Written Questions
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many written parliamentary questions to his Department received a substantive answer (a) within five working days, (b) between six and 10 working days and (c) after more than 10 working days in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [127277]
(2) how many and what proportion of written parliamentary questions to his Department received holding responses in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [127278]
Jeremy Wright: From November 2011 to November 2012 the Ministry of Justice received 3,025 parliamentary questions. 2,554 were answered within five working days, 308 were answered between six and 10 days, and 163 were answered after 10 days.
Out of the total number of parliamentary questions received, 684 were named day questions. 152 of these received holding responses.
The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf
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Business, Innovation and Skills
Agriculture: Education
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have graduated from an agricultural college in the UK in each of the last 10 years. [128368]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 13 November 2012]: The number of qualifiers from Agricultural Higher Education Institutions by subject of study in the academic years 2002/03 to 2010/11 will be placed in the Libraries of the House. Figures on qualifiers by subject of study in 2001/02 are not available on a comparable basis with later years.
Information for the 2011/12 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2013.
Antidumping Duties
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if his Department will support the introduction of anti-dumping import duties. [128156]
Michael Fallon: The UK Government examines each anti-dumping case on its merits, based on evidence presented by the Commission and representations received from interested parties, including producers, importers, retailers and consumers.
In the recent case against imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware from China, which is of concern to the hon. Member, we considered the Commission proposal for provisional measures very carefully and took account of the views of a range of interested parties. After a full analysis, we decided to oppose the imposition of provisional measures.
We will continue to engage with all interested parties as the investigation continues over the next six months.
Employment: Rural Areas
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the effect on rural communities of a lack of well-paid jobs; and what steps he is taking to promote such jobs in rural areas. [128185]
Richard Benyon [holding answer 13 November 2012]: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
DEFRA, through the Rural Statistics Digest, regularly monitors outcomes for rural areas, and earnings in rural and urban areas, both workplace and resident-based, are included.
The recently published Rural Statement sets out the Government's vision of successful rural businesses and thriving rural communities in a living, working countryside. This builds on the 2011 Rural Economy Growth Review that embedded rural interests within its overall strategy for growth. As a result, Rural Growth Network pilots have been established covering Cumbria, Swindon and Wiltshire, Durham and Northumberland, Devon and Somerset and Coventry and Warwickshire. These will
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support rural businesses to reach their full potential by breaking down barriers to economic growth, such as a shortage of work premises and slow internet connectivity, with lessons disseminated to support and encourage wider rural local enterprise partnerships in growing private sector jobs.
Engineering: Young People
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Bloodhound world land speed record team on the role of the project in encouraging young people to pursue careers in engineering; and if he will make a statement. [128147]
Mr Willetts: BIS Ministers have had ongoing discussions with representatives of the Bloodhound project over the last few years. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), visited the Bloodhound stand at the Big Bang Fair in March last year and I have met Richard Noble to discuss the project, most recently in May 2012. I am sure that this inspiring project will encourage many young people to find out more about engineering.
EU Grants and Loans
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to ensure that grants made from the Regional Development Fund support his industrial policy. [126264]
Michael Fallon [holding answer 2 November 2012]:Bids for Regional Growth Fund funding were assessed against the criteria's set out in Local Growth White Paper—sustainable private sector growth, rebalancing the economy, additionality, value for money and state aid compliance. These criteria do not contain sector specific weightings but they align with the principles set out in "Industrial Strategy: UK Sector Analysis" (September 2012) and in particular the section on "Barriers to growth and scope for government action".
Export Credit Guarantees
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much he has spent on advertising and marketing for the Export Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme. [124624]
Michael Fallon [holding answer 24 October 2012]:The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills incurred no direct expenditure in advertising the pilot Export Enterprise Finance Scheme, as this initiative was covered by the cross-government freeze on marketing. We did however work closely with the participating banks and business representative organisations to raise its awareness amongst small and medium-sized enterprises, including its promotion at a series of United Kingdom Trade & Investment hosted events across the country.
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Further Education: West Midlands
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many further education colleges have received funding for either new buildings or refurbishments from his Department in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands in each financial year since 2008; and what funding he expects to allocate for each financial year up to 2015-16. [128201]
Matthew Hancock: The following table sets out the number of colleges in Birmingham and the West Midlands that have received capital funding for either new buildings or refurbishments from this Department since 2008.
| Number of colleges | ||
| Approval year (April to March) | West Midlands | Birmingham and Solihull |
The further education capital budget is a national budget and is therefore not allocated at a local level.
Higher Education: Blackpool
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many pupils in receipt of free school meals entered higher education in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in the last two years for which figures are available. [128638]
Mr Willetts: The information requested is not available by parliamentary constituency. The estimated number of pupils from Blackpool local authority with free school meals who progressed to higher education by age 19 is shown in the following table.
| Estimated number of pupils from maintained schools in Blackpool local authority with free school meals at age 15, who progressed to Higher Education by age 19, UK Higher Education Institutions and English Further Education Colleges | |
| Academic year | Former FSM pupils in HE by age 19(1) |
| (1) Student numbers are rounded to the nearest 5. Source: Matched data from the DFE National Pupil Database, the HESA Student Record and the SFA ILR | |
Information on progression of pupils with free school meals to higher education is available from the BIS Widening Participation statistical release of August 2012.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/analysis/statistics/higher-education/official-statistics-releases/widening-participation-in-higher-education/widening-participation-in-higher-education-2012
Kidneys: Diseases
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department is undertaking to determine the causes of polycystic kidney disease. [128155]
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Mr Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. It is an independent research funding body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
In 2011/12, the MRC spent £4.9 million on research relating to kidney disease. The MRC are currently supporting four programmes of underpinning research which aim to improve the understanding of polycystic kidney disease, enable earlier diagnosis and more successful transplantation following kidney failure.
Current MRC-funded research relating to polycystic kidney disease includes the following programmes:
Dr D Long, University College London, The role of podocyte thymosin-beta4 in the healthy and diseased glomerulus. (£484,000 for a three-year grant);
Dr G McKay, Queen's University of Belfast, Retinal vascular calibre—a potential biomarker for early renal and retinal diseases? (£321,000 for a three-year grant);
Professor J Davies, university of Edinburgh, functional testing of kidneys tissue-engineered from renogenic stem cells. (£365,000 for a three-year grant);
Dr D Norris, MRC Mammalian Genetics Unit, Left right patterning. Further information can be found at:
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/ResearchPortfolio/Grant/Record.htm?RecType=Unit&Agreementld=93114&Caseld=24689
Local Enterprise Partnerships
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the Minister of State for Business and Enterprise's contribution of 16 October 2012 in oral evidence to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, Q107, how many full-time civil servants he plans will form the single contact point in Whitehall for the local enterprise partnerships; and what grade those civil servants will be. [128751]
Michael Fallon: A Senior Civil Servant at Director or Director General level is being allocated to each local enterprise partnership (LEP) as senior sponsor. These are drawn from Departments with significant local growth policy interests. Some individuals will have responsibility for more than one LEP. Acting as senior sponsor for LEPs will not be a full time responsibility. This will give LEPs a key point of contact to act as champion across Whitehall and ensure that place is factored in to policy making. The amount of time spent on the role will depend on the needs of the LEP. This will be in addition to the well established relationship management of LEPs by BIS Local and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Manufacturing Industries: Tees Valley
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps UK Trade and Investment has taken to (a) promote and (b) encourage investment in manufacturing industries on Teesside. [128038]
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Michael Fallon [holding answer 12 November 2012]: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) works closely with the Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to bring new investment in manufacturing by foreign direct investors to Teesside.
UKTI has a memorandum of understanding with the LEP. This enables the Tees Valley LEP to work closely with UKTI's team in London and across the globe, maximising the LEP's opportunity to attract potential investment internationally. UKTI also works with the local team to put in a bid for a project where Teesside has strong potential to win it.
In addition, to strengthen further Teesside's offer to potential investors, UKTI works with the LEP to present in a compelling way detailed information on local strengths and capabilities to attract investors to Teesside.
In 2011/12 UKTI supported 13 projects on Teesside, creating or safeguarding 2,170 jobs (although not all of these may have been in manufacturing). One such project was an investment by the Dutch firm Heerema, to engineer and fabricate large and complex structures for the offshore oil and gas sector. This investment created 290 new jobs in Hartlepool.
In addition to UKTI, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is helping promote manufacturing on Teesside through the support the BIS Local teams provides to the LEP to help secure economic growth. Teesside has also benefitted from the Regional Growth Fund where it has been quite successful.
Nuclear Physics
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the Review of UK Nuclear Physics Research published by the Institute of Physics; and what steps he is taking to increase skills in nuclear physics. [127015]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 6 November 2012]:The Government recognises the importance of science and the significant contribution it makes to the UK economy and growth, as reflected in the protection of the science budget.
The review recognises the excellence of UK nuclear physics research, which delivers a high volume of quality research.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) will consider the conclusions in the review and the level of funding and future priority areas within nuclear physics as part of a review it is undertaking of its science programmes. The Government awaits with interest the outcome of this work.
Overseas Trade: Somalia
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the value was of UK (a) imports from and (b) exports to Somalia in each of the last five years. [128409]
Michael Fallon: The value of UK exports and imports of goods, to and from Somalia, in the last five years is given in the table. The data are sourced from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Overseas Trade Statistics database and are publicly available on the UK Trade Info website:
www.uktradeinfo.com
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| £ million | ||
| UK imports of goods from Somalia | UK exports of goods to Somalia | |
| Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics. | ||
Pay
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many employees of his Department are paid in excess of (a) £80,000 and (b) £100,000. [128487]
Jo Swinson: From a total of 2,580 employees, core BIS (excluding UKTI and Agencies) currently has 34 individuals who earn between £80,000 and £99,999 and 24 individuals who earn more than £100,000(1).
(1 )Data is at 1 November 2012.
Regional Assistance
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date a Minister of his Department last met European Commission officials to discuss the 2014-2020 Regional Aid Guidelines. [128720]
Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), discussed the Regional Aid Guidelines when he met with Commissioner Almunia on 14 May and will be doing so again at a meeting today.
Satellite Communications
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment has been made of the opportunities for growth in the UK space sector arising from expenditure on the European Space Agency (ESA) ARTES satellite telecommunications development programme to be proposed at the forthcoming ESA ministerial council meeting at Caserta. [128785]
Mr Willetts:
In the preparation for the ministerial meeting officials have prepared a full business plan of the opportunities that will arise from any proposed investment at the ministerial. This analysis has been shared with HM Treasury. The analysis has been comprehensive and covered science, public policy, and economic growth issues. With respect to the European Space Agency (ESA) ARTES opportunities these have focussed primarily on supporting the growth agenda. A specific example is the development of the European Next Generation telecommunications satellite Platform (NGP). This is an investment that not only supports the prime contractors but also enables early engagement and development of the full supply chain, including new opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to enter the market. The return on this programme could be worth up to £4.25 billion to UK companies between 2018 and 2030. Another possibility is the
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development of space-based economic services and applications using data from space integrated with other data sets, and investment in technologies that enable UK industry to develop innovative new products that maintain the UK's competitive industrial position.
Apprenticeships
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps he has taken to increase the number of apprenticeships in the south-east. [128471]
Matthew Hancock: The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) is working closely with local businesses, local authorities, colleges, training providers and schools arranging events and providing material to promote apprenticeships in the south-east.
In addition to these local efforts, we have introduced grants for smaller employers, boosted the efforts of the NAS to promote and market apprenticeships and are implementing the Holt review to boost demand from small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employers.
Provisional data for the full 2011/12 academic year (August 2011 to April 2012) show that there were 65,260 apprenticeship starts in the south-east region. Provisional data should not be compared against data from earlier academic years and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers.
Final data for the 2010/11 academic year show that there were 58,340 apprenticeship starts in the south-east, up by 49.1% on 2009/10.
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote private sector employment in the south-east. [128472]
Michael Fallon: The Plan for Growth, published alongside Budget 2011, set out the Government's plan to put the UK on a path to sustainable, long-term economic growth. We are creating the right conditions for businesses to start up, invest, grow and create jobs.
The Government has a range of policies to support growth. For example, the Regional Growth Fund supports areas currently reliant on the public sector in their transition to sustainable private sector-led growth and prosperity. 19 awards have been made to projects and programmes in the south-east since the launch of the Regional Growth Fund which will help create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
Four areas in the south-east have been chosen as locations for an enterprise zone. These are Science Vale (Oxfordshire), Daedalus (Solent), Royal Docks (London) and Harlow/Sandwich (South East). Enterprise zones are giving a real shot in the arm to the private sector through a combination of fiscal incentives and simplified planning to generate both businesses and jobs, helping to rebalance the economy and drive local and national growth.
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps he has taken to encourage business start-ups in the South East; and if he will make a statement. [128473]
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Michael Fallon: We want to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and for the next decade to be the most entrepreneurial and dynamic in Britain's history. That is why, in January, the Prime Minister launched “Business in You”, a major campaign to inspire people to realise their business ambitions and to highlight the range of support available for start-ups and growing businesses.
We have introduced a range of measures that support start-ups and growing small and medium sized enterprise (SMEs) across the UK:
Ensuring SMEs can access the support and advice they need to start and grow
We have changed the way that we help people access the information, guidance and advice they need to start and grow a business. We have put in place a range of services including:
www.gov.uk
the new home for Government services and information online. www.gov.uk has been built to make it simpler and faster for people to find what they need from Government. To help those that cannot use internet services, we will continue to offer support through the Business Link helpline (on 0845 6009006).
A mentoring portal
www.mentorsme.co.uk
providing an easy route to find experienced business mentors.
A new three-year “GrowthAccelerator” programme which will provide high quality coaching support for up to 26,000 small businesses with high growth potential.
Ensuring SMEs can access the finance they need
In September, we announced a new Government-backed business bank, including new Government funding of £1 billion. It will aim to attract private sector funding so that, when fully operational, it could support up to £10 billion of new and additional business lending. More detail on the design of the bank and the types of interventions it will support will be provided later in the autumn.
In July, the Government and Bank of England launched the funding for lending scheme (FLS), which allows banks and building societies to borrow at cheaper rates from the Bank of England for periods of up to four years. The FLS creates strong incentives for banks to increase lending to UK households and businesses by lowering interest rates and increasing access to credit.
In May we launched a new £10 million start-up loan scheme aimed at 18 to 24-year-olds.
We have increased the funds available to invest through the Business Finance Partnership (BFP) to £1.2 billion. Government will allocate £100 million of the BFP to invest through non-traditional lending channels that can reach smaller businesses.
The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme will continue until 2014/15, providing, subject to demand, over £2 billion of additional lending.
We have established a £50 million Business Angel Co-Investment Fund to encourage Business Angel investment.
We are increasing our commitment to our Enterprise Capital Funds programme by £200 million, providing for more than £300 million of venture capital investment to address the equity gap for early stage innovative SMEs.
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Unemployed people who want to start a business can apply for the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA), administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, which is available to people aged 18 and over. It provides access to business mentoring and offers financial support of around £2,000. By 2013 it is hoped that the NEA will have helped up to 40,000 unemployed people start up a business.
Be the Boss is a £5 million scheme, administered by the Royal British Legion, to help ex-service personnel to set up and grow businesses by reducing the costs and barriers associated with self-employment and start-ups, including mentoring support.
The Prime Minister has appointed Lord Young of Graffham to advise on small business and enterprise issues. A key message of Lord Young's work is that this is a great time to start a business, with record numbers of people becoming their own boss, supported by a wide range of help and encouragement to entrepreneurs from all ages and backgrounds.
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department has provided to university and business research partnerships in the South East in the last 12 months. [128474]
Mr Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provides a range of support to encourage universities and businesses to work together. This includes funding from the Research Councils, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Technology Strategy Board.
In Budget 2012, we provided £100 million for the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, and announced a further £200 million in October. This will secure at least £1 billion investment in research facilities and collaborations between universities, businesses and charities. 14 projects, securing £220 million from the fund, have been announced involving universities across the UK. This includes £116.6 million for six projects in London and the south-east of England:
a new collaborative international research centre to support the development of 5th generation cellular communications—more than £35 million partnership between the university of Surrey and many of the mobile communications global industry leaders;
a new centre for targeted cancer research—£138 million partnership between the university of Oxford and a consortium including Synergy Health, Cancer Research UK, Roche Diagnostics, GE Healthcare and the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust;
a new Centre for Children's Rare Disease Research—an £85 million partnership between University College London and the Great Ormond Street hospital;
a new National Research Centre for Structural Integrity—£60 million partnership between Brunel university, TWI and other companies;
a research and translation hub—£150 million partnership between Imperial College London and Voreda at the Imperial West Technology Campus; and
a new centre for drug target discovery and for research based on medical data sets—£32 million partnership of the university of Oxford and a consortium including UCB Pharma, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Boehringer Ingelheim and Takeda.
HEFCE will announce a further call for the remaining £80 million funding for new and reworked proposals shortly.
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Students: Loans
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many graduates had their student loan debt recovered by the Student Loans Company through EU Regulation 44/2001 in 2010-11. [126504]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 2 November 2012]:EU students were entitled to receive tuition fee loans from 2006/07, with the first full cohort due to start repaying in April 2010. As at 30 April 2010 there were 11,000 borrowers liable to repay, of which 6,100 became liable to repay in April 2010, and 1,000 had already repaid in full. It was still therefore very early in the process for the Student Loans Company (SLC) to take court action in 2010-11.
However, during 2009, the SLC carried out a pilot litigation exercise, selecting nine borrowers to take to court. Two of those borrowers contacted the SLC before going to court, and provided the necessary details. Money was recovered from two of the remaining seven borrowers in financial year 2009-10, and from one borrower in financial year 2010-11.
Universal Credit
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are aware of the implications of the introduction of universal credit for the payment of staff. [127670]
Mr Hoban: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
DWP are working up a communication strategy for employers about the benefits that UC will bring to both employers and their employees. The Department has a programme of research to understand the employer perspective to inform this strategy. In addition DWP officials are in regular contact with HMRC, employers' representatives, payroll software providers and employers about the use of payroll data provided to HMRC in UC calculation and this will inform the communication with employers.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much Government funding has been allocated to private art projects in each year since 1997. [122471]
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Mr Vaizey: Government funding for the arts is distributed by Arts Council England (ACE). Any of the following were eligible to apply for national portfolio funding:
Limited companies registered at Companies House (including individuals trading as a limited company)
Community interest companies registered with the CIC regulator
Charities or trusts registered with the Charity Commission
Limited liability partnerships registered at Companies House
Partnerships established under a deed of partnership
Industrial and provident societies or community benefit societies subject to regulation by the FSA
Royal charter companies
Statutory bodies
The total of such funding is shown in the following table.
| £ | ||
| Funding for regularly funded organisations (RFOs) | Funding for national portfolio organisations(NPOs) | |
All NPOs, and previously RFOs, are funded through grant in aid. ACE also distributes national lottery funding to the arts. Lottery funding has not been included in the above figures.
ACE do not hold national figures on arts funding in an accessible format before 2001. These figures are contained in the records inherited from the regional arts boards, but which are not all formulated in the same way, or available to be amalgamated into a national figure.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the name is of each arts and cultural organisation funded or sponsored directly by her Department; how much funding each was paid from the public purse in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12; and how much each is expected to be paid in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15. [127517]
Mr Vaizey: The name of each arts and cultural organisation sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and the funding they have received, and are expected to receive, from DCMS, can be found in the following table.
| Art/cultural organisation | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
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Arts Council England
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the restructuring of Arts Council England announced on 30 October 2012 on the arts (a) in general and (b) in each region of England; [127518]
(2) what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the restructuring of Arts Council England announced on 30 October 2012 on (a) dance organisations, (b) theatre organisations, (c) visual arts organisations, (d) museums, (e) libraries and archives and (f) music organisations in (i) London and (ii) each other region of England. [127519]
Mr Vaizey [holding answer 8 November 2012]: Arts Council England (ACE) is an independent public body that has its own governance and management structures in place. It is for the Arts Council to ensure that delivering the reductions in administrative costs is done in a way which is not detrimental to the arts in England, in any region. In difficult financial circumstances, reducing administrative costs means that ACE can protect frontline organisations, in all the sectors it funds, and in all regions in England. The Department is assured that ACE will maintain a functional organisation that serves the culture sector and delivers against its strategy set out in ‘Achieving Great Art for Everyone’.
Gun Sports
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to encourage and support people presently involved and interested in being involved in shooting sports disciplines. [128530]
Hugh Robertson: Sport England funds national governing bodies to sustain and grow participation in their sports, and provides additional support to help them achieve this. In 2009-13, Sport England invested £750,000 into shooting sports, via British Shooting, and they are currently in the process of determining investment levels for 2013-17.
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Investment from British Shooting into the three main participation discipline governing bodies, has helped to develop the sport, namely:
Via the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association, a development officer has been employed who has supported the development of more local events (county leagues), as well as supporting clubs and grounds to develop.
Via the National Rifle Association, a significant number of new range officers are being trained to ensure ranges can be made available more often.
Via the National Small-Bore Rifle Association, a number of local development officers are supporting clubs in key regions, to develop and provide more opportunities.
Furthermore, British Shooting is also developing disability shooting provision and increasing the number of events and opportunities for disabled people to take part in shooting. In addition, the physical legacy from the London 2012 Olympics is currently being determined, as British Shooting is working with the Government Olympic Executive to tender for the use of the enclosures. This process is well under way.
International Broadcasting
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessments have been conducted by Ofcom in relation to international broadcasting in the last three years. [128112]
Mr Vaizey: Ofcom conducts an annual review of the international broadcasting market. Reports covering the last three years can be found at:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/icmr09/
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/cmr/753567/icmr/ICMR_2010.pdf
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/cmr/cmr11/icmr/ICMR2011.pdf
In 2012, Ofcom published the PSB annual report, providing information on the provision of international content by UK public service broadcasters. A summary of this report can be found at:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/reviews-investigations/psb-review/psb2012/section-b.pdf
Internet: Gillingham
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of (a) people and (b) households in Gillingham and Rainham constituency who do not have access to the internet. [128247]
Mr Vaizey: Tables 4A and 4B of the Office for National Statistics release “Internet Access Quarterly Update, 2012 Q2” included the figure that 41,000 adults (aged 16 or over) in the Medway council area had never used the internet, corresponding to 20.1% of the total. Further details are available at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/rdit2/internet-access-quarterly-update/2012-q2/index.html
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Leisure: Surveys
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the cost of the Taking Part survey was in each year since its introduction. [128287]
Hugh Robertson: The following table sets out how much the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has spent on the Taking Part survey in each completed year since its introduction. These figures are net of any recoverable VAT (and include contributions from Sport England, Arts Council England and English Heritage).
The cost of the survey has varied over different years according to the measurement needs and strategy used. Initially a larger sample was used but was reduced after the first three years. 2009-10 was an interim year with a smaller sample and shorter survey to provide headline results between the more detailed surveys of 2008-09 and 2010-11.
| Survey year | Final costs (main survey, including pilots and other development work) (£) | |
| (1) Y6 extension—The Year 6 extension was an interim payment to continue the survey in Year 7 (2011-12) while the new contract was being finalised for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15. | ||
Pay
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many employees of her Department are paid in excess of (a) £80,000 and (b) £100,000. [128491]
Hugh Robertson: The number of employees in the Department who are currently paid in excess of (a) £80,000 and (b) £100,00 are shown in the following table:
| Number | |
Social Networking: Advertising
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the case for better regulations relating to the marketing of high fat, sugar or salt foods to children through social media. [127945]
Mr Vaizey: No recent assessment has been made. The rules on advertising content standards are the responsibility of the independent regulators—the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). It is for those regulators to assess the sort of material that is appropriate for different audiences.
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The ASA continues to conduct monitoring and research on a range of advertising issues as part of its responsibility for ensuring that the advertising codes continue to provide suitable consumer protection.
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent representations she has received from parents for stronger regulations and restrictions in respect of the marketing of high fat, sugar or salt foods to children through social media. [127946]
Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), regularly receives correspondence on a range of issues relating to marketing and advertising. The Department does not record whether or not these are from parents.
The rules on advertising content standards are the responsibility of the independent regulators—the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). It is for those regulators to assess the sort of material that is appropriate for different audiences. The ASA continues to conduct monitoring and research on a range of advertising issues as part of its responsibility for ensuring that the advertising codes continue to provide suitable consumer protection.
Sports: Public Participation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps the Government is taking to encourage young people to be involved in competitive sport. [127668]
Hugh Robertson: The School games, an Olympic and Paralympic style competition, is giving every school and child in England the opportunity to participate in competitive sport, including meaningful opportunities for disabled children. In addition, the Prime Minister announced in August that competitive sport in primary schools will be made compulsory.
As part of the wider Youth and Community Sports Strategy, which has a particular focus on increasing participation in sport among 14 to 25-year-olds, £450 million will be invested by national governing bodies of sport. Their whole sport plans are required to deliver an increase in participation as part of a new ‘payment-by-results’ process.
Also in the strategy is a new £45 million improvement fund which will be targeted at medium-sized facilities development projects (such as artificial pitches and changing rooms). This will complement the existing ‘iconic’ and ‘inspired’ funds, which, as part of the £150 million Places, People, Play legacy programme, will ensure that the development of a wide range of community facilities continues across the country, providing young people with the necessary places to take part in competitive sport.
Universal Credit
Mr McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how the qualifying conditions for each passported benefit for which she is responsible will change under universal credit. [128494]
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Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not set any conditions by which people should qualify for passported benefits. However, the Department for Work and Pensions is leading in the Government's work to ensure that universal credit is introduced in a way that works smoothly with all passported benefits, while ensuring that these benefits continue to be available to the families that need them most.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Subsidies
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made on setting up producer organisations; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his £50 million fund for that purpose; and for what reason he decided to concentrate on producer organisations rather than co-operatives. [127944]
Mr Heath: We are moving through the clearance processes towards public consultation on the domestic implementation of the EU dairy package. We still intend to launch the consultation this year and implement as early as possible in spring 2013.
The £5 million (not £50 million) fund is not for the purpose of setting-up producer organisations, nor are co-operatives outside of its scope. This fund will be open to applications from any farmer or group(s) of farmers to develop co-operation activities where the central objective is to enable dairy farmers to explore and develop new market opportunities and improve competitiveness, and may be used to support capital infrastructure projects if applicable. DEFRA has worked with the dairy industry in developing the objectives for this fund.
Air Pollution
Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many air quality management areas there are. [128681]
Richard Benyon: 255 local authorities have declared air quality management areas (AQMAs) across the UK. There are 600 AGMAs in total.
Animals: Exports
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the remit of the review on live exports is. [128293]
Mr Heath: I assume the question refers to the review, which I requested, of events on 12 September at Ramsgate. It included an examination of the following:
the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency's (AHVLA) handling of this incident;
the AHVLA's procedures for managing inspections at Ramsgate port and how they should work alongside other bodies and organisations present at the port during inspection activity;
the contingency arrangements for premises and the availability of vehicles, both those required of the industry and any that the AHVLA may need as the regulator;
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clearly identifying and reiterating the responsibilities of the exporter and transporter for ensuring that their own contingency plans are realistic and can be relied upon in an emergency;
the procedures for the issuing of journey logs and the measures needed to ensure that any changes to the details of the approved journey log are communicated to the AHVLA before any sailing;
the arrangements for welfare checks prior to loading; and
how the AHVLA identifies high risk operators and communicates intelligence throughout the regulatory and enforcement chain.
In addition, I asked the AHVLA to look at options for introducing a maximum period of time in which a transporter can take action to introduce his own contingency arrangements before the AHVLA introduces its own plans. The AHVLA will also produce a new regulatory statement, so that all transporters and organisations with a presence at any GB port handling live exports for slaughter, will know what to expect in the event of such emergency situations arising again in the future.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions there have been for animal welfare exploitation within the live export trade in each of the last five years. [128297]
Mr Heath: A company called Agneaux Bv Onderwater pleaded guilty at Folkestone magistrates court on 5 July 2010 to six offences of not clearly or visibly displaying any mark on its vehicles indicating the presence of live animals in contravention of article 6(c) of The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 and article 6.3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005. The prosecution was brought by the Trading Standards Department of Kent county council. (Fuller details can be found in Hansard on 1 December 2011, Official Report, column 73WS.)
Because it is a tightly regulated trade, there have been no other prosecutions for animal welfare offences in relation to those involved in the export trade of animals for slaughter or production since live exports commenced from Dover in late 2010. There have been criminal investigations conducted by the Trading Standards Department of Kent county council which did not result in a prosecution. Additionally, there have been a number of technical infringements of the legislation referred to above, all of which have involved transporters authorised in other member states. Under the EU legislation, DEFRA is required to notify such infringements to the relevant competent authority in the country granting the authorisation. It is the responsibility of the competent authority in that country to take proportionate enforcement action against the transporter.
Ash Dieback Disease
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the COBRA meeting of 2 November 2012 on Chalara fraxinea, what steps he is taking to limit the spread of the disease; what practical advice his Department has given to landowners; and what his policy is on the payment of compensation to growers and others affected by Chalara fraxinea. [127716]
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Mr Heath: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recently introduced a ban on ash imports and movements from infected areas in response to the outcome of a rapid consultation on a pest risk assessment on this issue and the results of surveillance to date. Plant health authorities stepped up the response and re-deployed additional inspection capability with over 500 people per day carrying out a rapid survey during the first week of November to give a picture of where “Chalara” is present across GB. They are also continuing to inspect material traced forward from the infected nurseries and to monitor ash trees in the wider environment in the vicinity of infected sites.
On 7 November the Government brought together scientists, campaigners, charitable groups and woodland agencies to discuss what action should be taken to address the disease. The Secretary of State set out an immediate plan of action that was agreed on Friday 9 November at the COBR meeting. Over the coming weeks the Government will work with scientific experts and other interested groups to further develop and implement the measures in the plan, and to set a longer term approach to tackling “Chalara”.
Newly-planted diseased trees and diseased trees in nurseries will be traced and destroyed, as once young trees are infected they succumb quickly.
Mature trees will not currently be removed, as they are valuable to wildlife, take longer to die and can help us learn more about genetic strains that might be resistant to the disease. Infection does not occur directly from tree to tree.
Better understanding of the disease will be built through research and surveys, which will look not only for diseased trees but for those that show signs of genetic resistance to “Chalara”, to help identify genetic strains resistant to the disease.
The search for the disease will include trees in towns and cities as well as the countryside, building partnerships with a range of organisations beyond Government.
Foresters, land managers, environment groups and the general public will be informed about how to identify diseased trees and those likely to be resistant to the disease, and know what to do if they find a diseased tree.
Advice to landowners and anyone with ash trees is set out on the Forestry Commission website, which is regularly updated and includes a question and answer section, a symptoms video, pictorial guide and a “Chalara” helpline number and e-mail address.
With regard to compensation, at a time when our trees face increasing threat from a range of harmful diseases and when we are seeking to maintain tight controls on spending and reduce the deficit, it is our view that resources are best spent on surveillance and other preventative disease management activities to limit the potential damage from ash dieback and other diseases.
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department wrote to local authorities to warn them of ash dieback disease. [128032]
Mr Heath
[holding answer 13 November 2012]: A pest alert on the situation regarding ‘Chalara fraxinea’ was posted on the Forestry Commission website on 16 May. Senior officials from the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Local
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Government Association have been regularly updated on progress in managing the disease and attended meetings of COBR on 2 and 9 November.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date his Department first notified the Scottish Government about the discovery of Chalara fraxinea. [128268]
Mr Heath: The devolved Administrations were informed by the Forestry Commission and the Food and Environment Research Agency about the first UK finding of Chalara fraxinea disease at a meeting on 22 March 2012.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in which locations cases of ash dieback have been discovered. [128519]
Mr Heath: The Forestry Commission website is being regularly updated with the latest information on the spread of the disease. A map (Map 2b) detailing “Chalara fraxinea” confirmed infection sites can be viewed at:
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara
Beaches: Saltburn
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Environment Agency has made of the reasons why Saltburn failed to reach the mandatory minimum standard for quality of bathing water. [127990]
Richard Benyon: Saltburn has met European bathing water requirements for eight of the last 10 years. The Environment Agency has assessed that Saltburn failed to meet the requirements in 2012 due to the exceptionally wet weather, with this summer being the wettest recorded for over 100 years. The high rainfall has increased run-off from land spread with farm waste and has increased storm sewage overflows. This has raised bacteria levels in the bathing water, thus causing the failure to reach the mandatory minimum standards. The situation is not unique to Saltburn, as the exceptional weather has affected many other bathing waters around the UK this year.
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions (a) he, (b) his Ministerial colleagues, (c) his Department and (d) the Environment Agency have had with (i) Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and (ii) Northumbrian Water on the quality of bathing water at Saltburn. [127991]
Richard Benyon: Neither the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, nor myself as the Minister responsible for this policy area, or officials at DEFRA have had any discussions recently regarding bathing water quality at Saltburn.
In 2011, the Environment Agency established a working group with Northumbrian Water Ltd and Redcar and Cleveland borough council to address bathing water quality at Saltburn. The group meets regularly to share knowledge of the catchment, so helping to identify and reduce pollution from the sewerage system, agricultural run off and other sources. Northumbrian Water Ltd is
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carrying out a study into the impact of its sewerage systems, and a report is expected early in 2013 to inform any solutions required. The Environment Agency has an ongoing agricultural campaign in the catchment to promote best farming practices and to reduce pollution from agricultural run-off.
Northumbrian Water carried out major improvements to the sewerage system in the 1990s, as this was the main source of pollution at that time. The sources of the current pollution are generally smaller and often discharge intermittently which makes them difficult to trace. In normal weather conditions these sources are unlikely to cause bathing water problems. The Environment Agency believes the investigations and actions currently being undertaken will give the best possible chance of meeting bathing water directive requirements at Saltburn well into the future.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the costs incurred by (a) farmers and (b) his Department in preparation for this year's previously planned cull of badgers. [126946]
Mr Heath: A note on Bovine Tuberculosis and Badger Control, outlining, the cost to Government to date of the preparations for the two planned badger control pilots, will be deposited shortly in the Libraries of both Houses. DEFRA does not hold estimates of the costs incurred by farmers.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of farms in potential badger cull licence areas are inspected by Natural England to ensure that they are operating biosecurity arrangements to the level required by the licence conditions; and what level his Department considers to be adequate. [128316]
Mr Heath: Natural England has visited 10% of farms in each pilot area. The guidance to Natural England states that applicants for culling licences must meet the criterion:
Reasonable bio-security measures are being, and for the duration of any licence will continue to be, implemented by participating farmers on their land. For this purpose "reasonable measures" means measures that in the particular circumstances are practicable, proportionate and appropriate.
There are common sense, precautionary measures that can be taken to help protect herds from possible TB infection from both badgers and cattle. These include:
keeping badgers away from stored cattle feed;
making the farmyard less attractive to badgers;
being aware of main badger latrines and active setts at pasture;
keeping cattle away from neighbouring cattle herds; and
protecting the herd.
More detailed information on bio-security advice is available on DEFRA's website at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/a-z/bovine-tb/animal-keepers/biosecurity/
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Catering
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on refreshments since May 2010. [127103]
Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA spent £90,937 on refreshments in the period May 2010 to October 2012.
Cider
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have had with West Country cider makers on the potential effect of minimum alcohol pricing on their industry; [126678]
(2) what discussions (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have had with West Country cider makers about the potential effect of minimum alcohol pricing on farm-gate sales of real cider; [126679]
(3) what discussions (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department had with cider makers about the possibility of (i) exemptions and (ii) concessions for cider makers from any minimum alcohol price regime. [126680]
Richard Benyon: Neither the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), nor any other of my colleagues has held discussions on the issues you mention. The Government will be consulting shortly on its Alcohol Strategy, which encompasses minimum unit pricing. Stakeholders will then have the opportunity to express their views.
DEFRA officials are investigating what impact minimum unit pricing will have on cider producers, along with all other sectors of the alcoholic drinks industry.
Common Land
George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many town and village green applications were made in the last year; what proportion were successful; what the average length of time taken was to process an application; and if he will make a statement. [128421]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA is responsible for collecting this information and does so on a biennial basis. The last survey was conducted in September 2011 so no data are held on activity between November 2011 and 2012. However the data from years 2009, 2010 and 2011 (until September) are provided in the following table. The figures are estimates based on the actual figures provided by local authorities (23% return rate), which were extrapolated.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
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Floods: Insurance
Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his Oral Answer of 25 October 2012, Official Report, columns 1056-7, on flood insurance, what further progress he has made on flood insurance negotiations with the insurance industry. [128084]
Richard Benyon: As the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), said in his oral answer of 25 October 2012, Official Report, columns 1056-7, the availability and affordability of insurance in flood risk areas is an important issue for this Government.
We remain committed to agreeing a new approach with the insurance industry and others about what will follow when the Statement of Principles agreement expires in June next year. Ministers are continuing to have constructive discussions with the Association of British Insurers as well as other interested parties. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of such meetings. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full time equivalent officials of his Department worked on flood insurance in each year from 2007 to date. [128577]
Richard Benyon: There are currently 28 full-time equivalent officials in the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Team in core DEFRA. The team includes policy responsibility for flood insurance as well as other issues such as oversight of the floods investment programme, emergency preparedness and response, and implementing the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
The number of officials working on flood insurance varies over time as we continually keep staffing on policy areas under review to ensure adequate resourcing in line with ministerial priorities. We do not hold records of the number of officials working on this issue for past years.
Gangmasters Licensing Authority
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what budget headings reductions on expenditure have been made by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority since 2010. [128289]
Mr Heath: The following table provides a breakdown into Admin and Programme headings:
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| £ million | |||
| Grant in aid (Admin) | Enforcement (Programme) | Total | |
Himalayan Balsam
Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to combat the spread of Himalayan balsam. [128233]
Richard Benyon: Himalayan balsam is listed on schedule 9 and subject to section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to plant, or cause this species to grow, in the wild.
Through water framework directive funding, the Government is assisting with the setting up of local action groups throughout England to manage Himalayan balsam and other invasive species on the ground at a local level.
We are also supporting research into finding a highly specific natural biological control agent to help control Himalayan balsam. Early findings are encouraging and, if successful, an agent would check the plant's spread and vigour, and render it easier to manage, although it would not eradicate Himalayan balsam.
Livestock: Exports
Mr Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider implementing a ban on live animal exports. [128541]
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to end the export of live animals from the UK. [128547]
Mr Heath: While the Government would prefer a trade in meat and germ plasm to a trade in live animals, it cannot ban a legal trade. This has been demonstrated in the courts (both here and in Brussels) on a number of occasions during the 1990s. A key High Court judgment was that of Lord Justice Simon Brown in the 1995 joined cases of R v. Dover Harbour Board (ex parte Gilder), R v. Associated British Ports ex parte Plymouth City Council and the European Court of Justice case C - 1/96 R v. MAFF ex parte CIWF.
Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures he is considering implementing to improve the welfare standards of animals exported live from the UK. [128620]
Mr Heath:
The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), which is responsible for implementation of the EU rules on the protection of animals during transport (Council Regulation (EC)
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1/2005), has taken a number of recent measures, including an increase in the inspection of animals and vehicles at the point of loading.
The checks at the point of loading, undertaken by AHVLA inspectors, include consignment details, transporter/driver details, journey details and a separate checklist of 33 questions on the suitability of the vehicle and the welfare of the animals being transported. Any non-compliance is recorded and the necessary action taken by AHVLA inspectors.
Livestock: Transport
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to prevent the unnecessary suffering of livestock during transport. [128959]
Mr Heath: Rules on the welfare of animals during transport are set out in EU legislation (Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005). Under this legislation no person shall transport or cause animals to be transported in a way likely to cause injury or undue suffering to them. In Great Britain, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency is responsible for implementing this legislation. They will refer any serious infringement of the EU legislation to the relevant local authority for investigation with a view to prosecution.
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to encourage the slaughter of animals on site in order to prevent the unnecessary suffering of livestock transported live across the UK. [129082]
Mr Heath: The Government would prefer animals to be slaughtered as close as practicable to their point of production; a trade in meat and meat products is preferable to the long distance transport of animals to slaughter. Any trade in the live export of animals must meet the relevant legal requirements in terms of their welfare during transport (Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005). Any breaches of this legislation will be followed up by the Animal Health Veterinary Laboratory Agency (AHVLA). This may result in them taking their own regulatory action against the transporter or, in the case of transporters authorised in another member state, notification of the breach to the relevant competent authority for follow-up action. In serious cases, whether the transporter is authorised here or abroad, AHVLA will notify the local authority so that they can investigate the incident with a view to prosecution.
Marine Conservation Zones
Mr Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to put in place interim measures to prevent any potential damage to conservation features in the proposed marine conservation zones before those zones are designated. [127897]
Richard Benyon:
The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 sets out the provisions and responsibilities in relation to the protection of marine conservation zones (MCZs). Section 125 of the Act places a duty on public authorities to exercise their functions in a manner that
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best furthers (or least hinders) the conservation objective of MCZs. Under section 132 of the Act, the Marine Management Organisation has powers to introduce interim byelaws for the purposes of protecting any feature where there are or may be reasons for the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), to consider whether to designate the area as an MCZ, and there is an urgent need to protect the feature.
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that the forthcoming designation of the marine conservation zone network in English waters is compliant with international requirements to deliver an ecologically coherent network. [128164]
Richard Benyon: The Government will begin a consultation on the designation of marine conservation zones (MCZs) shortly. MCZs, along with other conservation sites will contribute to the network of protected areas in the UK marine area required by the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. In forming this network the Government and devolved Administrations are working together to ensure that the UK meets its international commitments regarding an ecologically coherent network.
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with wildfowling agents on how they will continue their sporting activities in proposals for the marine conservation zones. [128507]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA will shortly be launching a three month public consultation on marine conservation zones. This will be the opportunity for the public to review, comment and feedback to Government on the proposed designation decisions before they are finalised. DEFRA officials have discussed the issues with the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and we expect to engage with key stakeholder groups, including wildfowlers, during the consultation.
Nappies: Waste Disposal
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to include (a) measures to reduce disposable nappy waste going to landfill and (b) opportunities to reduce waste through reusable nappies in the forthcoming Waste Prevention Programme; when he plans to publish the Waste Prevention Programme; and if he will make a statement. [128480]
Richard Benyon: The Government do not take a specific policy position on nappy waste. However, landfill should be the last resort for biodegradable waste and the landfill tax remains the key driver to divert waste from landfill.
The UK also has EU landfill directive targets to meet to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste that goes to landfill. We met the 2010 target and are on course to meet the 2013 one.
There are interventions under way to divert disposable nappies from landfill; for example, last year the first nappy recycling facility opened in the west midlands.
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Early next year we will launch a ‘Call for Evidence’ to inform the Waste Prevention Programme for England and we will publish the programme by the end of that year. In developing it, we will consider which product categories and waste streams represent key areas for action for reducing waste generation.
National Wildlife Crime Unit
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has for the future of the National Wildlife Crime Unit after March 2013. [127794]
Richard Benyon: The Government take the matter of wildlife crime very seriously and very much appreciate the contribution the work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) has made in tackling wildlife crime. Decisions on NWCU funding beyond 2012-13 will be taken as soon as possible.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the future of the National Wildlife Crime Unit after 2012, with specific reference to tackling cross-border crimes. [128266]
Richard Benyon: The Government takes the matter of wildlife crime very seriously and works closely with the Scottish Government on these matters. Both Governments appreciate the contribution made by the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) including in supporting action to tackle cross-border crimes. Decisions on the NWCU beyond March 2013 will be taken as soon as possible by all the parties concerned.
Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department regarding the future of the National Wildlife Crime Unit. [128621]
Richard Benyon: The Government take the matter of wildlife crime very seriously and appreciate the contribution made by the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) in tackling these crimes. We are working closely with the Home Office and all the parties concerned and decisions on the NWCU beyond March 2013 will be taken as soon as possible.
Nature Conservation
Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much (a) Natural England, (b) the Marine Management Organisation and (c) the Joint Nature Conservation Committee has spent in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and what each is forecast to spend in (A) 2012-13, (B) 2013-14 and (C) 2014-15. [126757]
Richard Benyon: The information requested is as follows.
Natural England's expenditure is funded largely by GIA provided through DEFRA. In addition to expenditure spent through GIA, Natural England are the main
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delivery body for the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). The costs associated with delivering the RDPE are included within our expenditure but the funding provided to agreement holders is accounted for by DEFRA.
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The following table includes Natural England's GIA expenditure and the value of the RDPE delivered to agreement holders.
| £ million | |||||
| Actual | Budget | Projected | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
| Notes: 1. DEFRA confirms Capital Expenditure on an annual basis and the 2013-14 and 2014-15 budgets have not yet been agreed. 2. The 2010-11 and 2011-12 figures are taken from Natural England's Annual Report and Accounts. 3. The 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 projections are taken from Natural England's Corporate Plan 2012-15, with the addition of Capital Expenditure for 2012-13 which is taken from current allocations. DEFRA confirms Capital Expenditure on an annual basis and the 2013-14 and 2014-15 budgets have not yet been agreed. 4. RDPE figures for 2012-13 and beyond are based on current understanding of likely transitional arrangements for the ending of the programme. | |||||
Marine Management Organisation
The following table sets out Marine Management Organisation spend in 2010-11 and 2011-12 and forecast spend in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15.
| £ million | |||||
| Actual | Budget | Projected | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
| Notes: 1. The 2010-11 and 2011-12 figures are taken from the MMO's Annual Report and Accounts. 2. The 2012-13 figures are taken from operational forecasts as at the end of September 2012. 3. The 2013-14 and 2014-15 figures are taken from the MMO's Corporate Plan 2012-15. | |||||
The expenditure for the Joint Nature Conservation Committee is given in the following table:
| £000 | |||||
| Actual | Budget | Projected | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
| Notes: 1. Grant in aid includes funds provided by DEFRA and the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 2. Expenditure in 2010-11 and 2011-12 is taken from JNCC's annual report and accounts. 3. Projected expenditure for 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 is taken from the JNCC Business Plan 2012-13 and Forward Look 2013-15 4. Grant in aid figures for 2013-14 and 2014-15 include provision for funds (amounts not yet agreed) that will be provided directly to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) by DEFRA rather than being received as grant in aid by JNCC. | |||||
Plants: Disease Control
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he has considered introducing quarantine measures for soil samples to prevent plant pathogen diseases. [128367]
Richard Benyon [holding answer 13 November 2012]:The import of soil from most countries outside Europe is banned under the EU Plant Health Directive (2000/29/EC), with the exception of some countries in the Mediterranean basin. Commission Directive 2008/61/EC provides the possibility for material to be imported under licence for trial or scientific purposes. The UK is working with other member states to address the risks presented by soil movements within the EU.