Resource | Cap | Total. | |
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