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26 Jan 2010 : Column 744W—continued

Slough

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will set out, with statistical information related as directly as possible to the Slough constituency, the effects on Slough of the policies and actions of his Department and its predecessors since 2000. [311977]


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Dan Norris: Due to the broad nature of the question and the wide range of DEFRA policies implemented in Slough, it is not possible to provide a detailed answer in the form requested.

As a local authority, Slough is obliged through statute to comply with central Government legislation. DEFRA's policy responsibilities are summarised in its departmental strategic objectives (DSOs) that have been agreed with the Treasury:

One example is that Slough has included National Indicator 192 (amount of household waste recycled or composted) and National Indicator 186 (per capita reduction in CO2 emissions in the local authority area) in its local area agreement, which will encourage it to achieve higher levels of performance in these areas.

DEFRA publishes annual departmental reports which set out progress against its public service agreement targets and DSOs. The 2009 report is available at:

Past reports available online in the National Archives.

For information on a specific DEFRA policy in Slough, the Government office for the south-east is able to provide information on implementation and the benefits to the area.

Special Areas of Conservation: Cumbria

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 16 June 2009, Official Report, column 157W, on special areas of conservation: Cumbria, whether Natural England has reached agreement with the owners of Bolton Fell Moss candidate Special Area of Conservation on measures needed to secure the future protection of the site; and if he will make a statement. [312419]

Huw Irranca-Davies: Negotiations between Natural England and the company that owns peat extraction rights on Bolton Fell Moss are continuing and progress is being made towards an agreement which will secure the future protection of the site. The issues are complex, and are taking longer to resolve than expected, but Natural England remains hopeful that an agreement will be reached.


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Supermarkets: Waste Disposal

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what his most recent estimate is of the amount of food produce disposed of by supermarkets which has passed its sell-by date and not its best-before date; [312530]

(2) what recent assessment he has made of trends in the practice of supermarkets of rejecting supplies of fruit and vegetables on the grounds of minor imperfections; [312531]

(3) what recent estimate he has made of the amount of fruit and vegetables that is rejected by supermarkets due to minor imperfections; and what recent discussions his Department has had with supermarket representatives on this practice; [312532]

(4) what his policy is on the practice of supermarkets discarding supplies of fruit and vegetables rejected owing to minor imperfections. [312533]

Dan Norris [holding answer 21 January 2010]: No estimate has been made of the amount of food disposed of by supermarkets which is beyond its sell-by date but not its best-before date.

There has been no assessment of the practice of supermarkets disposing of food on the grounds of minor imperfections and no estimate of the amount of waste involved is available.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) plans to publish research by early March 2010 on the food waste produced at each stage of the supply chain-from manufacture through to distribution and retail. However, both the amount of food disposed of by supermarkets which is beyond its sell-by-date but not before its best-before date, and the amount of food waste disposed of by supermarkets due to minor imperfections, are beyond the scope of this project.

WRAP, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), representatives from the food industry, consumer groups and the UK Government Departments are also working closely to help reduce this food waste by changing retailers' practices on date labelling and food storage guidance.

Tuna: Conservation

Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he made of the outcome of the November 2009 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas; and what position the Government took on the proposal to list Atlantic bluefin tuna under Appendix 1 to the convention on international trade in endangered species. [312372]

Huw Irranca-Davies: The UK welcomes the outcome of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna's (ICCAT) annual meeting that took place in November 2009, as it signals an improvement in the management of the blue-fin tuna stocks. We are assessing whether the measures agreed at the meeting provide sufficient reassurance that ICCAT can take the necessary steps to implement what was agreed at the meeting, in order to turn around the dramatic decline in the species population. Consequently, we have not yet
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ruled out the need for a convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES) Appendix I listing, and it certainly remains an option under consideration in the run up to the CITES Conference of Parties meeting in March this year.

Mr. Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2010, Official Report, column 687W, on tuna: conservation, whether he plans to take advice from the (a) International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and (b) UN Food and Agricultural Organisation's Ad Hoc Advisory panel into account in determining the UK's negotiating position; and what information will be sought from ICCAT at the compliance meeting in February 2010. [312732]

Huw Irranca-Davies: The UK has considered the information provided by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the outcome of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) annual meeting in shaping its negotiating position on blue fin tuna.

The UK will be in attendance at the February meeting of the ICCAT Compliance Committee, and will want to be completely satisfied that the contracting parties operating in the blue-fin tuna fishery can demonstrate that they are able to enforce the new provisions effectively, so as to prevent quotas being exceeded.

Water Charges: Voluntary Organisations

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether (a) his Department and (b) Ofwat has received representations from the Office of the Third Sector over the new system of water charging on voluntary groups. [312378]

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA has received a number of representations from stakeholders and other Government Departments, including the Office of the Third Sector, on concessionary surface water drainage schemes for community groups.

Ofwat has not received representations from the Office of the Third Sector on the new system of water charging for voluntary groups.

Transport

Airports

Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what criteria his Department use to assess the merits of proposals to expand airports; what changes to these criteria there have been since 1997; whether any changes are planned in the next six months; and if he will make a statement. [313154]

Paul Clark: "The Future of Air Transport" White Paper (2003) provides a strategic framework for the sustainable development of airport capacity in the UK. It neither authorises nor precludes any particular development, but serves to inform and guide the consideration of specific applications which may be made by airport owners to the relevant planning authority.


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The White Paper was based on extensive research and analysis to ensure that economic, environmental and social impacts were properly considered. For example, the criteria used to assess options for airport expansion in the south-east were published in "Appraisal framework for airports in South East and East of England" (DTLR, 2000).

Subsequently, the Department has conducted an impact assessment of the decisions set out in "Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport: Decisions following Consultation" (DFT, 2009). The impact assessment was consistent with the relevant appraisal guidance, including the procedures and criteria set out in the Better Regulation Executive's impact assessment guidance.

The Department continues to keep under review the approach it takes to assessing the merits of airport expansion.

Aviation: Security

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what plans he has to utilise passenger data for risk assessment purposes at airport security screening check points. [312908]

Paul Clark: We are currently examining whether some form of targeting-which could potentially include passenger data-would be a more effective means of selecting passengers for additional screening than doing so at random. We have not yet made any decisions on the way forward.

Bus Services: Concessions

Ms Angela C. Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) how many people travelled on local buses under the concessionary fare scheme in each (a) passenger transport executive and (b) non-passenger transport executive area in 2008-09; [312868]

(2) how many people made one or more journeys on (a) light rail and (b) tram services under the concessionary fare scheme in 2008-09; [312869]

(3) how many people travelled on local bus services in London under the concessionary fare scheme in 2008-09. [312870]

Mr. Khan: Estimates of bus journeys made under the concessionary travel scheme during 2008-09 have not yet been published. They are planned for publication not later than June 2010. This date is later than would normally have been the case, as a result of the development of new estimation methodologies that are being applied across a broad range of bus statistics. Figures for concessionary trips made by light rail and tram are not collected.

However, some published estimates are available from the National Travel Survey on the use of the concessionary bus travel scheme by adults aged 60 and over in Great Britain. The following table presents estimates of the take-up of concessionary bus passes, and the proportion of people travelling by bus at least once a month, for this age group in the calendar years 2005 to 2008.


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Self-reported use of concessionary bus travel scheme by adults aged 60 and over in Great Britain, by area type, 2005-08
Area type 2005 2006 2007 2008 Unweighted sample size (individuals, 2008)( 1)

Take- up of concessionary bus passes (percentage)

London boroughs

84

85

85

91

454

Metropolitan built-up areas

70

79

82

84

698

Large urban

56

61

68

74

764

Medium urban

54

59

68

75

1,359

Small/medium urban

55

58

66

72

435

Small urban

46

57

62

68

451

Rural

34

48

49

56

953

All areas

56

63

68

73

5,114

Travel by bus at least once a month (percentage)

London boroughs

69

69

72

78

-

Metropolitan built-up areas

51

60

59

61

-

Large urban

42

48

52

53

-

Medium urban

38

42

46

48

-

Small/medium urban

32

32

35

44

-

Small urban

26

33

31

37

-

Rural

21

22

24

25

-

All areas

39

43

45

48

-

(1) Samples for earlier years were of a comparable size but are not shown in this table for reasons of brevity.
Source:
National Travel Survey

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