| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
17 Mar 2009 : Column 1018W—continued
Livestock: Exports
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) unweaned calves, (b) cattle, (c) sheep and (d) other livestock species were exported from the UK for (i) further fattening and (ii) slaughter in 2008. [261520]
Jane Kennedy: Data collected from the EU Commission's Trade Control Expert System (TRACES) indicate that the following numbers of live cattle, sheep, goats and pigs were certified by official veterinarians as meeting the intra-Community trade rules for dispatch from the United Kingdom to other EU member states for either further fattening or slaughter during 2008:
| Number of animals certified for: | |||
| Livestock type | Fattening | Slaughter | Total |
Information on whether any of these animals were unweaned at the time of dispatch is not captured on TRACES, therefore these data are not available.
The number of animals certified for export from the United Kingdom to countries outside of the EU is not recorded centrally, meaning that it is not possible to provide these data.
Nature Conservation
Ms Angela C. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to support investment in upland management in respect of water quality and wildlife. [263640]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Within DEFRA’s agri-environment schemes—Environmental Stewardship and the predecessor schemes, Countryside Stewardship and Environmentally Sensitive Areas—funding is available for environmental management in the uplands which will contribute to improving water quality and biodiversity. This includes, for instance, the management of moorland, upland rough grazing, grip blocking, moorland re-wetting, heather management restoration and maintenance of upland dry stone walls.
The Secretary of State has also recently announced the introduction of a new uplands strand of Environmental Stewardship (Uplands ELS) in 2010, to replace the Hill Farm Allowance. The objective of Uplands ELS includes maintaining and improving the biodiversity and water quality in England’s uplands, by supporting the land management practices which deliver these benefits. Funding for Uplands ELS is expected to be around £25 million per year.
The England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative (ECSFDI) aims to help farmers to reduce diffuse pollution from agricultural land through both advice and grants. The ECSFDI is delivered in 50 priority catchments including a number of catchments in England’s uplands. DEFRA is providing funding of £12.9 million for the ECSFDI in 2009-10 of which £5 million is available for capital grants. These grants are for the improvement or installation of facilities that would benefit water quality by reducing diffuse pollution.
Pesticides
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to conduct a consultation on the list of ingredients of pesticides to be proscribed under section 43 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. [262902]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Secretary of State may not make an order under section 43 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 unless he is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient to do so. We will be further assessing the need for such an order in the light of the findings of a pre-consultation exercise undertaken last year and will then determine what the next steps should be. A wider consultation may take place later this year.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 3 March 2009, Official Report, columns 47-48WS, on Government infrastructure investment, whether any private finance initiative schemes relating to waste management are subject to (a) cancellation, (b) postponement or (c) renegotiation. [262886]
Jane Kennedy: Following the recent announcement by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) on Government infrastructure investment, no decisions have been made on private finance initiative (PFI) waste management schemes. Therefore at this time, none is subject to cancellation, postponement or renegotiation.
However, any PFI deal in the procurement process could be subject to cancellation, postponement and renegotiation for any number of other commercial reasons.
I can confirm that there are currently 19 PFI waste projects in procurement, with a further 11 currently in the application process for PFI credits which have not yet been granted approval by the Treasury.
Recycling: Carbon Emissions
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research has been (a) undertaken and (b) evaluated into carbon dioxide emissions from recycling and transporting recyclable waste by (i) his Department, (ii) the Waste and Resources Action Programme, (iii) the Environment Agency and (iv) the Carbon Trust. [262618]
Jane Kennedy: As part of DEFRA's Waste and Resources Evidence Programme, we have undertaken the project ‘Carbon Balances and Energy Impacts of the Management of UK Waste Streams’ (WR0602), and evaluated it through peer review. An additional project, ‘Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Biowaste Management’ (WR0210), is in the final stages of completion following peer reviewers' comments.
The DEFRA-funded Waste and Resources Programme (WRAP) has carried out a range of studies in this area which are available on its website:
WRAP (2006) Environmental Benefits of Recycling;
WRAP (2008) Life Cycle Assessment of Mixed Waste Plastic Management Options;
WRAP (2008) Life Cycle Assessment of Plasterboard;
WRAP (2008) CO2 Impacts of Transporting the UK's Recovered Paper and Plastic Bottles to China.
WRAP's research has found that for most materials, the emissions from transportation are far outweighed by the savings from processes avoided by recycling. This is true even when exporting materials to the far east.
The Environment Agency carried out research into emissions from recycling plant and fuel consumption for collecting waste in relation to its life cycle software, Waste and Resource Assessment Tool for the Environment (WRATE), which uses the data to estimate the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from different waste management systems.
The Carbon Trust, in association with DEFRA, has co-sponsored the development of PAS (Publicly Available Specification) 2050—specification for the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services—through the British Standards Institution. This specification details a method for the assessment of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases arising from all processes in the supply chain of goods and services, which includes recycling and the transport activities. Through its application, businesses can understand the carbon impact
of their products and ultimately follow this up with tangible ways to cut carbon emissions across the supply chain.
As part of the development and implementation of PAS 2050, the Carbon Trust has carried out research into the different methods used to measure these emissions, and sought to understand different stakeholder views of these methods; however, the Carbon Trust has not undertaken or evaluated specific research into the CO2 emissions from recycling and transportation of recyclable waste. Following the publication of PAS 2050, the Carbon Label Company has carried out further research into different methods of measuring emissions from recycling and transportation of recyclable waste to support its implementation.
Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many agricultural workers entered the UK under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme in each of the last three years; what estimate he has made of the number who will do so in 2009; and if he will make a statement. [263905]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
The number of agricultural workers who entered the UK under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) in the last three years is as follows:
| Number | |
This is against an agreed quota for each year of 16,250.
On the recommendation of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) the quota for 2009 has been increased to 21,250. There is expected to be a full uptake of this quota.
The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
Shellfish
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department has collected on the (a) volume, (b) monetary value and (c) port of catch of (i) brown crabs, (ii) velvet crabs, (iii) lobsters, (iv) creel-caught langoustine, (v) whelks, (vi) squat lobsters, (vii) diver-caught or -gathered razor clams and (viii) diver-caught or -gathered king scallops in Scotland in each calendar quarter since 2006. [263531]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The information requested is collected by the Scottish Government and is made available to the Marine and Fisheries Agency through the UK data warehouse, IFISH. The data requested are available for the years 2006 and 2007 and have been placed in the Library of the House.
Thames Flood Barrier
Mr. Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the anticipated effective life expectancy of the Thames barrier is; and if he will commission plans to upgrade or replace the existing Thames barrier. [263129]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Environment Agency's Thames Estuary 2100 project estimates that under current guidance for sea level rise (DEFRA 2006), the Thames barrier will drop below the 1 in 1,000 standard of protection around 2070.
The Thames Estuary 2100 project will release its draft plan for consultation on March 31. The plan will make recommendations on what actions will be required to manage future tidal flood risk within the estuary, and when these will be required, through to the end of the century. The plan will include recommendations on the future upgrading or replacement of the Thames barrier after 2070.
Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges
Mr. Stewart Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 14 January 2008, Official Report, column 869W, on waste disposal: domestic
waste, to what use the funding committed to support waste incentive pilot schemes will now be put. [262160]
Jane Kennedy: No authorities have so far expressed an interest in using the powers in the Climate Change Act to pilot a waste reduction scheme. We are therefore considering how the funding earmarked for the pilots could best be focused, in line with departmental priorities.
Health
Allergies
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of (a) males and (b) females in each age group who have (i) food and (ii) inhalant allergies; and if he will make a statement. [263287]
Ann Keen: The Department does not collect these data.
Food and inhalant allergies may present in a variety of forms, including allergic rhinitis, asthma and inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The Department’s “A review of services for allergy”, published in July 2006 (a copy of which has been placed in the Library), provided data on annual prevalence of general practice consultation rates for these conditions. This information is provided in the following tables.
| Annual prevalence (of consultation) rates per 10,000 | |||||||||||
| Age s tandardised (95 per cent. CI) | All ages | < 1 | 1 -4 | 5-14 | 15-24 | 25-44 | 45-64 | 65-74 | 75+ | ||
| Source: RCGP Weekly Returns Service. | |||||||||||
| Annual prevalence (of consultation) rates per 10,000 | |||||||||||
| Age s tandardised (95 per cent. CI) | All ages | < 1 | 1 -4 | 5-14 | 15-24 | 25-44 | 45-64 | 65-74 | 75+ | ||
| Source: RCGP Weekly Returns Service. | |||||||||||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |