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10 Feb 2009 : Column 1815W—continued
There is nothing in the licence condition that requires Brixham boats to return to Brixham to land their catch prior to setting out to fish in another area. If the master or owner of a vessel wishes to amend the area of fishing, there is a requirement to come into a fishing port before any notification for a change of area can be made, but this does not need to be the home fishing port. If fishing has taken place however, any fish retained onboard must be landed before this notification is made. This element of the measure was introduced so that we can be sure that the fish retained onboard can only be from one ICES area, and hence, the risk of the ability to misreport the area of capture is reduced.
Vile*—the exact area where the restriction applies called ‘relevant area’ is clearly mapped out in the licence condition.
Fisheries: Quotas
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will carry out a mid-year review of the reduction in quota levels for 7e sole in the light of new scientific advice; and what recent assessment he has made of the effect of quota levels on the livelihoods of fishermen in the south-west. [254978]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The International Council for the Exploration for the Sea (ICES) provides scientific advice to the European Commission and member states for the management of EU fish stocks. Since agreement was reached on total allowable catches and quotas for 2009 there has been no new advice concerning 7e sole. Once new information becomes available I will give it my full consideration.
I fully recognise that the loss of sole quota impacts on fishers’ in the south-west. Based on average 2008 prices, this year’s cut in the UK quota of 68t, is valued at approximately £500,000. However, this does not take account of fluctuations in price and catches of other species.
I am keen for my officials to continue to work with representatives of the south-west fishing industry. They have, therefore, agreed to meet throughout the year to explore the scope for developing a strategy for 7e sole based on the latest evidence.
Floods: EU Law
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made on implementation of the EU Floods Directive; and if he will make a statement. [253203]
Huw Irranca-Davies: We intend to consult on arrangements for implementing the directive in England this spring, as part of the draft Floods and Water Bill.
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for recognition under the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme since 2004 were received from producer organisations; and how many of these were (a) approved, (b) rejected and (c) withdrawn. [252583]
Jane Kennedy: 34 applications for recognition under the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Aid scheme were received from producer organisations since 2004.
Of these, 24 were approved, nine were rejected and one was withdrawn.
Housing: Carbon Emissions
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money has been allocated from the Environmental Action Fund for the construction of zero-carbon housing. [249738]
Jane Kennedy: The conditions of the Environmental Action Fund did not allow grant funding for construction work. It did support several projects by voluntary and community sector organisations which encouraged sustainable consumption in the construction industry, among building professionals, communities or householders/buyers.
Examples of Government support to the house-building sector for the construction of zero carbon housing are: the Zero Carbon Hub, the Carbon Challenge Programme and the Low Impact Building Innovation Platform.
Incinerators: EC Law
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of levels of compliance of emissions from energy from waste plants with the EU Waste Incineration Directive; and if he will make a statement. [254411]
Jane Kennedy: Operators of waste incineration plants are required to comply with permits under the terms of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 which implement the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC). Assessment of compliance, and consideration of enforcement action in the event of non-compliance, are matters for the relevant environmental regulator.
Landfill: EC Law
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the financial and economic impact of the EU Landfill Directive, (b) the costs of meeting the targets contained in the Directive by 2010 and (c) the likely cost to the public purse should the UK fail to meet the requirements of the Directive. [254403]
Jane Kennedy: The information is as follows:
(a) The financial and economic impact of the EU Landfill Directive in England and Wales was considered in a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) included in the consultation on the implementation of the Landfill Directive in 2001.
(b) The costs of meeting the 2010 landfill diversion targets were estimated in the RIA on the implementation of the landfill provisions of the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003. The RIA identified three options that would meet the requirements as well as a business as usual base position.
(c) Failure to meet the requirements of the Landfill Directive would leave the UK open to infraction proceedings under EC law.
Mass Media
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of his Department's contracts with press monitoring services was in each of the last five years. [251156]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) has provided media monitoring services as follows to DEFRA:
| £ | |
We do not hold records for MMU costs in 2004-05.
Durrants provides DEFRA with a daily cuttings service at the following cost per calendar year:
| £ | |
We do not hold records for Durrants costs in 2004-05.
DEFRA also subscribes to the Press Association newswire monitoring service at the following cost:
| £ | |
In addition since May 2008 DEFRA has used the transcript service of Wordsworth at a cost to date of £8,705.
All figures quoted exclude VAT.
Nature Conservation
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans his Department has to strengthen the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species licensing system following the recent changes to Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. [253749]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I do not propose to make any specific changes to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) licensing system. However my officials have recently strengthened our compliance team with the secondment of a serving police officer.
This has enabled CITES licensing to improve the service they offer to law enforcement agencies and to integrate the procedures fully into those of the police national intelligence model and the overall UK strategic assessment of wildlife crime.
Nitrate Vulnerable Zones
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of simultaneous discharges of slurry in nitrate vulnerable zones at the end of the closed season; and if he will make a statement. [254070]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Stakeholders raised concerns in response to a consultation about the potential for a “national muck spreading day” either just before or just after the closed season. To address their concerns and to manage the risk of less attention being paid to ground conditions at a time when there is a higher risk of soil damage or run-off, a provision was included in the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2008 which set a maximum application rate and minimum return period between the end of the closed season and the end of February. This is in addition to a number of other measures in the regulations which are aimed at reducing the risk of a national muck-spreading day occurring.
Oils: Waste Disposal
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the volume of used cooking oil that has been disposed of in landfill sites in each year since 1997. [253282]
Jane Kennedy: No such estimate has been made by DEFRA.
Packaging
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department has held with retailers and manufacturers in the last 12 months on reducing excess packaging. [252923]
Jane Kennedy: DEFRA is in discussion with retailers and manufacturers through a voluntary agreement between industry and Government called the Courtauld Commitment. There have been a number of meetings over the past 12 months to discuss the issue of excess packaging. In 2008 the Courtauld Commitment successfully achieved its objective of stopping growth in grocery retail packaging, and signatories are now working towards their second aim of reducing the amount of packaging used by 2010. Discussions are under way to agree further reduction targets for the post-2010 commitment.
Packaging: EC Law
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in implementing the EU Packaging Directive; and if he will make a statement. [254400]
Jane Kennedy: The UK has fully implemented the requirements of the EU Packaging Directive via the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations and the Essential Requirements Regulations.
Pollution Prevention Control Regulations 2000
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to implement (a) the Pollution Prevention Control Regulations 2000 and (b) the pollution control regime set up under Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. [254409]
Jane Kennedy: The Pollution Prevention Control Regulations 2000 and the pollution control regime set up under part 1 of the Environment Act 1990 have been replaced by the Environment Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. These came into force on 6 April 2008 and are fully implemented.
Poverty: Rural Areas
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government have taken to address rural poverty. [253825]
Huw Irranca-Davies [holding answer 3 February 2009]: National cross-cutting policies to address poverty apply to both urban and rural areas and are the responsibility of a number of Government Departments such as the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Communities and Local Government and Customs and Revenue.
DEFRA's role is to encourage other departments and agencies to understand the rural dimension to their policies and programmes. DEFRA also funds the Commission for Rural Communities to advise all Government Departments on the needs of people living and working in rural England, with a particular focus on tackling disadvantage.
Public Footpaths
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations (a) he and (b) Natural England have had with Visit Britain on Natural England’s review of national trails and routes. [255777]
Huw Irranca-Davies: My officials are aware of Natural England’s review of national trails and routes.
Natural England has consulted VisitEngland (formerly VisitBritain) about its review and it has been actively involved throughout all stages of the review. It is represented on a small steering group of major stakeholders which has advised and contributed to every aspect of the review from agreeing the scope, gathering, analysing and challenging the evidence, refining recommendations and consulting with tourism, user group, landowner and local authority interests. VisitEngland also attended a national consultation event.
Recycling
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes the Environment Agency has made to rules on the storage of recyclable wastes as a consequence of the reduction in market demand for recycled products. [252722]
Jane Kennedy: An Environment Agency position statement regarding the storage of recyclables was issued on 11 November 2008 and is available on their website.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to set targets for local authorities on the recycling of trade waste; and if he will make a statement. [254984]
Jane Kennedy: No specific targets have been set for the recycling of trade waste.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many councils he expects to meet their targets for recycling of household waste by 2020; and what assistance is available to local authorities to meet such targets. [254985]
Jane Kennedy: Individual local authorities do not have targets set in 2020 for recycling household waste.
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