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17 Jun 2010 : Column 510W—continued
Floods: Sandwich
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will request the Environment Agency to report on the status and timing of the commencement of work on flood defence measures for Sandwich, Kent. [2662]
Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency is developing two flood defence schemes for the towns of Sandwich and Deal. Construction is expected to start in 2012, subject to other priorities for funding at the time. Both schemes are planned to be completed by 2015.
Basic information about all schemes can be found on the Environment Agency's website:
Hunting
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to hold a public consultation on the effectiveness of the operation of the Hunting Act 2004. [3133]
Mr Paice: There are no plans to hold a public consultation on this issue.
Nanotechnology
Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on nanotechnology; and from what budgets funding is drawn for implementation of that policy. [2472]
Mr Paice: We need to understand and manage any potential risks to the environment and maximise the environmental benefits which nanotechnologies may offer. DEFRA's Research & Development budget includes funds specifically for research into the environmental impacts of nanomaterials.
Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department plans to spend on nanotechnology in the next five years. [2473]
Mr Paice: In the current financial year £591,000 has already been committed for research into the environmental implications of nanomaterials. Departmental budgets for future years have not yet been decided.
Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the future role of nanotechnology in her Department's policies. [2474]
Mr Paice: Nanoscience has the potential to drive positive developments across many sectors of the agriculture and environment agenda. DEFRA will continue its work to promote the responsible development and safe use of nanotechnologies by prioritising research into those nanomaterials which pose a higher potential risk to the environment, in particular those which are currently available or close to the market. We will also continue to collaborate in national and global initiatives to develop tools to detect nanomaterials in the environment and assess their effects.
Poultry: Animal Welfare
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on implementing the EU prohibition on conventional battery cages for laying hens in January 2012. [1457]
Mr Paice: The welfare of laying hens is protected in England by the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 and by similar legislation in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The legislation implements EU Directive 99/74/EC, which among other welfare advances bans the use of conventional cages for laying hens from 2012.
The Government remain committed to the conventional cage ban coming into force on 1 January 2012 and to supporting industry during this transitional stage. We want to ensure that those UK producers who have already made significant investment to comply with the legislation, by converting out of conventional cages, are not disadvantaged if other countries do not meet the 2012 deadline.
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the ban on beak-trimming of laying hens will come into force. [2674]
Mr Paice [holding answer 16 June 2010]: The Government have accepted the advice of The Farm Animal Welfare Council, an independent advisory body, that a complete ban on beak trimming of laying hens should not be introduced from 1 January 2011 (as is currently in legislation), but should be deferred until it can be demonstrated reliably under commercial conditions that laying hens can be managed without routine beak trimming.
The Government's consultation on the proposed amendments to the Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007, to remove the total ban on beak trimming allowing for the routine beak trimming of day old chicks intended for laying to be carried out using the infra-red technique only, closed on 14 April. Consultation responses are currently being considered.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to decide on whether to ban beak-trimming for laying hens. [2765]
Mr Paice: The Government have accepted the advice of The Farm Animal Welfare Council, an independent advisory body, that a complete ban on beak trimming of laying hens should not be introduced from 1 January 2011 (as is currently in legislation), but should be deferred until it can be demonstrated reliably under commercial conditions that laying hens can be managed without routine beak trimming.
The Government's consultation on the proposed amendments to the Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007, to remove the total ban on beak trimming allowing for the routine beak trimming of day old chicks intended for laying to be carried out using the infra-red technique only, closed on 14 April. Consultation responses are currently being considered.
River Lymington: Ferries
Mr Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of (a) the most recent estimate of adverse effects on the Lymington River Ramsar site by ferry operators and (b) the UK's compliance with the EU Habitats Directive. [976]
Richard Benyon: Responsibility for assessing the impact of the "W" class ferries rests with the competent authority, in this case Wightlink. In undertaking this assessment the competent authority is required by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 to have regard to the advice of Natural England. DEFRA has no formal role in the assessment process.
Natural England's most recent formal advice to DEFRA was that, in its view, no measurable harm or damage that would constitute an adverse effect on the integrity of the site had occurred since the "W" class ferry operation started on 25 February 2009 and, moreover, that any impacts arising from the operation of these ferries up to the spring of 2011, when works needed to mitigate the impact of the ferries are planned to start, would be insignificant and not likely to result in any measurable harm or damage.
I understand that Natural England remain of the view that provided Wightlink commences delivery of the mitigation measures by the spring of 2011, no adverse impact on the site from the operation of the new ferries will have occurred.
Mr Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will appoint a competent authority for the purposes of the impact assessments and environmental assessments to be initiated by Wightlink on the Lymington River; [977]
(2) what account she has taken of recent High Court rulings in the determination of a competent authority for projects in the Lymington River; and if she will make a statement. [2214]
Richard Benyon: Wightlink is regarded as a competent authority in relation to the operation of the ferries because it falls within the definition of such an authority in regulation 7 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (which came into force on 1 April). There are no provisions in these regulations that enable Wightlink to be replaced as the competent authority.
I am not aware of any court rulings that suggest that these regulations should be amended to provide a power for the Secretary of State to determine who should be regarded as a competent authority in a particular case.
Water: EU Law
George Hollingbery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to (a) ensure compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive and (b) to protect freshwater resources. [2984]
Richard Benyon:
The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), which was transposed in 2003, raised the bar and introduced more challenging objectives for our
aquatic environment. It takes a more holistic approach to managing our waters, looking at the water within the wider ecosystem and taking into account the movement of water through the hydrological cycle.
The WFD contains two key objectives: to aim to achieve good status in all water bodies by 2015 and to ensure no water body deteriorates below its current classification. Where it is not possible to achieve good status by 2015, the WFD provides two further planning cycles (2015-21 and 2021-27) to achieve that objective, although this is subject to strict criteria.
In order to achieve the objectives we are required to put in place River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) which we achieved by the deadline within the WFD.
The first RBMPs were developed in consultation with interested organisations and individuals and were published on 22 December 2009. The plans set out how we will work towards meeting the WFD objectives and include over 8,500 investigations to be completed by the end of 2012. This will provide the evidence we require for further action within the first cycle and subsequent cycles to protect our freshwater resources.
The actions contained within the first plans will see more than 9,000 miles of rivers in England and Wales improved.
The Environment Agency protects freshwater resources by preventing deterioration from their current Water Framework Directive classifications. The Agency plans for and delivers sustainable licensed abstraction of water for economic and social needs and issues effective environmental permits to protect water bodies that receive discharges. The Agency also identifies and implements actions to improve the water environment including redressing the impacts of existing abstraction licences that damage the environment.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Anguilla
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 June 2010, Official Report, column 96W, on Anguilla, what decision has been reached in the work which has been undertaken with the government of Anguilla on the amount that government may borrow in each of the next three years. [2511]
Mr Bellingham: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 8 June 2010, Official Report, column 96W. No new agreement on Anguilla's borrowing over the next three years has yet been reached.
British Overseas Territories: Equality
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 June 2010, Official Report, column 98W, on British Overseas Territories: equality, whether all new Overseas Territories constitutions will include explicit provision for freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sexuality. [2292]
Mr Bellingham: In any future constitutional review negotiations, the Government will continue to encourage the Overseas Territories to include, specifically, sexual orientation as a ground upon which discrimination is prohibited.
Where the Government have agreed a new constitution since 1999 a Bill of Rights is included in the Territory's constitution reflecting at a minimum the rights and freedoms set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
Climate Change: International Cooperation
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what public diplomacy work on climate change is being undertaken by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [2338]
Mr Bellingham: Our network of embassies and High Commissions are active in promoting publicly the benefits to Britain and the world of a transition to a low carbon high growth global economy.
They are involved in encouraging inward and outward trade and political visits and are working with NGOs and the media throughout the world to encourage the growing consensus amongst wider civil society that action on climate change should be taken.
High profile examples include the creation of a map showing the potential consequences of dangerous climate change and a four degree rise in global temperature which was released in seven languages globally.
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to promote a low carbon, high growth global economy; and if he will make a statement. [2339]
Mr Bellingham: Our network of embassies and High Commissions are actively engaged in setting out the urgency with which dangerous climate change should be tackled and the benefits to Britain and the world of a transition to a low carbon high growth global economy.
This includes working with business leaders in the UK and worldwide including via the World Economic Forum to make the case for action and highlight the opportunities for green economic growth, and supporting the case for active use of carbon capture and storage technology globally.
We also work with vulnerable and developing countries to help raise their voice in support of an ambitious global climate change deal which would underpin a low carbon economic transition worldwide.
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