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17 Jun 2009 : Column 372W—continued

Planning Permission: Nature Conservation

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what percentage of planning applications have been made in respect of sites where a population of (a) great crested newts and (b) bats has been found. [279221]

Mr. Ian Austin: The total number of sites subject to planning applications at which great crested newts or bats have been found is not collected. Great crested newts and bats are protected species under the European Habitats Directive and any development proposal that would exceptionally have an adverse effect on them would require a licence from Natural England.

Regional Resilience Forums

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who the members of each regional resilience forum in each Government Office region are. [279875]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The membership of each regional resilience forum in each Government office region has been placed in the Library.

Sheltered Housing

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will provide guidance to local authorities on use by tenants in sheltered housing of individualised budgets for the employment of housing scheme managers in advance of the expected increase in take-up of direct payments in 2011. [280275]

Mr. Ian Austin: CLG will not be providing specific guidance to local authorities to encourage tenants in sheltered housing to move to individual budgets for the employment of housing scheme managers. Individual budgets have been developed to ensure that service users are empowered to choose the service which best suit their needs framework. Also, providing guidance would not fit with the direction on devolution and increased decision making which authorities now have via the new local government framework.


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Social Rented Housing: Standards

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many boilers have been replaced under the Decent Homes programme in each of the last three years. [279041]

Mr. Ian Austin: We do not collect data on the number of boilers installed in council homes. However, the statistical return that local authorities complete at the end of each financial year does include data on the number of dwellings that have had new central heating systems installed.

Number of local authority dwellings receiving new central heating systems by year

Number

2005-06

139,494

2006-07

135,477

2007-08

113,520

Total

388,491

Source:
Data from the Business Plan Statistical Appendix

The Department does not collect data on insulation works by registered social landlords.

Supporting People Scheme

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to ensure the continued operation of Handy Person schemes after 1 April 2010. [280499]

Mr. Ian Austin: CLG will provide £17 million dedicated funding for handypersons services, via a separate named grant, in 2010-11. This will be the second year of a two year programme to build capacity in the sector, announced in the Government’s housing strategy for an ageing society, Lifetime homes, lifetime neighbourhoods.

Waste Management: Advisory Bodies

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2009, Official Report, column 1164W, on the Waste Regional Advisory Group, what the (a) membership and (b) remit of each waste regional advisory group is. [279997]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Government Office membership and remit of waste regional advisory group is as in the following table.


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GO Membership Remit

East

None

East does not have a WRAG.

West Midlands

None

West Midlands does not have a WRAG.

London

None

London does not have a WRAG.

North East

Chaired by the Government Office for the North East.

Advisory in nature. Has an “informal” status. Members need to be clear that this will not be a formally constituted body: it will have no ‘official’ or statutory duties and responsibilities.

Waste specialists from all local authorities in the north-east region.

The predominant focus will be on local authority performance issues.

Environment Agency.

Principal outcomes:

Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit.

Efficient and effective standing communications between DEFRA’s Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) LA support and key regional local authority waste stakeholders.

North East Regional Waste Awareness Initiative (NERWAI).

A collective arena within which all regional bodies with a stake in improving LA recycling/recovery performance can meet to inform, engage, ‘join up’, reflect and propose.

North East Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.

Positive development of the WIP LA support programme. More co-ordinated working of regional networks and Government support programmes.

Premier Waste—waste management company.

Content and Structure of Meetings:

SITA UK—recycling and waste management company.

An exclusively Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) focus, though this can include other waste streams, providing the impact on municipal waste is evidenced.

Groundwork UK—environmental regeneration charity.

Local authority performance orientated.

Concentrate on issues pertinent to WIP LA support (e.g. early review of emerging projects and tools, development of new project ideas). However, other WIP streams and issues with an explicit regional dimension will also need to be coordinated with the Regional Technical Advisory Board on waste’s (RTAB’s) responsibilities (e.g. New Technologies, regional market development, land use planning etc.).

Emphasis on action and implementation, not a general policy forum, although policy issues cannot be excluded where they have an overt implementation angle.

Seeking to secure the most comprehensive regional dissemination and feedback.

East Midlands

None

East Midlands does not have a WRAG.

Yorkshire and the Humber

Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber (Chair).

To support local authorities and other partners in achieving improved performance on waste issues.

Local Authorities.

To act as a voice for Y&H Region with DEFRA and other national organisations and to be a mechanism to influence and support the implementation of DEFRA and other policy within the region.

Local Government Yorkshire and Humber.

Co-ordinating input to other regional forums and develop good communication links with them e.g. RTAB and RIWMS, Yorkshire Forward

Environment Agency.

Seek opportunities to share best practise and strengthen partnership working and networks and influence emerging projects and initiatives, including developing the most effective and efficient mechanism for regional dissemination.

LARAC.

Yorkshire Forward.

Resources North.

Resource Efficiency Yorkshire.

South East

None

South East does not have a WRAG.

South West

None

South West does not have a WRAG.

North West

The NW WRAG is chaired by GONW and comprised of representatives.

The WRAG Remit includes:

From: Government Office for the North West (chair and secretariat).

A Strategic Focus on Municipal Waste in the NW and on Local Authority waste performance.

Regional Technical advisory body 4NW regional leaders forum.

Addressing issues relevant to DEFRA’s waste implementation programme (WIP) (e.g. early review of emerging projects and tools, development of new project ideas).

North West Development Agency

The co-ordination of other WIP streams and issues with an explicit regional dimension (e.g. new technologies, regional market development, land use planning etc.).

Environment Agency.

Maximising regional dissemination of WIP to stakeholders through regional and sub-regional partnerships.

3 x waste disposal authorities (including at least 1 Joint WDA).

Collective feedback to DEFRA on consultations and emerging policies.

5 x waste collection authorities (one per county area).

Regional input to European, national and regional waste strategies, regional spatial strategy and emerging single regional strategy.

Representation from five unitary authorities

Joint consideration of appropriate bids for any future partnership funding e.g. WRAP and other DEFRA LA Waste funding and other funding providers.

NWRF (North West Recycling Forum).

Engage with/organise regional events, lever funding for seminars, workshops and conferences.

WRAP (waste and resources action programme).

The role of the WRAG is evolving in response to changes in the background against which the WRAG operates, notably in relation to regional governance. Partners in the region continue to see a need for the WRAG; and the group is currently involved in developing a programme of support to local delivery partners with the NW improvement and efficiency partnership.

DEFRA WIP (as appropriate) CIWM.

LARAC (local authority recycling committee).

NW improvement and efficiency partnership


Health

Blood: Safety

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what process his Department follows for approving medical products designed to ensure the safety of blood prior to their adoption for use by the National Blood Service; [279472]

(2) how many CE-marked medical products have subjected by his Department to efficacy and safety validation procedures in addition to those performed by manufacturers in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009 to date. [279473]

Gillian Merron: The Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA) which is the Competent Authority in the United Kingdom for medical devices does not approve medical devices designed to ensure the safety of blood before they are placed on the market. Manufacturers of such medical devices must meet the relevant essential requirements in the Medical Devices directives prior to signing a declaration of conformity and CE marking their products.

Such higher risk medical devices must obtain an EC Certificate of Conformity from a Notified Body as part of this conformity assessment process. As such MHRA has not carried out any safety or validation procedures on any CE marked medical devices in addition to those carried out by the manufacturer. Since the UK Blood Service has a legal responsibility to ensure the quality and safety of blood products, the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (MSBTO) also recommended that clinical trials be carried out, using blood which had been subjected to prion filtration. The independent Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs replaced MSBTO in 2008.

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the P-Capt prion filter has been subjected to safety and efficacy tests additional to those performed by the manufacturer by his Department. [279474]


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Gillian Merron: The Government's independent expert scientific committee on variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies), the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, recommended that the UK Blood Service should commission an independent validation of such products. The UK Blood Services have commissioned an independent assessment of the efficacy of the filter.

Quality studies on filtered blood are being conducted in accordance with UK Blood Service guidelines.

The need for safety studies was endorsed by the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs in 2006.

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to his Department of testing the efficacy and safety of the P-Capt prion filter has been since such tests were required. [279475]

Gillian Merron: Efficacy and safety tests on the P-Capt filter have incurred no cost to the Department.


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