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16 Feb 2011 : Column 829W—continued
Televisions
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what data his Department holds on the average number of televisions in households in (a) 1981, (b) 1990, (c) 2000 and (d) 2010. [41285]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what data is held on the average number of televisions in households in (a) 1981, (b) 1990, (c) 2000 and (d) 2010. (41285)
The table provided shows the average number of televisions per household in the UK, in 2002/03 and 2009, the latest available. Data prior to 2002/03 are not available. These estimates are based on data from the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF), an annual survey of approximately 5,000 households in the UK.
These estimates, as with any involving sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
| Average number of televisions per household, UK | |
| Source: Living Costs and Food Survey, Office for National Statistics | |
Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing: Barking
Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding his Department plans to provide for the provision of affordable housing in the Barking Riverside development in the Thames Gateway. [40888]
Robert Neill: The first four plots developed at Barking Riverside will deliver 358 homes of which 167 will be affordable. The building of these homes is supported by a National Affordable Housing grant of £24 million.
Further affordable housing within future phases will be developed and supported through the HCA's new Affordable Homes programme the principal product of which is affordable rent.
Audit Commission: Allowances
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much each director of the Audit Commission claimed for (a) hospitality and (b) other expenses in each of the last two years. [40994]
Robert Neill: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to my hon. Friend direct.
Letter from Eugene Sullivan, dated 16 February 2011:
Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
The amounts claimed by Managing Directors for hospitality and expenses in the last two years are detailed below:
Hospitality registers and expenses for the Chairman, Board members, the Chief Executive and Managing Directors are published on the Audit Commission website. These can be viewed here:
Audit Commission: Expenditure
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Audit Commission spent on calls to (a) premium-rate telephone numbers, (b) directory enquiry services and (c) the speaking clock in the last 36 months for which figures are available. [41008] [Official Report, 1 March 2011, Vol. 524, c. 1-2MC.]
Robert Neill: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to my hon. Friend direct.
Letter from Eugene Sullivan, dated 16 February 2011:
Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
The Commission routinely bars premium rate calls for fixed and mobile phones where technically possible. Some premium rate calls are required for targeted business purposes, the main one being for postal franking machines (£162 over the three years). The speaking clock is sometimes used to test lines externally where a guaranteed reply is needed.
For our main offices, all directory enquiry calls are routed to our main provider Cable & Wireless service as this provides the most effective rate. Mobile phone calls to directory enquiries and the speaking clock are barred.
The detail of the spending requested is provided in the table below. However, information for home workers and small office users is excluded, as the detail is not readily accessible from the service supplier for the total period.
| Main office phone system and mobile phone contracts | ||||
| £ | ||||
| 12 months to 31 January | ||||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | Total | |
Community Centres: Finance
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many community centres have been (a) refurbished and (b) built with assistance from funds from his Department in each local authority area in each year since 1997; [40816]
(2) what sources of funding from his Department community groups and local authorities may access to fund the refurbishment of rebuilding of community centres and parish meeting halls. [40817]
Greg Clark: In 2009-10, 15 community groups received funding from the Department's Communitybuilders programme and 24, so far, have received or will receive funding in 2010-11. A list of local authority areas where this funding has or will be made is shown as follows:
Local authority areas in which community groups have/are to receive C ommunitybuilders funding
Bradford
Camden
City of Bristol
County of Herefordshire
Eden
Exeter
Hammersmith and Fulham
Islington
Liverpool
Sheffield
Southwark
Tameside
Teignbridge
Torridge
Wirral
Bradford
Calderdale
Camden
Cornwall
East Lindsey
East Cambridgeshire
Harrogate
Kensington and Chelsea
Leeds
Lewes
Newark and Sherwood
Newcastle upon Tyne
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Rotherham
Scarborough
Grant funding to local authorities is not ringfenced and as a result we do not track what it is spent on. Decisions to target funding on refurbishment of community centres or parish halls are taken at the local level and we do not hold information on this. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Community Development
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2011, Official Report, columns 206-7W, on citizen engagement, what (a) new legislation has been introduced and (b) bureaucracy has been removed with the aim of building a Big Society. [40332]
Greg Clark: The Localism Bill, which was published on 13 December 2010, contains a wide range of measures to devolve more powers to councils and neighbourhoods and give local communities greater control over local decisions like housing and planning.
The Department is reducing burdens and barriers that make it difficult for local authorities and individuals taking action locally which help to build the Big Society. We have reduced burdens and increased flexibility for local authorities through dismantling the local performance framework and inspection regime, giving greater control over use of their funding and through measures announced in our response to the Sustainable Communities Act. Increasing transparency across Whitehall and local authorities enables citizens to hold service providers to account or open up services to new providers.
The Department is removing its capital clawback rights from accountable bodies that are either a public body or a body subject to an asset lock from four historic grant programmes (Single Regeneration Budget, Urban Programme, City Challenge and Inner Area Grants). By removing capital clawback rights we are freeing councils and voluntary and community sector organisations to use assets originally funded through these programmes in ways that best meet the needs of their communities.
We continue to tackle issues drawn to our attention through DCLG's "barrier busting portal", most recently reaching agreement with the Department for Transport that their guidance on "special event" orders-which had been incorrectly presented as necessary for street parties-be withdrawn.
Council Tax Benefits
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the level of expenditure on council tax benefit in each local authority in 2009-10; and how much such expenditure was incurred in respect of (a) pensioner and (b) working age households in each authority. [38001]
Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply.
The information has been placed in the Library.
Departmental Procurement
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether all new contracts his Department has tendered over £10,000 have been published with associated tender documents on the Contracts Finder website since its inception. [39217]
Robert Neill: All new contracts over £10,000, a total of four, will be published in week commencing 14 February 2011.
The Department has used 'Contracts Finder' to publish tender documentation in respect of three requirements and has a further four live tenders that it will also be publishing in the course of week commencing 14 February 2011.
Housing: Taxation
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has estimated the annual revenue to be raised from implementing a levy of 1 per cent. on the monetary value of all dwellings in England and Wales valued at £2 million or higher. [40654]
Robert Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him on 14 February 2011, Official Report, column 538W.
Landlords: Coventry
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many landlords in Coventry have applied for a selective licence to date. [41515]
Andrew Stunell: This information is not held centrally.
Local Government: Conditions of Employment
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has any plans to revise the best value code of practice on workforce matters in local authority service contacts in relation to the terms and conditions of (a) transferred workers and (b) new employees under outsourced contracts within local government. [41324]
Robert Neill: The current guidance to local authorities on handling workforce matters in contracting is part of a wider suite of best value guidance. The fitness for purpose of this guidance is under consideration within the Department.
Non-domestic Rates: Devon
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many residential properties in the South Hams district council area have been transferred from council tax to business rates in the last 10 years. [40233]
Robert Neill:
A precise count of the number of residential properties that transfer from council tax valuation lists to non domestic rating lists in the South Hams district
council area is not held, but the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has used its records to make the estimates shown in the following table, which have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Nearly all these movements between lists are as a result of seasonal holiday lets being treated as commercial property during the summer and residential property during the winter.
| Estimated number of properties inserted in non domestic rating lists that were previously residential properties | |
| As at April to March each year | Number |
North East
Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Ministers of his Department have visited the North East since their appointment; and what the (a) date and (b) purpose was of each such visit. [31783]
Robert Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) on 21 December 2010, Official Report, column 1308W.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), and members of his ministerial team will be visiting this area of England in due course as part of a wider programme of visits.
Regeneration: Newcastle upon Tyne
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 November 2010, Official Report, column 355W, on urban regeneration: Newcastle upon Tyne, what recent progress he has made in meetings to deliver a sustainable long-term future for the Byker estate. [40717]
Andrew Stunell: My Department and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) have held further meetings with representatives from Newcastle city council, Your Homes Newcastle, and the Byker Steering Group to establish a sound financial model for the estate. Our overriding priority is to ensure a sustainable outcome for Byker which achieves value for money and is affordable to Government. The HCA is currently undertaking a financial and technical assessment of the proposals and will shortly submit a recommendation to the Department.
Social Rented Housing
Ms Buck:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the proposed cap on household
benefit entitlement on the ability of registered social landlords to ( a) build family-sized accommodation in all regions and (b) set rents at 80 per cent. of market value. [40573]
Grant Shapps: The new affordable rent product will allow social landlords to charge rents at up to 80% of local market rents. When setting rents, it is expected that providers will, where possible, utilise the flexibility to charge rents at 80% of local market rents in order to maximise delivery of new homes, but landlords should take into account a number of factors, including the proposed reforms of the welfare system.
We will be publishing an impact assessment on the affordable rent model shortly.
Our affordable rent proposals do not change the rights or rents of existing social tenants. Instead they will help increase the provision of new affordable housing, helping provide below-market rents to a greater number of households who would otherwise not have access to affordable housing.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition his Department uses to determine under-occupancy in the social rented sector. [40574]
Andrew Stunell: For the purposes of English Housing Survey a household is considered to be under-occupying if they have two or more bedrooms more than they need as measured by the Bedroom Standard. Details of the Bedroom Standard, including the rules used to calculate the number of bedrooms needed, can be found in the Glossary of the English Housing Survey Household Report 2008-09 which can be downloaded from:
Solar Energy: Planning Permission
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many large-scale solar photovoltaic schemes are the subject of a planning application which has not yet been determined. [40894]
Robert Neill: Information on undetermined planning applications for large-scale solar photovoltaic schemes will be available from individual local planning authorities but is not collected by this Department. The Renewable Energy Planning Database, accessible via the Department for Energy and Climate Change's website, includes data on solar photovoltaic projects but the statistics do not include all live planning applications because of the time lag in collecting data.
Standards Board for England: Furniture
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Standards Board has spent on office chairs in the last 36 months for which figures are available; and what the (a) make and model and (b) cost was of each type of chair. [41007]
Robert Neill: The Standards Board for England has spent £5,570.54 on office chairs since April 2008, as follows:
| Make and model | Quantity | Unit price (£) | Total (£) | |
I note that the Localism Bill legislates to abolish the Standards Board.
Supporting People Programme: Liverpool
Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the effects of the reduction in the supporting people grant to Liverpool city council on people in Liverpool. [39706]
Grant Shapps [holding answer 10 February 2011]: The Department has secured investment of £6.5 billion for the Supporting People programme over the next four years, which equates to an average annual reduction over the four years of less than 1% in cash term.
By rolling Supporting People funding into the main formula grant, we have given councils the maximum flexibility to meet their local needs in the best way. The formula grant system includes safeguards to ensure that no authority suffers a large reduction in funding. There is therefore no reason why Liverpool city council should need to impose large reductions on its spending for Supporting People services.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Algae: Liverpool Bay
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the level of algal blooms in Liverpool Bay; and if she will make a statement. [40953]
Richard Benyon: The Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) is contracted by the Environment Agency (EA) to help England and Wales comply with the requirements of the water framework directive (WFD). Samples are received on a monthly basis from a number of sites around Liverpool Bay to identify and enumerate the whole phytoplankton community. These results are then fed into various assessment tools which the EA uses to assess the environmental status of all English and Welsh coastal and transitional waters.
Currently phytoplankton abundance is estimated every 30 minutes by measuring Chlorophyll fluorescence in situ and can be linked to concurrent environmental and nutrient data.
The data are available on the CEFAS website at:
Flood Control: Wales
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the level of spending on flood defences in each parliamentary constituency in Wales was in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate she has made of the level of such spending in each such constituency in each of the next five years. [41240]
Richard Benyon: Flood defence spending is devolved and in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.
Floods
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) residential and (b) industrial properties in each local authority area were flooded by each source in (i) 2005 and (ii) 2009. [41091]
Richard Benyon: The following tables give figures recorded by the Environment Agency on the number of residential and industrial properties flooded (recorded by local authority area and by flood source) in 2005 and 2009.
| 2005 flooding statistics | |||
| Number of properties flooded | |||
| Local authority | Residential | Business | Source (if known) |
| 2009 flooding statistics | |||
| Number of properties flooded | |||
| Local authority | Residential | Business | Source (if known) |
| SW = Surface Water GW = Groundwater Notes: 1. Property data collected has not always been broken down as being either residential or business. 2. Most inland flooding incidents are a combination of surface water and fluvial flooding. | |||
Forestry Commission: Land
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on whether owners of former Forestry Commission land disposed of by sale should be entitled to charge fees for use of the land by others. [38803]
Mr Paice: Under the previous Government there were no restrictions placed on the new owners of former Forestry Commission-managed land preventing them charging for use of the land, other than for access on foot where the land had been dedicated for access under the provisions in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.
We are committed to protecting the access and public benefits of the Public Forest Estate and the current consultation on the future of the Estate in England sets out and invites views on our proposals to achieve this. No further sales will take place under the rules agreed by the previous administration until the mechanisms are in place to provide extra protections on access and biodiversity.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the (a) redundancy costs and (b) costs of transferring staff from the Forestry Commission to alternative owners or managers arising from her proposals for the transfer of Forestry Commission land in England. [38867]
Mr Paice: The outcome of the current consultation on the future of the public forest estate in England will determine the impact for existing Forestry Commission staff. There will need to be detailed consultation with staff representatives about implementation of any agreed proposals before an estimate of cost can be made.
Forestry Commission: Scotland
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2011, Official Report, column 998W, on Forestry Commission: Scotland, if she will place in the Library copies of the recent correspondence between her Department and the Forestry Minister in Scotland. [40907]
Mr Paice [holding answer 14 February 2011]: We do not place copies of the correspondence in the Library in order to respect the confidentiality of inter-Administration communications.
Forestry Commission: Staff
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people the Forestry Commission employs in (a) Thirsk and Malton constituency and (b) England. [38972]
Mr Paice: As of January 2011, the Forestry Commission employs 1,368 people (in both full and part-time positions) across England with 61 staff based in Thirsk and Malton constituency.
Forests
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many expressions of interest in purchasing land in England put up for sale by the Forestry Commission have been received from (a) private buyers, (b) community or charitable bodies and (c) other public bodies since 6 May 2010. [39046]
Mr Paice [holding answer 8 February 2011]: Expressions of interest made direct to the Forestry Commission are not recorded centrally. Land to be sold on the open market by the Forestry Commission is marketed through its professional selling agents who invite potential buyers to register their interest.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what average market price of timber from the public forest estate was in each year since 2000. [39131]
Mr Paice [holding answer 8 February 2011]: The following table lists average price per cubic metre overbark (the volume of wood including the bark) standing of timber sold from the public forest estate by financial year since 2000-01.
| £ | |||
| Direct production( 1) | Standing sales( 2) | Average all sales | |
| (1) Direct production is timber harvested by the Forestry Commission and sold at ride side or delivered to customer's premises. (2) Standing sales is timber sold as standing trees and harvested by the customer. | |||
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what land owned by the Forestry Commission is for sale. [40425]
Mr Paice: The following table shows the Forestry Commission England land that was identified using the 2010-11 sales criteria put in place by the previous Administration and where sales are agreed but not yet completed. No further sales will take place until the mechanisms are in place to provide extra protections on access and biodiversity.
Forests: Bedfordshire
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the access arrangements are for Dedmansey Wood in South West Bedfordshire constituency. [39867]
Mr Paice [holding answer 11 February 2011]: Dedmansey Wood is leased by the Forestry Commission. The terms of the lease prevent the commission from providing public access to it.
Forests: Devon
Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many acres of forest land the Forestry Commission owns in (a) Devon and (b) Newton Abbot constituency; and where such land is located. [39254]
Mr Paice [holding answer 9 February 2011]: The Forestry Commission public forest estate in Devon extends to approximately 8,987 hectares, of which, 455 hectares is in the Newton Abbott constituency. This is owned by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and placed at the disposal of the Forestry Commissioners under section (3)1 of the Forestry Act 1967.
The following table lists the woods that comprise the public forest estate in Devon.
| Grid reference | Constituency | Wood name | Area (ha) |
Forests: Ministerial Statements
Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) oral and (b) written ministerial statements have been made by Ministers in her Department on (i) the Forestry Commission and (ii) UK Forestry in each year since 2001; and what title her Department assigned to each statement. [40897]
Mr Paice [holding answer 14 February 2011]: All oral and written statements made by DEFRA are recorded in the Official Report. Separate records outside the current session of Parliament are not kept in the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
To date, in the 2010-11 Session, there has been one written ministerial statement, 'Public Forest Estate', on 27 January 2011, Official Report, columns 16-18WS.
Forests: Public Finance
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the net cost to the public purse of the sale of (a) forestry woodland and (b) commercial woodland in her proposals for the future of the public forest estate; and if she will make a statement. [38970]
Mr Paice: We are currently consulting on the proposals for the future of the public forest estate in England. No decisions will be made until after the conclusion of the consultation.
The Impact Assessment includes initial estimates of the set cost of any sales to be comparable with those that have taken place to date, which is approximately 5% of the gross sale value.
Forests: Timber
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the percentage change in the volume of wood supplied to the market from the public forest estate in (a) England and (b) the UK there was in each year since 1999. [41082]
Mr Paice [holding answer 15 February 2011]: The following table gives the percentage change in wood production each year from 1999 to 2009. Figures for 2010 are not yet available.
| Calendar year | England (green tonnes) | Percentage change from the previous year | Percentage change from 1999 baseline | UK( 1) (green tonnes) | Percentage change from the previous year | Percentage change from 1999 baseline |
| (1) UK includes Forestry Commission managed woodland (England, Scotland and Wales) and the Forest Service in Northern Ireland. Note: Percentages are given to the nearest whole number. | ||||||
Irish Sea: Pollution
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment her Department has made since 2007 of the effect of polychlorinated biphenyls on the marine environment in the Irish Sea; [41043]
(2) which (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory bodies have monitored pollution levels in the Irish Sea in each year since 2007; [41221]
(3) what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of monitoring pollution levels in the Irish Sea in each year since 2007. [41225]
Richard Benyon: The Irish sea is bounded by England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic and these regions all have their own arrangements for monitoring and reporting on pollution in the Irish sea.
A number of UK statutory bodies have co-operated since 2007 to ensure that the monitoring of pollution in UK marine waters in the Irish sea is appropriately funded and carried out. The bodies involved are:
in England and Wales: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Transport, Department of Energy and Climate Change, Welsh Assembly Government, Environment Agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency;
in Scotland: Scottish Executive, Marine Scotland (formerly Fisheries Research Services), Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, and;
in Northern Ireland: Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute.
Small amounts of monitoring may also be done by the Loughs Agency which is a cross border body partly supported by Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
A number of non-statutory bodies also measure pollution levels in the Irish sea, including marine institutes, universities, industries and non-governmental organisations.
The monitoring carried out by these bodies is brought together and co-ordinated through the UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy (UKMMAS), which has the goal of ensuring the cost-effective provision of the information needed for policy and management decisions to deliver the UK marine vision of clean, healthy, productive and biologically diverse seas. UKMMAS has recently published Charting Progress 2, an assessment of the state of UK seas, which also includes assessments of the status of the Irish sea available at:
The UK Government co-operate with the Irish Government in the framework of the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic through participation in its Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme. Regular joint assessments of the status of the various regions of the North East Atlantic are made. OSPAR has recently published its Quality Status Report 2010, which includes assessments of the state of pollution across the North-East Atlantic, including in the Irish sea.
The monitoring of pollution in the Irish sea is funded by a number of government bodies in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Funds are generally allocated on a national basis and support monitoring across all the seas within each administration's jurisdiction. It is not therefore possible to distinguish the specific amount of money allocated to monitoring pollution levels in the Irish sea.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are monitored in the Irish sea under the Clean Seas Environmental Monitoring Programme. Levels are assessed in sediments and biota (shellfish and fish liver).
PCB results were incorporated in the Clean and Safe Seas chapter of Charting Progress 2 which was delivered in 2010. Results were also included in the Quality Status Report 2010 prepared by the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the marine environment of the North East Atlantic.
These reports concluded, that despite these substances having been banned, exceedances of the environmental quality standards for PCBs at some sites are still being observed within the Irish sea.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the mass of fertiliser washed into the Irish sea in each of the last 10 years. [41216]
Richard Benyon: The monitoring of pollution in the Irish sea is carried out by a number of organisations in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Various components of fertilizer are monitored, such as: ammonia, nitrate, orthophosphate, and nitrogen but no records are held centrally of the total mass of fertilizer discharged into the Irish sea.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many pollution incidents of each type there were on each river flowing into the Irish Sea in each of the past 10 years. [41220]
Richard Benyon: The following table shows the estimated number of category 1 (major) and 2 (significant) pollution incidents that had an impact to water in a catchment that flowed in to the Irish sea.
| N umber of category 1 and 2 incidents | |
Not all recorded incidents will have reached the Irish sea. Pollutants would have broken down before they entered the sea.
Not all of the incidents will have had a major or significant impact on the Irish sea. The incident level is recorded on site which can be many miles from the sea.
Land
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the proportion of the net cost of (a) the proposed transfer to the charitable sector of land in (i) the New Forest and (ii) the Forest of Dean and (b) the proposed disposal of Kielder Forest which will be met from the public purse. [39281]
Mr Paice: An impact assessment was published alongside the current consultation on the future of the Forestry Commission public forest estate in England. This gives an initial indication of costs for each of the policy options outlined in the consultation, but does not consider them in relation to specific sites.
No decisions about the future of the sites mentioned will be made until after the conclusion of the consultation.
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the likely effects on common land of the provisions of the Localism Bill. [41169]
Richard Benyon: No formal assessment has been made on the likely effects on common land of the provision of the Localism Bill. Restricted works on registered and certain other common land require the consent of the Secretary of State under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006. The Localism Bill does not affect the requirement for such consent.
Nature Reserves
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the long-term trends in visits to nature reserves. [41042]
Richard Benyon: There are a number of different statutory and non-statutory designations of nature reserve. These range from informal designations made by nature conservation bodies, through local wildlife sites and local nature reserves, to the nationally designated National Nature Reserve series. We do not hold information on long-term trends in numbers of visits to these sites.
Plantations
Hugh Bayley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Forestry Commission and Forest Enterprise-owned plantations of 50 hectares or more in Yorkshire and the Humber
(a) have been bought since 1981, (b) have been sold since 1981 and (c) are scheduled for sale; and what the (i) name, (ii) ordnance survey grid reference, (iii) local authority area, (iv) size, (v) price and (vi) date of purchase or sale was in each case. [38689]
Mr Paice [holding answer 7 February 2011]: The public forest estate is owned by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and placed at the disposal of the Forestry Commissioners under section (3)1 of the Forestry Act 1967. Acquisitions and sales, including areas in the process of being sold, since 1997 are given in the following table.
| Grid reference | Local authority | Area (ha) | Net price (£) | Date | |
Sewage: Railways
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make an assessment of the legality of authorisations granted for train operating companies discharging sewage onto railway tracks. [40558]
Richard Benyon: The discharge of sewage onto railway tracks is lawfully provided via an exemption from the need for an environmental permit. This is set out in Chapter 4 of Schedule 3 to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. The discharge is exempt providing the operator: meets the rules of the exemption; registers the exemption with the Environment Agency; and carries out the operation without endangering human health or risking harm to the environment.
The Government carries out regular reviews of exemptions from environmental permitting to ensure the controls are proportionate to the risk posed.
Squirrels
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Forestry Commission spent on controlling the size of the squirrel population on its estate between 2008 and 2010. [39907]
Mr Paice: The Forestry Commission in England spent approximately £102,000 during 2008-09 and £127,000 during 2009-10 on activities associated with the control of grey squirrel populations on the public forest estate.
Wareham Forest
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the future of Wareham Forest; and what steps she plans to take to maintain current public rights of access, rights to recreational activity and levels of biodiversity. [39032]
Mr Paice [holding answer 8 February 2011]: The main block of Wareham Forest has been indicatively categorised as 'heritage' on the map that accompanies the consultation on the future of the Public Forest Estate in England. We are committed to protecting the public benefits that are currently provided by the Public Forest Estate, including public access and biodiversity. The consultation sets out and invites views on the proposals for protecting these benefits.
Wood: Licensing
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much timber was removed under felling licences from (a) Oxford West and Abingdon constituency and (b) Oxfordshire in each year since 2007. [38388]
Mr Paice: The Forestry Commission records information on felling licences and grant schemes (which may have associated permission to fell trees) by local authority area. Information by constituency could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The following table gives details of the felling licences issued in each district in Oxfordshire for each financial year from 2007-08. A licence, which is valid for between two and five years, gives the landowner permission to fell the trees but does not place them under any obligation
to do so. The Forestry Commission does not record timber volume removals as a result of the licences it issues or felling permission given in association with woodland grant scheme agreements.
| Clear felling | Cutting coppice | Other felling( 1) | Thinning | Total | ||||||
| Area (ha) | Volume (m( 3) ) | Area (ha) | Volume (m( 3) ) | Area (ha) | Volume (m( 3) ) | Area (ha) | Volume (m( 3) ) | Area (ha) | Volume (m( 3) ) | |
| (1) Other felling includes selective felling, hedgerow trees and single isolated trees not forming part of a woodland. | ||||||||||
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