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Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Forestry Commission
19. Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the sale of land managed by the Forestry Commission in England. [37815]
Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the sale of land managed by the Forestry Commission in England. [37799]
Dr Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the sale of forest and woodland managed by the Forestry Commission in England. [37805]
Mrs Spelman: Since the beginning of October last year we have received over 4,200 representations on the sale of the public forest estate.
21. Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which forests in the North East she is considering for sale as part of the disposal of the public forest estate. [37817]
Mrs Spelman: We have recently published the selection criteria for woodland in the Forestry Commission's 2011-12 asset sales programme. The Forestry Commission is currently identifying woods which meet these criteria and so no further details are available at this time. Details of woodlands to be sold in subsequent years will only be developed once the public forest estate consultation has concluded.
Rural Payments Agency
20. Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress she has made on improving the performance of the Rural Payments Agency. [37816]
Mr Paice: Progress continues to be made in addressing the unhappy legacy which is described vividly in the independent review of RPA published last year. Despite the issues arising from the updating of farmer's maps and reduced staff numbers, the RPA met its target to pay 85% of 2010 SPS claimants by the end of December. But there is still much to do and it will inevitably take some time to fully address longstanding problems.
Common Fisheries Policy
22. Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy; and if she will make a statement. [37818]
Richard Benyon:
The common fisheries policy is broken. It has failed to deliver healthy fish stocks and a sustainable living for fishermen. We need radical reform, to simplify
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and decentralise fisheries management, building in the right incentives for fishermen to operate sustainably and profitably, and cutting the terrible waste of discards.
We are working with other member states, stakeholders and EU institutions to build support for radical reform ahead of negotiations later this year.
Global Food Security
23. George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had on global food security; and if she will make a statement. [37819]
Mrs Spelman: Last week I spoke at the launch of Sir John Beddington's Foresight report on global food security. The report is clear that with almost one billion people hungry and significant environmental degradation business as usual is not sustainable.
The UK Government are determined to show international leadership on this issue. We are committed to international development and better functioning global markets, along with improving agriculture productivity. These are critical issues for CAP reform and the G20 this summer.
Crayfish
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to conserve the white-clawed crayfish population through the establishment of native-only refuge sites; and if she will make a statement. [37675]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA has no direct role in the identification or establishment of refuge sites. However, Natural England and the Environment Agency are supporting white clawed crayfish refuge site creation projects within the regions. They are currently finalising a best practice/guidance document on decision-making in the placement and establishment of Ark sites, and other conservation requirements. Natural England is currently funding a Countdown 2010 project in south-west England involving a captive rearing programme at Bristol Zoo, the identification of Ark sites and reintroduction of white-clawed crayfish to a number of sites across the south-west.
Guidance on the creation of Ark sites has been drawn up by Buglife, and Ark site creation projects have been carried out by Buglife and the Peak District National Park, funded by Natural England through DEFRA'a Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.
The Environment Agency is working in partnership with Buglife to create a crayfish website to draw together information on crayfish in the UK. The website will provide guidance for the general public and professionals working in the field.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the size of the signal crayfish population in each of the last 5 years. [37678]
Richard Benyon:
DEFRA has not made an assessment of the size of the signal crayfish population in England. However, the Environment Agency records presence/absence
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or numbers of individuals on an ad hoc basis as part of fisheries survey programmes, or biological monitoring work for WFD and other directives. The agency does not make quantitative estimates of population size, but works to understand the geographic spread of this non-native species.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) advice and (b) guidance her Department provides to (i) the Environment Agency and (ii) other relevant agencies on control of the signal crayfish population. [37679]
Richard Benyon: The non-native species framework strategy for Great Britain sets out the Government’s broad policy approach to invasive non-native species. As signal crayfish are well established, complete eradication is no longer achievable. Therefore, our policy is to look toward methods to manage this species in the long term, minimising its spread and mitigating the consequent negative impacts where feasible.
DEFRA has had representation, through its executive agency CEFAS, on the native crayfish Biodiversity Action Plan steering group, which has disseminated advice on DEFRA policy to other agencies represented on the group (EA, Natural England, CCW), and to the wider community researching or managing crayfish populations. CEFAS additionally provides advice to other agencies and the public in respect of the legislation applicable to signal crayfish (and other alien crayfish) management and control within England and Wales.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps her Department has taken to reduce its carbon emissions to meet the target of reducing central Government carbon emissions by 10% by June 2011. [36608]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA is committed to reducing carbon emissions from its estate and has taken a number of actions through the 10% CO2 reduction initiative to implement projects which will improve its performance and deliver further savings.
To date, improvements have been made to a number of buildings across the DEFRA estate. Improvements to plant controls and Building Management Systems (BMS); improved insulation; and installation of energy efficient technologies such as voltage optimisation, boiler optimisation, and low energy lighting, are examples of initiatives implemented to meet the target.
These initiatives have been supported by the introduction of a 19° C winter heating temperature set point across the DEFRA estate, tighter control of heating and lighting times and staff awareness campaigns which have encouraged participation and support. These campaigns have enabled the Department to identify additional ideas for delivering further savings and help to embed culture change.
Delivery of the 10% CO2 target is enabling DEFRA to demonstrate its commitment to reducing CO2 emissions. This follows on from its achievement of the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) 2010 target for carbon reduction from offices in 2009, where it met and exceeded the target. DEFRA is now less
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than 0.5% away from achieving the 2020 target of a 30% reduction in its CO2 emissions. Since 2006, the Department has delivered an average 4% reduction year on year 2006 to 2009 and a 12.5% reduction in 2009-10.
DEFRA's CO2 reduction performance is a direct result of the implementation of measures identified through its ongoing Carbon Reduction Programme. Since 2006, this programme has identified and reduced excessive energy consumption across the network estate. This has been delivered through a structured approach to the analysis and benchmarking of energy consumption data and a focus on quick win, high carbon saving projects. DEFRA's achievements have often set the benchmark for the sustainability industry. Specific achievements have been recognised through Carbon Trust Standard, BREEAM outstanding ratings and internationally through CoreNet Global.
Departmental Libraries
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) certified and (b) chartered librarians her Department has employed in each year since its creation. [37650]
Richard Benyon: The number of certified and charted librarians employed in DEFRA and its agencies on 31 December of each year is shown in the following table:
| Number | ||
|
|
Certified | Chartered |
The information for years prior to 2004 is not held.
Departmental Working Conditions
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is on (a) the space provided per employee, (b) home working and (c) hot desking; how many employees it has on average per desk; and how much space on average there is per employee. [34591]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA policy on space provided per employee in offices is to target 8m(2) per person accommodated and an occupancy ratio of 1.3 employees per desk space.
DEFRA policy allows home working subject to business need. DEFRA operates hot desking in its buildings.
Performance confirming how many employees DEFRA has on average per desk and space per employee is published annually in the annual State of the Estate report, which is laid before Parliament. The latest report is the 2009 report, which was published by the Office of Government Commerce in March 2010.
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Fisheries
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of catch-quota schemes in reducing the discarding of fish; and if she will make a statement. [37645]
Richard Benyon: In 2010, the UK ran two voluntary trials in England and Scotland to test the effectiveness of the catch quota system at reducing discards of cod in the North sea. Six vessels participated in England and 17 in Scotland.
Initial results from both trials indicate that the catch quota system is very effective at reducing discards of cod. For UK vessels, the three year (2007-09) average discard rate for cod in the North sea was 51%—in comparison the discard rates for participants in the English trial were between 1% and 7%. A full analysis of the results of both trials will be available in the spring.
The UK is running an expanded catch quota trial in 2011 for North sea cod and south-west sole.
Fishing Vessels
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the creation of a global record of fishing vessels. [37557]
Richard Benyon: We continue to strongly support the creation of a global record of fishing vessels, refrigerated transport vessels, and supply vessels, as proposed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). We hope that, once operational, the global record will be a powerful tool in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, by significantly improving transparency in the ownership, operation, and activity of fishing vessels, and the vessels that support them.
Forestry Commission
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what tracts of land have been sold by the Forestry Commission since 1997; what the (a) area in hectares, (b) sale price, (c) sale date and (d) biodiversity value was of the land sold in each case; and, where such land was forested, what the type of forest cover was. [37074]
Mr Paice: I have placed documents in the House Library detailing the area of land sold since 1997 by calendar year from 1997 to 2002 and by date of sale from 2003 to 2010. The total receipts from these sales (by financial year) from 2000-01 to 2009-10 are given in the table.
Biodiversity value and forest type of any woodland sold was not specifically recorded, but sales were chosen on the basis of the land making a relatively limited contribution to Forestry Commission objectives and providing limited added value from public ownership in the delivery of public benefits. Other information on the land sales since 1997 is not held centrally and could
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be gathered only at a disproportionate cost. Where the sale was completed more than five years ago the records may have been destroyed.
| Financial year | Receipts from sale of properties (1) (£) | Area (Ha) of sale of properties (2) |
| (1) Figures from Forest Enterprise England annual accounts (includes woodland, buildings and development land). (2) Figures from Deeds Management System (includes woodland, buildings and development land). | ||
Industrial Health and Safety
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress her Department has made in reviewing the health and safety regulations for which it is responsible since her appointment. [36976]
Mr Paice: Lord Young's review of health and safety laws and the compensation culture "Common Sense, Common Safety" carried out for the Prime Minister was published on 15 October 2010.
Actions to implement Lord Young's recommendations are being taken forward across Government in line with the timetable set out in the report.
The review made no specific recommendations for the Department and no further review of health and safety legislation has been carried out and there are no plans to do so at this stage.
Rights of Way
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department holds on which local authorities employ officers dedicated to the implementation of public rights of way. [37914]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA does not hold information on which local authorities employ officers dedicated to public rights of way.
Salmon
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of salmon stocks in rivers in each of the last five years. [37681]
Richard Benyon:
The Environment Agency carries out a wide range of assessment and monitoring activities on salmon rivers in England and Wales; this includes annual assessments of both juvenile fish and returning adults. Catch data, and information from adult counters and traps where these are available, are used to make an
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annual compliance assessment of the salmon spawning success on each river, measured against river-specific 'targets'.
These and other measures of stock status are published annually in a report compiled jointly by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and the Environment Agency. The most recent report, a copy of which will be placed in the Library, provides data for 2009, but includes information on salmon stock status over a longer time period, including the last five years. Data for 2010 have not yet been collated.
Energy and Climate Change
Biofuels
Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the use of imported biofuels. [38140]
Gregory Barker: Ministers have regular discussions on a range of issues which includes the deployment of sustainable biofuels.
Carbon Emissions: EU Action
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to ensure that the EU target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 80 and 95 per cent. by 2050 is maintained as a stand alone commitment; and if he will make a statement. [37911]
Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to making the transition to a low carbon economy both in the UK and EU. We support the EU target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050 which mirrors our own domestic commitment. DECC's work to explore the ‘pathways to 2050’, which is published on our website, has ensured the UK continues to be at the forefront of the debate on meeting the 2050 targets.
Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the financial effects on owners of private electricity and gas networks who become liable to pay the cost of the carbon reduction commitment tariff in cases where one or more of their tenants holds a climate change agreement. [37888]
Gregory Barker: The Government have not undertaken any additional assessment on the financial and regulatory costs of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme since publication of the final impact assessment in January 2010. The final impact assessment estimated the net benefits overall of the scheme to be £3,800 million. The Government have begun an informal dialogue with scheme participants and other stakeholders on simplification of the scheme. This dialogue will help to inform future proposals for changes to the legislation underpinning the scheme, including in relation to the interaction between the CRC scheme and climate change agreements.
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Coal-Fired Power Stations
Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many coal-fired power stations were in operation in the latest period for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the number of coal-fired power stations there will be in (a) 2020 and (b) 2030. [37348]
Charles Hendry: The latest figures show that there are 17 major coal fired power stations operating in the UK (as at the end of May 2010), equivalent to a capacity of 23 Gigawatts(1).
Of the 17 major coal-fired stations that are currently operational, six are scheduled to close by 2015 under the large combustion plant directive.
There is no projection available on the number of operating coal-fired power stations. However, the central projection for the capacity of major coal fired power stations in 2020 is 18 Gigawatts. This includes those with carbon capture storage technology. Coal power stations currently vary widely in size (from 0.4 to 3.8GW), if it is assumed that the coal power stations in 2020 are all 1.7GW (the current average size) this would equate to 10-11 stations.
DECC do not make projections on 2030. However, the projection for 2025 is 12 Gigawatts, assuming the same average size this equates to 7 to 8 power stations(2).
Source s:
(1) Table 5.11, Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2010
(2) DECC Updated Emissions Projections, Annex L, June 2010
Electricity
Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with the National Grid on the installation of an underground electricity cable between Scotland and England via Wirral; and if he will make a statement. [38124]
Charles Hendry: The Department regularly discusses electricity network policy issues with stakeholders including National Grid. However, DECC does not have a role in approving specific transmission investments. The approval of grid investment projects is a matter for the transmission owners and Ofgem. Ofgem are currently seeking further information on the proposed West Coast undersea link from National Grid and Scottish Power to enable them to take a decision on approving funding for the investment.
Energy
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will introduce a target to achieve a 20% or greater reduction in primary energy use through energy efficiency measures by 2020 as part of the EU Energy Efficiency Action Plan; and if he will make a statement. [37987]
Gregory Barker:
The EU has already adopted (in 2007) an indicative EU-wide target to reduce primary energy use by 20% by 2020 compared with “business as usual” through improvements in energy efficiency. This target provides the context for the European Commission's
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forthcoming review of the EU Energy Efficiency Action Plan which is scheduled for publication soon. The Government do not believe additional energy efficiency targets are needed.
Energy Supply
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what representations he has received on off-grid energy supply between 1 June 2010 and 10 December 2010; [37891]
(2) whether he has received any recent representations on pricing in the off-grid energy market. [37892]
Charles Hendry: As I noted in the fuel poverty debate on 19 January 2011, Official Report, columns 255-79WH, there have been a significant number of representations on the domestic oil market from the public and Members of Parliament. I fully recognise the difficulties people have experienced with rising prices and supply problems, as set out in my written ministerial statement on 21 January 2011,Official Report, columns 55-56WS. I welcome the independent assessment of the off-grid market by the Office of Fair Trading, and I look forward to seeing its conclusions in advance of next winter so the lessons from this winter can be learned and any necessary changes made.
Energy: Prices
Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward proposals to protect consumers who enter into fixed-term energy contracts from large early termination penalties. [37123]
Charles Hendry: Currently we have no plans to bring forward the proposals the hon. Member asks about. The setting of termination fees is a contractual matter between the supplier and the customer. The fees are designed to cover the costs incurred by the supplier when a customer switches away before the end of the fixed-term contract.
Ofgem are currently consulting on fixed-term contract practices in the domestic supply market.
Fuel Poverty
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who the chair of the fuel poverty review is. [38020]
Gregory Barker: An announcement about the Independent Reviewer will be made in due course.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the Government's fuel poverty review to report. [38021]
Gregory Barker: We expect the review of fuel poverty to report by the end of the year.
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Global Warming Policy Foundation
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what (a) meetings and (b) discussions he and Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the Global Warming Policy Foundation in the latest period for which information is available. [38022]
Gregory Barker: Neither the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, myself nor my fellow Ministers in the Department have had meetings or discussions with representatives of the Global Warming Policy Foundation.
Natural Gas and Oil
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will request the European Council not to authorise an assessment of the potential for the extraction and use of (a) shale gas and (b) oil shale; and if he will make a statement. [37912]
Charles Hendry: The Government are committed to the EU moving to a low-carbon, energy secure and competitive economy by 2050, and in particular that it meets its objective of reducing greenhouse gas emission levels by 80% to 95% by then. However, fossil fuels will remain a vital part of the transition to a low-carbon economy and the EU therefore needs to do all it can to understand what fossil fuels may be available so that member states can take informed decisions about their most efficient and sustainable use.
Renewable Energy: Heating
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to subsidise renewable heat energy. [37977]
Gregory Barker: We expect to be in a position to announce the details of the renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme shortly and to be open for business from 2011.
Cabinet Office
Social Security Benefits: Advisory Services
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he plans to allocate additional resources to voluntary sector benefit advice agencies during the period of reductions in public sector expenditure. [37505]
Mr Davey: I have been asked to reply.
The Government are directing at least £470 million over the spending review period to support capacity building in the voluntary sector, including a £100 million Transition Fund as short-term support for voluntary sector organisations providing public services.
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Home Department
Anti-Semitism
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2010, Official Report, column 195W, on anti-Semitism, if she will make it her policy to collect details of (a) victims and (b) alleged offenders of anti-Semitic crime; and if she will make a statement. [38033]
James Brokenshire: The Coalition programme for government included a commitment to improve the recording of hate crime offences. This has been implemented and the official collection of this data will begin in April 2011. This collection of data will cover the five ‘monitored’ hate crime strands and, at this time, it will not be possible to disaggregate this data down further. We will continue discussions with the police to see whether it is feasible to break this data down further so that anti-Semitic hate crime can be collected. These discussions will have to include whether the disaggregation of this data will add to the bureaucratic burden on police officers, which is something the Government have committed to reduce.
The Community Security Trust (CST) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) National Community Tension Team (NCTT) collect data on reports of anti-Semitic hate crime and will continue to do so. The ACPO NCTT data, published on 30 November 2010 showed that there were 703 anti-Semitic hate crimes in calendar year 2009. The latest figures from the CST will be released in the near future.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will commission a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis on allegations of anti-Semitic comments made at the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts protest on 29 January 2011; whether any arrests have been made in consequence of such allegations; and if she will make a statement. [R] [38050]
James Brokenshire:
The Government deplore any instances of anti-Semitism and are committed to tackling it. We have no plans to commission a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis. The police
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are operationally independent of the Government so any questions on arrests at the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, which took place in Manchester, would need to be directed to the chief constable of Greater Manchester police.
Asylum
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether gender-related persecution claims are considered as claims unlikely to be accepted into the fast track detention process for asylum seekers. [38149]
Damian Green: Entry to the detained fast track procedure is determined by reference to published policy. The policy lays out categories of claimant who, for reasons of particular vulnerability, are excluded from entry to the process. These reasons include late pregnancy, significant ill-health and where the applicants are accepted as victims of trafficking or torture. For all other claimants, the key factor determining entry to the process is whether a quick, fair and sustainable decision can be taken on the case.
The question of suitability for entering the process is considered on a case-by-case basis, based on what is known about the individual and their claim.
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers of each country of origin have participated in the detained fast track process in each year for which figures are available. [38150]
Damian Green: The following tables show the number of asylum applicants who have been accepted in a fast track centre by nationality and location, for the years in which data are available.
Further information on asylum fast track detainees is available in Supplementary Tables 2r to 2u of Control of Immigration: Annual Bulletin, United Kingdom 2009 in the Library of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
| Principal asylum applicants accepted at fast track centres, by country of nationality, 2001-09 (1,2) | ||||||||
| Number of principal applicants | ||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | ||||
| Country of nationality | Oakington | Oakington | Oakington | Harmondsworth | Oakington | Harmondsworth | Yarl's Wood | Oakington |
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| Number of principal applicants | ||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | |||||
| Country of nationality | Harmondsworth | Yarl's Wood | Oakington | Harmondsworth | Yarl's Wood | Oakington (3) |
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