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15 Jan 2009 : Column 892W—continued
Floods: Housing
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2008, Official Report, column 122W, on floods: housing, how many of the properties estimated to be at risk of flooding in each year are in each region. [244509]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Please find in the following table the estimated number of properties at the risk of flooding from rivers and the sea by Environment Agency Region.
| Environment Agency Region | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
The Environment Agency and DEFRA did not record properties by region before 2004.
The difference in the estimated number of properties at risk of flooding each year is mainly due to the improvements and refinements of the data and the modelling techniques used by the Environment Agency for the National Flood Risk Assessment.
Floods: Newcastle Upon Tyne
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to investigate and help prevent instances of localised flooding, with particular reference to Newcastle upon Tyne. [244125]
Huw Irranca-Davies: On 17 December, in response to Sir Michael Pitt’s Review of the floods in summer 2007, the Government announced how flooding issues will be tackled in the future.
Local action is already taking place in many areas of the country. The Environment Agency, Newcastle City Council and Northumbrian Water Limited have formed
a ‘strategic co-ordination group’ to investigate flooding across the Ouseburn Catchment and establish what measures may reduce the impact of future flooding across Newcastle City. The group is investigating possible improvements to the surface and foul water drainage systems, and potential alterations to bridges and channel capacity in the Gosforth area to alleviate the risk of flooding.
The Environment Agency have completed 54 new flood defences since June 2007 which has increased protection to around 38,000 properties.
Fuel Poverty
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what responsibility for policy on fuel poverty is retained by his Department following the establishment of the Department for Energy and Climate Change. [242883]
Jane Kennedy: Responsibility for tackling fuel poverty now rests with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and, in line with general Government policy, the rural aspects of fuel poverty will be considered within the mainstream policy. Nevertheless, DEFRA continues to take a strong interest in this issue, as it does in all others affecting rural communities. In particular, we sponsor the Commission for Rural Communities which works closely with DECC and Ofgem on rural fuel poverty issues and which has set up a Fuel Poverty advisory group.
Geomatics Group
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 17 November 2008, Official Report, column 98W, on the Environment Agency, (1) what the expected (a) turnover and (b) profit of the Geomatics Group in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11 is; and if he will make a statement; [242786]
(2) what the (a) turnover and (b) profit of the Geomatics Group was in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement. [242789]
Jane Kennedy: The current anticipated total turnover of the Geomatics Group is:
| £ | |
This includes work undertaken for the rest of the Environment Agency, which Geomatics makes no profit from. The level of profit on work undertaken for external customers is commercially confidential.
The total turnover of the Geomatics Group in 2007-08 was £3,565,000.
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 17 November 2008, Official Report, column 98W, on the Environment Agency, what proportion of the profit made by the Geomatics Group was transferred to the Environment Agency in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement. [242787]
Jane Kennedy: Geomatics Group is a business unit within the Environment Agency and therefore 100 per cent. was transferred to the Environment Agency.
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 17 November 2008, Official Report, column 98W, on the Environment Agency, with whom the Geomatics Group held contracts from which it derived income in 2007-08, broken down by contract value; and if he will make a statement. [242788]
Jane Kennedy: This information is commercially confidential, as releasing it could give a commercial advantage to other organisations.
Litter: Beaches
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of changes in the levels of beach litter since 2004; and if he will make a statement. [240922]
Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA has made no direct assessment of changes in the levels of litter on beaches. However, DEFRA does provide grant funding support through ENCAMS (also known as Keep Britain Tidy) to the Blue Flag and Quality Coast Award schemes designed to drive up the quality of amenity beach areas. Furthermore, DEFRA also funds ENCAMS to undertake the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England which has monitored levels of local environmental quality across England since 2001.
Under section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, councils have a duty to keep their relevant land, including beaches above the high water mark, clear of litter and refuse. The statutory Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse recommends those responsible for beaches regularly monitor them and develop an appropriate cleansing regime.
Recycling
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on the development of (a) water and (b) waste recycling facilities in each of the last three years. [245867]
Jane Kennedy: DEFRA spent the following amounts on water saving initiatives and waste and recycling facilities in each of the last three years:
| £ | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
DEFRA includes water saving technologies in all its major refurbishment and new building projects, to ensure that every possible water saving efficiency is addressed at the earliest stage. Technologies that are widely used throughout the estate include: rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing; low flush toilets; waterless urinals; efficient showers and passive infra-red sensor taps.
Significant investment has also been made on DEFRA's laboratory estate to replace older inefficient autoclaves with more water efficient versions. (An autoclave is a device used to sterilise laboratory equipment. The process uses significant quantities of water to produce steam). DEFRA also has an ongoing programme of leak detection surveys throughout its estate.
DEFRA recently invested in new recycling bins and waste storage areas as part of its ‘Bin the Bin’ binless office programme initially across the London estate, to decrease waste arisings and increase recycling. This has been an award winning initiative which, wherever possible within the constraints of each site, is being replicated across the estate.
Regional Technical Advisory Boards
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) name and (b) address of each regional technical advisory board is; and whether these bodies are classified as public authorities for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [245894]
Mr. Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
The names and address of each Regional Technical Advisory Board (RTAB) are as follows:
The Secretary, East of England RTAB, East of England Regional Assembly, Flempton House, Flempton, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6EG
The Secretary, East Midlands RTAB, East Midlands Regional Assembly , First Floor, Council Offices, Nottingham Road, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, East Midlands, LEI3 0UL
The Secretary, London RTAB, London Assembly, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA
The Secretary, North East RTAB, North East Assembly, The Axis Building, Maingate, Kingsway North, Team Valley, Gateshead, NE11 0NQ
The Secretary, North West RTAB, North West Regional Assembly, 4NW, Wigan Investment Centre, Waterside Drive, Wigan, WN3 5BA
The Secretary, South East RTAB, South East England Regional Assembly, 1(st) Floor, Berkeley House, Cross Lanes, Guildford, Surrey, GUI 1UN
The Secretary, South West RTAB, South West Regional Assembly, Dennett House, 11 Middle Street, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 1SH
The Secretary, West Midland RTAB, West Midlands Regional Assembly, Regional Partnership Centre, Albert House, Quay Place, 92-93 Edward Street, Birmingham, B1 2RA
The Secretary, Yorkshire and Humberside RTAB, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Assembly, 18 King St, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 2SQ
Regional Technical Advisory Boards (RTABs) are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act), as they are not specifically listed in Schedule 1 of the FOI Act as a public authority. Furthermore it is unlikely that RTABs would qualify as such by virtue of their composition under any provision of that Schedule.
Sewers: Private Sector
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timetable is for the transfer of private sewers and drains in England and Wales to the ownership of the statutory water and sewerage companies. [248242]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Privately owned sewers and lateral drains in England will be transferred to water and sewerage companies from 2011. The Welsh Assembly Government have outlined how the transfer will be implemented in Wales in its Policy Position Statement on Water which it launched for consultation on 14 January.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest: Fish
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the re-stocking with fish of lakes located within sites of special scientific interest. [247797]
Huw Irranca-Davies: When stocking fish into an inland water, prior written consent must be obtained from the Environment Agency who will assess the risk posed by each application to fisheries and the wider environment. Any application to stock a designated conservation site, is referred to Natural England and/or the Countryside Council for Wales.
Energy and Climate Change
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many applications for Warm Front grants in Essex are awaiting determination; and if he will make a statement. [243814]
Joan Ruddock: At 19 December 2008, 183,537 applications for Warm Front were outstanding in Essex. Each of these applications is at a different stage of the process, and Warm Front is currently operating well within contractual waiting times in the Essex area.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to reply to the letter to him dated 4 November 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr A. Lane. [246527]
Joan Ruddock: Departmental reorganisation has led to delays in dealing with correspondence for which Ministers apologise. The letter is currently under consideration and a reply will be sent as soon as possible.
Wind Power
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many wind turbines are operational in the UK. [247879]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: In terms of wind turbines under 100 kW (‘microgeneration’), we assessed in our Element Energy research that there were 1,100 micro-wind turbines installed in the UK at the end of 2007. The research document can be downloaded at:
The following table shows the number of wind turbines above 100 kW generating in the UK at November 2008.
| Number | |
| Source: AEA Technology, January 2009 | |
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