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9 Mar 2010 : Column 166W—continued
Oils: Waste Disposal
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has undertaken a life cycle assessment of re-refining waste oils into lubricants by (a) burning waste oils as recovered fuel oil in European Waste Incineration Directive-compliant plants and (b) other means of disposal of waste oils. [320750]
Dan Norris: DEFRA has not commissioned specific studies on the life cycle assessment of re-refining waste oils into lubricants. However, we are aware of the following life cycle studies conducted by others:
Ecological and energetic assessment of re-refining used oils to base oils: Substitution of primarily produced base oils including semi-synthetic and synthetic compounds:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Improving Recycling Report ENV/EPOC/WGWPR(2005)3/FINAL:
Critical Review of Existing Studies and Life Cycle Analysis on the Regeneration and Incineration of Waste Oils:
Poultry: Animal Welfare
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to encourage chicken producers to meet the conditions of the RSPCA's Freedom Food scheme. [320849]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Farmers can join a specific assurance scheme or adopt standards which go beyond those required by law if they so wish. The Government encourage membership of the relevant sector assurance schemes such as Red Tractor and Freedom Food. It is not Government's role, however, to promote one specific assurance scheme over another.
Public Holidays
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the introduction of an additional public holiday; and if he will make a statement. [315119]
Dan Norris: DEFRA would not incur any additional cost to the pay bill, as staff would merely be paid for a day on which they were not working rather than one on which they were.
Sheep: Slaughterhouses
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made a recent assessment of the effects on (a) market transparency and (b) price comparison of variations in standards of sheep carcase dressing; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reinstate the dressing specification previously enforced by the Meat and Livestock Commission. [320806]
Jim Fitzpatrick: A report was prepared for DEFRA in November 2008 reviewing the EU carcase classification system for beef and sheep in the light of common agricultural policy reform. This included an assessment of the need for classification in providing transparency.
Under EU legislation, classification of sheep carcases according to the Community scale remains voluntary for member states. DEFRA has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make such classification compulsory. Dressing specifications for sheep carcases are a matter for industry supply chains.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time equivalent staff of each grade are employed by his Department to assist special advisers. [321141]
Mr. Woodward: It is the primary responsibility of one member of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) to assist special advisers. The staff member is at executive officer (EO) level and carries out other tasks too.
Scotland
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years. [320506]
Ann McKechin: Under the terms of its building leases the Office is required to maintain the buildings to an acceptable standard of decoration and repair. In the case of the Scotland Office's London premises this includes maintaining a grade one listed building of considerable architectural significance. The Scotland Office does not separately identify the costs of refurbishment from the routine repair and replacement of existing facilities. Over the period of the last 10 years, the Office has shared its accommodation with a number of other Government Departments. The following figures show the gross total for repairs and maintenance of Scotland Office buildings, but does not include the contribution by those Departments towards their share of the costs.
| Gross cost (£) | |
| (1) Under the terms of the building leases the Office is required to maintain the buildings to an acceptable standard of decoration and repair, which in 2007-08 included roof and exterior repairs to Dover House in London. | |
Defence
Air Force: Snow and Ice
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what snow clearance equipment is available at Royal Air Force bases. [320915]
Bill Rammell: The RAF has a variety of Snow and Ice Clearance (SNIC) equipment for the purpose of clearing aircraft and their operating surfaces, such as runways, and roads. This ranges from specialist vehicles for clearing snow and ice from runways and aircraft to ploughs and gritters for roads. Details of the types of SNIC equipment held can be found in the following table:
These resources are adequate for RAF requirements with priority given to operational stations. When required SNIC assets can be relocated as needed.
Armed Forces: Health Services
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long on average each patient stayed at DMRC Headley Court in each month since January 2003. [318475]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Using information held on the Defence Patient Tracking System (DPTS), the following table presents the average (mean) length of stay in days for in-patients and residential patients admitted into the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Headley Court in each month from October 2008 to November 2009.
| Month of Admission | Average ( m ean) length of admission (days) | |
| In-patients | Residential p atients | |
| Notes: 1. Patients include Naval Service Personnel, Army Personnel including those from the Gibraltar Regiment, RAF Personnel, Reservists and UK Civilians. These exclude Special Forces and Other Nations' Service Personnel. 2. The DPTS is a live system that is constantly being updated. Therefore data are provisional and subject to change. 3. For any patient admitted more than once as an in-patient or residential patient between October 2008 and November 2009, the length of each admission has been calculated separately. 4. An in-patient is a patient that has been admitted and allocated a ward bed. A residential patient is a patient that is on a three week rehabilitation course; they are not allocated a ward bed, but reside in dormitory style accommodation. | ||
Data prior to this period could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Data for later months are still being compiled, including for patients whose stay at Headley Court continues; patients who have not yet completed their stay at DMRC are not included in the figures shown.
Armed Forces: Housing
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there will be Barnett consequentials for Scotland from the funding for the Armed Forces Home Ownership Scheme in England. [321216]
Mr. Kevan Jones: This pilot scheme for armed forces personnel is being funded from the existing Defence budget. There are no Barnett consequentials.
Armed Forces: Military Decorations
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on awarding medals to members of the armed forces who served in Aden during the period June 1960 to July 1964. [321049]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (known as the HD Committee), which considers cases for new medals and makes recommendations to the Queen, has repeatedly made it clear that it does not revisit cases more than five years after the completion of a military campaign.
There is no direct ministerial involvement with the Committee.
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