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19 May 2009 : Column 1277W—continued


Bovine Tuberculosis

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice his Department offers to owners of domestic animals on the risk of tuberculosis transmission from wildlife in areas where there is a high incidence of bovine tuberculosis. [275803]

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA advises owners of domestic animals (i.e. cats and dogs) who suspect their animals may have been infected or may be at risk of becoming infected with TB to contact their private veterinary surgeon for advice in the first instance.


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Compost

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the Waste and Resources Action Programme plans to end its support for subsidised composting bins for householders; on what date such support will end; and what estimate has been made of the average change in the cost to a householder of a compost bin as a result. [275761]

Jane Kennedy: The Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP's) home composting campaign used central funding to subsidise the sale of home composting bins for five years. In that time two million home compost bins were sold and 40 per cent. of households with gardens are now home composting. It is estimated that, as a result of WRAP'S programme, more than 300,000 tonnes of organic waste have been diverted from the waste stream each year, resulting in significant waste management and disposal cost savings.

Having demonstrated the benefits of promoting home composting, it was appropriate for local authorities to decide how home composting should fit within their waste strategies and for them to take responsibility for deciding on a suitable level of subsidy. WRAP stopped subsidising compost bins at the end of March 2009. As a result, the full cost of bins to consumers rose by an average of £8, except where the local authority decided to offer its own subsidy. A total of 37 waste disposal authorities are currently offering varying degrees of subsidy. WRAP will continue to promote home composting to the public and provide practical advice and support as part of a wider waste reduction programme.

Departmental Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on IT training for its staff in each of the last five years. [274215]

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA provides a ‘shared’ IT training service to a number of agencies and the spending of DEFRA will include the spending on IT training by those agencies on a consolidated accounting basis.

IT training for DEFRA can be separated into two distinct areas:


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Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) with reference to the answers to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 30 April 2008, Official Report, column 467W, and to the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait) of 9 October 2008, Official Report, column 754W, on waste management: domestic wastes, if he will publish an updated table of the local authorities which operate residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including those operating or planning to operate pilot schemes with that frequency; [270136]

(2) which local authorities operate residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including those operating or planning to operate pilot schemes with that frequency. [275780]

Jane Kennedy: The Waste and Resources Action programme has provided the following list of local authorities operating residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including pilot schemes. This represents WRAP'S best understanding but the situation can change rapidly.

Local authority


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19 May 2009 : Column 1281W
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