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2 Feb 2010 : Column 171W—continued
Elephants: Animal Welfare
Mr. Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of Tanzania on its proposals on the listing of the African Elephant at the 15th Conference of the Parties Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna. [314708]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The UK has, to date, had no discussions with Tanzania on its proposals.
Environment Agency: Photography
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on its decision no longer to offer payment to photographers whose photographs it uses. [314831]
Jim Fitzpatrick: There have been no such discussions between DEFRA and the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency has not issued any non-renumerated photography contracts and currently has four contracts in place with professional photographers. Each of these suppliers has gone through the tender process which is evaluated on both cost and quality.
Any photographer employed by the Environment Agency will be paid in full for their work. The Environment Agency has strict criteria on working with suppliers and takes its responsibilities seriously when it comes to paying people the right rate, on time, and getting good value for the taxpayer.
Floods: Banbury
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to announce the start date of the public inquiry into the Banbury flood defence scheme. [314248]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Planning Inspectorate is currently identifying possible dates for the inquiry into the Banbury Flood Alleviation Scheme. Once it has done so, DEFRA will write to all interested parties and objectors as well as publishing a notice of the inquiry date confirming the exact date, time and venue.
Horses: Animal Welfare
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department holds on levels of compliance in other EU member states with the requirements of EU legislation governing the long distance transportation of horses to slaughter. [314057]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Reports on levels of compliance with Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005 by other EU member states can be found on the European Commission's website at:
Member states' reports identify the total number of welfare infringements found on farmed animals (including horses) that went for slaughter and on animals for export, but do not identify which inspections and which infringements relate to long distance journeys.
Inland Waterways
Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment has been made of the state of each of the structures maintained by British Waterways. [314098]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Details of British Waterways' most recent assessment of each of their principle assets was made on 18 January 2010. Details of the condition of these assets is set out as follows.
| Distributed condition grades | ||
| Number of assets( 1) | ||
| (1) Source: British Waterways | ||
This shows that around 19 per cent. of assets are in D and E condition compared with 22 per cent. when the assets were previously assessed in April 2007.
Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to how many canal restorations British Waterways has contributed in the last 12 months. [314100]
Huw Irranca-Davies: British Waterways has contributed to six canal restorations in the last 12 months, namely:
Barge and Junction canals in Droitwich;
Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal;
Three Mills Lock, which restores the Bow Back Rivers to navigation;
The Liverpool Link (a new stretch of canal);
The Cotswold Canals (land at Inglesham);
The Helix Project.
In addition British Waterways has been involved to a lesser extent-and has provided ad hoc professional advice-to schemes such as the Montgomery Canal, Northern Reaches of the Lancaster Canal, Pocklington Canal, Bradford Canal, lower end of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal and the proposed Lomond Canal.
Natural England: Crewe
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the running costs were of the Natural England office in Crewe in the last 12 months; how many staff at each grade Natural England employs at that office; and how long the lease for that office has left to run. [314179]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Natural England occupies 32 per cent. of the DEFRA office building in Electra Way, Crewe. DEFRA has a ground lease on the building which will expire in July 2048.
Natural England's running costs (which are recharged to Natural England by DEFRA) for the 12 months to December 2009 were £629,000. They include rent, rates and utilities.
The 103 Natural England staff working at this office comprise:
| Natural England Grade | Headcount |
In addition Natural England currently has 14 temporary staff in the building.
Natural England is an integrated organisation covering the whole of England. The Natural England staff working in the Crewe office (and most other offices) comprise a mixture of the regional team and the national delivery teams. Managers and team leaders working from the Crewe office will therefore also manage a number of staff who are home based or work from different offices.
Nuclear Sites: Coastal Areas
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effects on surrounding (a) coastlines and (b) coastal communities of sea defences constructed to protect nuclear sites. [314905]
Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA has promoted shoreline management plans (SMPs) that assess the risks of coastal erosion and tidal flooding covering all the coastline of England and Wales, for the next 100 years.
These plans are prepared jointly by the relevant operating authorities using the latest coastal monitoring information, and look at the condition of all existing defences, including those constructed to protect nuclear sites.
They consider data on climate change, as well as other relevant research and reports. They examine the impact of coastal processes on the whole coast, including coastal communities, and are also a valuable tool for planning authorities where they need to take decisions on the coast.
A review of all these plans is currently under way and will be completed by the end of the year. SMPs are publicly available and include a full three month public and stakeholder consultation period.
On completion, all plans will be approved by the Environment Agency and will include an action plan to take forward future studies and works.
Rights of Way
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases he has considered under paragraph (a) 3 and (b) 4 of Schedule 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008 and (iii) 2009; how many such cases he determined in each such year; how many such cases he determined within (A) six, (B) nine and (C) 12 months of receipt; and what the (1) shortest and (2) longest time taken to reach a determination was on such a case in each such year. [313378]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Consideration has been given to 354 appeals and 94 directions under paragraphs 3 and 4 of schedule 14 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) during the years 2007 to 2009.
| 2007 | |||||
| Number determined | Within 6 months | Within 9 months | Within 12 months | Total within 12 months | |
| Shortest and longest time taken to reach a determination, including invalid appeals and directions: | ||
| Days | ||
| Type | Shortest | Longest |
| 2008 | |||||
| Number determined | Within 6 months | Within 9 months | Within 12 months | Total within 12 months | |
| Shortest and longest time taken to reach a determination, including invalid appeals and directions | ||
| Days | ||
| Type | Shortest | Longest |
| 2009 | |||||
| Number determined | Within 6 months | Within 9 months | Within 12 months | Total within 12 months | |
| Shortest and longest time taken to reach a determination, including invalid appeals and directions: | ||
| Days | ||
| Type | Shortest | Longest |
Waste Management: Private Finance Initiative
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of financial viability of private finance initiative schemes for waste treatment plants; and if he will make a statement. [314369]
Dan Norris: DEFRA constantly assesses the financial and construction markets to ensure that waste private finance initiative (PFI) projects are financially viable. In November 2009, officials from DEFRA's Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme (WIDP) hosted a meeting attended by representatives from 20 financial institutions following on from a similar meeting held with banks in February 2009.
Our findings show that credit conditions have stabilised relative to 12 months ago and that banks continue to show strong interest in waste PFI projects. The sector also continues to attract interest from a range of new entrant contractors into the waste sector.
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