| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
14 Oct 2009 : Column 948W—continued
Poultry: Feathers
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantity of poultry feathers were imported from each East Asian country in each of the last five years. [291912]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table provides details of the imports of bird feathers from East Asian countries as recorded, in the Official Overseas Trade Statistics, for the period 2004 to 2008.
| UK imports of bird feathers from East Asian countries for 2004 to 2008 | ||||||
| Tonnes | ||||||
| Description | Country | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Notation: 0 = quantity less than half the unit shown. - = nil values. Source: HM Revenue and Customs Data prepared by Trade Statistics, Economics and Statistics Programme, DEFRA. | ||||||
Private Finance Initiative
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local authorities have participated in the private finance initiative credits scheme announced in the Budget 2009 to date; and how many have made applications for participation which are under consideration. [291688]
Dan Norris: There have been 37 waste projects which have participated in the Waste Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits scheme since it began.
The 37 individual projects represent 53 waste disposal authorities working in partnership with 120 local authorities.
A further seven projects (consisting of 16 waste disposal authorities covering 34 local authorities) have applied to participate in the PFI scheme. Their applications are under consideration.
Full details can be found on the DEFRA website:
Property Development: Worksop
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) correspondence, (b) emails and (c) telephone calls have taken place between the Environment Agency and Bassetlaw District Council and its development partners concerning the development of Turner Road in Worksop in the last 12 months. [292308]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 12 October 2009]: The Environment Agency has had no contact over the last 12 months with the developer or their consultants in relation to the leisure development at Turner Road, Worksop.
Over the last three weeks, the Environment Agency and Bassetlaw District Council have been in contact regarding Turner Road. The details of these conversations will be placed in the House Library.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what delays in the Turner Road development site in Worksop have resulted from Environment Agency interventions in the last 12 months. [292389]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Environment Agency is not aware that it has caused any delays in relation to the proposed leisure development at Turner Road, Worksop over the last 12 months.
Ragwort: Weed Control
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to establish the number of local authorities which remove ragwort from grass verges. [291930]
Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA does not hold information about weed clearance activities by local authorities. Responsibility for clearance of ragwort and other weeds on grass verges rests with the local authority in respect of minor roads and with the Highways Agency in respect of motorways and trunk roads.
Rights of Way
Ms Angela C. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Definitive Map Modification Orders he has determined without holding a local inquiry or hearing in circumstances where in his opinion representations or objections to an Order were irrelevant to the determination of that Order. [291948]
Huw Irranca-Davies: During the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, five Definitive Map Modification Orders were determined without holding a local inquiry or hearing in circumstances where representations or objections to an order were considered irrelevant to the determination of that order. Figures are not available for any earlier period.
Sheep: Tagging
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects on farmers of the introduction of electronic sheep tagging. [291929]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Impact Assessments were published in March as part of a wider public consultation on the implementation of electronic identification of sheep in England. A final Impact Assessment will accompany implementing legislation later this year.
Supermarkets
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the regulation of supermarket trading practices. [291927]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Ministers are currently considering the recommendations of the Competition Commission.
Water Charges
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his Department's press release of 14 July 2009 on surface water drainage charges, DEFRA Minister pledges action on rain tax, what the timetable is for the introduction of new guidance to water companies. [292227]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government announced on 28 September that they will bring forward legislation to enable water and sewerage companies to operate concessionary schemes for community groups for surface water drainage charges. The legislation will be brought in as part of a Flood and Water Management Bill at the earliest opportunity.
Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Treasury
Banks: Government Assistance
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse has been of the Government's financial holdings in (a) Northern Rock, (b) Bradford and Bingley, (c) RBS, (d) Lloyds Banking Group, (e) HBOS, (f) Barclays and (g) HSBC to date; and what estimate he has made of such costs in the next 12 months. [292945]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the right hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 9 September 2009, Official Report, column 1924W, for details of the Government's financial support, including the Government's equity investments, provided to Northern Rock, Bradford and Bingley, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Lloyds Banking Group. As at 31 March 2009 the Government had no equity investments in Barclays or HSBC. Budget 2009 reported that the Government provisionally estimates that the net losses arising from all financial stability interventions may lie within a potential range from £20 billion to £50 billion (11/2 to 31/2 per cent. of GDP).
Business: Government Assistance
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to increase the proportion of loan guaranteed by the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme from 75 per cent. [292931]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The current level of the guarantee on an individual EFG loan ensures both that the scheme meets the state aid requirements as set by the European Commission and that the banks take enough risk on each loan to ensure that they have sufficient incentive to make considered commercial decisions on each application.
The level of guarantee will be one element considered in any decisions on the future of the scheme. However, it must be balanced with considerations such as: state aid limits; risk sharing with banks; responsible use of public money; and affordability considerations.
Co-operation on Debt Recovery
Mr. Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 14 September 2009 on Co-operation on debt recovery, what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who owe money to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and who are in receipt of benefit payments from the Department for Work and Pensions by benefit type; what estimate he has made of the monetary value of the total debt which is owed to HMRC by these individuals; and how many full-time equivalent officials from his Department will be involved in operating this trial. [292910]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is not available. Work to design the trial is still under way.
Real Estate Investment Trust
Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of (a) halving and (b) abolishing the entry charge to become a Real Estate Investment Trust. [292900]
Mr. Timms: No such estimates have been made.
UK Financial Investments
Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when UK Financial Investments Limited will publish a set of (a) indicators and (b) benchmarks against which its performance can be measured. [292924]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: UKFI set out its approach to indicators and benchmarks in the "UKFI Strategy: Market Investments and Annual Report and Accounts 2008/09" available at:
Treasury is working with UKFI to formulate these.
Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals to place UK Financial Investments Limited on a statutory basis. [292922]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government have no plans to bring forward legislation to establish UK Financial Investments Limited on a statutory basis.
UK Financial Investments: Location
Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when it was decided that UK Financial Investments Limited should relocate to premises outside HM Treasury; and what the reasons were for that decision. [292920]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The decision to relocate was taken by UKFI. UKFI has kept the question of its location under review, noting Treasury Select Committee recommendations, and announced on 28 July 2009 that it would be moving from the Treasury premises.
UK Financial Investments: Public Appointments
Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects UK Financial Investments Limited to appoint a new Chief Executive to replace John Kingman. [292921]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: UKFI is managing the recruitment process for John Kingman's successor as CEO, through public advertisements and a financial sector head-hunter.
Defence
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much compensation was paid to (a) soldiers wounded in Afghanistan and (b) dependent relatives of soldiers killed or seriously wounded in Afghanistan under the War Pension Scheme in financial year 2008-09; [292942]
(2) how much compensation was paid under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme to dependent relatives of personnel killed in Afghanistan as (a) guaranteed income payments and (b) other payments in financial year 2008-09; [292943]
(3) how much compensation was paid to soldiers wounded in Afghanistan under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme as (a) lump sum payments and (b) guaranteed income payments in financial year 2008-09. [292944]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The accounting records for both the War Pension Scheme and the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme do not capture the geographical or operational details to which the injuries relate. Therefore, it is not possible to provide how much was paid in compensating injured Service Personnel in 2008-09 specifically as a result of a particular conflict. The total expenditure under the War Pension Scheme for Financial Year 2008-09 was approximately £1 billion. The total expenditure, on a cash accounting basis, under the AFCS in Financial Year 2008-09 was £33.4 million. This amount comprises three elements as follows:
| £ | |
|
Guaranteed income payments to dependents of killed personnel |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |