Cultural Heritage
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the English Heritage open day scheme. [161640]
Mr Vaizey:
Last year, 4,648 properties and activities attracted 2 million visitors, 1,422 organisations and 51,214 local organisers. 518,652 volunteer hours were devoted to the event. 99% of visitors enjoyed their experience, 93% felt inspired to visit other heritage sites,
26 Jun 2013 : Column 308W
63% experienced increased pride of their local area and heritage, and 51% wanted to find out more about their local area. Overall, 84% of sites reported more visitors than on normal days.
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many open days there are annually in the English Heritage open day scheme. [161641]
Mr Vaizey: Heritage Open Days runs over four days. This year's Heritage Open Days will take place from 12 to 15 September. They cover the whole of England, excepting London where London Open House operates independently. Not all properties and activities participate on all four of the days.
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what information her Department holds on the cost to English Heritage of running Heritage open days in 2013. [161653]
Mr Vaizey [holding answer 25 June 2013]: English Heritage's financial support for the Heritage Open Days National Partnership is £280,000 in the current financial year, as part of a four-year funding agreement that runs until March 2015.
Digital Broadcasting: North West
Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what steps she has taken to improve the digital television signal for residents of (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Rossendale and Darwen constituency; [161078]
(2) what proportion of households in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Rossendale and Darwen constituency do not have any digital television coverage; [161079]
(3) what proportion of households in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Rossendale and Darwen constituency received full digital television coverage; [161081]
(4) what proportion of households in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Rossendale and Darwen constituency received limited digital television coverage. [161082]
Mr Vaizey: Ofcom estimates that 98.5% of UK households have access to 17 public service broadcasting digital terrestrial (DTT) channels and just under 90% of UK households are also able to receive these and additional channels. Around 1.5% of UK households cannot easily receive digital terrestrial television, with less than 0.5% not able to receive DTT services at all. However, DTT, cable and satellite digital television services together cover practically 100% of UK households, so that in all but the most exceptional of cases, everyone should be able to get digital television by one means or another. There are no plans to require broadcasters to improve coverage above the levels agreed for Digital Switchover in 2006.
The current DTT coverage figures for the north-west region (the Granada area), Lancashire and the Rosendale and Darwen constituency are set out in the table.
26 Jun 2013 : Column 309W
| Percentage | |||
| DTT services | |||
| Households | Three PSB multiplexes | All six national multiplexes (including three PSB multiplexes) | No DTT services |
Ofcom estimates that 99.9% of households in the Rossendale and Darwen are able to receive the public service broadcasting DTT channels and 72.3% are able to receive all DTT channels. Commercial DTT channels in the constituency area are broadcast only from larger transmitters such as the main Winter Hill transmitter near Bolton. Households in many parts of the constituency are therefore unable to receive signals from the Winter Hill transmitter due to the local terrain. In those areas, viewers receive signals from smaller relay transmitters that transmit only the public service broadcasting channels. In the constituency, 0.1% of households cannot receive any DTT coverage.
Social Enterprises
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of her Department's suppliers are social enterprises. [161323]
Hugh Robertson: The Department does not currently record this information and the current system is set up in such a way that the information requested could only be compiled whilst incurring disproportionate costs.
World War I: Anniversaries
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to recognise the contribution of the Army Service Corps during the centenary commemorations of the Great War; and if she will make a statement. [161148]
Hugh Robertson: The national first world war centenary commemoration will offer a diverse and inclusive programme of activities and opportunities, in which everyone can participate and commemorate aspects of the war of particular interest or significance to them.
The national first world war centenary commemoration will offer a diverse and inclusive programme of activities such as six key events of national significance in which the military will play an appropriate part. The national programme offers the flexibility for others to organise their own event or events, and to be a part of this act of national remembrance.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she plans to answer question 158022, tabled on 31 May 2013 for answer on 4 June 2013. [161739]
26 Jun 2013 : Column 310W
Hugh Robertson: The response to PQ 158022 was published on 24 June 2013, Official Report, column 116W.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Finance
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, columns 782-4W, on agriculture: finance, what the reasons are for the increase in the level of funding to the Food and farming group business support between 2009-10 and 2011-12. [161474]
Mr Heath: In April 2011 a new executive agency was created which combined the old Animal Health Agency (AH) and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) into a single body, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). Upon the merger of these two executive agencies, an element of their sponsorship costs was reallocated to this programme line. There has been no increase to the other underlying programmes recorded against the food and farming group business support line.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what use his Department makes of social analytics and horizon scanning software to monitor public opinion on the badger cull; and if he will make a statement. [161555]
Mr Heath: DEFRA uses a commercially available web-based software programme which enables social media analysis of approximately 40 topics at a time, including bovine TB and the pilot badger culls. The analysis helps DEFRA identify emerging issues and trends.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding he has made available for the development of an oral TB vaccine for badgers in each of the last three years; and what funding he plans to make available for this purpose in each of the next two years. [161647]
Mr Heath: The following funding has been made available for the development of the oral TB vaccine in badgers:
| Financial year | £ |
The anticipated funding for this financial year and next financial year are as follows:
2013-14 financial year—approximately £2 million
2014-15 financial year—approximately £1.6 million
26 Jun 2013 : Column 311W
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the total cost including policing of the badger cull programme for each badger killed. [161648]
Mr Heath: The badger control policy is based on a cost-sharing approach with the farming industry. The industry will be responsible for the operational costs of delivering culling and DEFRA will bear the costs of licensing, monitoring and policing the policy. The costs to Government for a typical 350 km(2) area over a period of four years as set out in the impact assessment are:
£0.4 million for licensing;
£0.7 million for monitoring;
£2 million for policing;
£0.1 million in relation to an increase in TB incidents in the neighbouring area.
We would expect these costs to be offset by savings as a result of reduced TB incidence within the control areas and in neighbouring areas, extending for five years beyond the culling period. The Government currently bear the majority of the cost of TB incidents by paying for TB testing and compensation for slaughtered animals.
Conditions of Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [160768]
Richard Benyon: The number of staff retained on zero-hours contracts was as follows:
| Body | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
Dangerous Dogs
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many dog attacks have been reported to police in each of the last five years. [161279]
Mr Heath: These statistics are not held centrally and would be held by each police force. They could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to tackle dog on dog attacks. [161281]
Mr Heath:
On 9 February, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced a package of measures to tackle irresponsible ownership of dogs. Included in the package was the extension of the criminal offence of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control to all places; a requirement, from April 2016, for all dogs to be microchipped; and that the new
26 Jun 2013 : Column 312W
early intervention measures to deal with anti-social behaviour will apply to such instances where they involve a dog. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill is currently before Parliament and contains clauses that will extend the criminal offence to all places and the appropriate antisocial behaviour measures. The Bill will also make it an offence to allow a dog to attack an assistance dog. I therefore consider that the necessary measures for tackling all instances of irresponsible ownership of dogs, including where a dog attacks another dog, are being taken forward by this Government.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many reported dog attacks have led to a successful prosecution in each of the last five years. [161417]
Mr Heath: The numbers of prosecutions and convictions for the four offences under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for the last five years are set out in the following table:
26 Jun 2013 : Column 313W
Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff were suspended from his Department and its associated
26 Jun 2013 : Column 314W
public bodies on full pay in
(a)
2010-11,
(b)
2011-12 and
(c)
2012-13; and what costs were incurred as a result of such suspensions. [160413]
Richard Benyon: The information requested is as follows:
| Numbers of permanent staff suspended on full pay and the costs(1) associated with that suspension | ||||||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | ||||
| Organisation | Number | £ | Number | £ | Number | £ |
| (1) Costs associated with the suspension include salary, ERNIC (national insurance) and pension costs. (2) It would incur disproportionate cost to provide these data. (3) Abolished March 2013. (4 )It would incur disproportionate cost to provide this information. (5) Abolished March 2011. It would incur disproportionate cost to provide this data. | ||||||
Domestic Waste: Recycling
Dame Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities in England have stopped conducting doorstep recycling collections as stipulated under the Household Recycling Act 2003. [160790]
Richard Benyon: All waste collection authorities have made arrangements for source separated or co-mingled collection of waste from the doorstep or kerbside. In some local authority areas, a very small number of households may not receive a kerbside collection service due to cost, access or location issues, or because alternative arrangements have been made. Information on the small number of households which may not receive a doorstep or kerbside collection service is not held by DEFRA.
Flood Control
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department has made available for the development of new flood protection technologies in each of the last three years; which specific new technologies have been granted such funding; and which parts of the UK have benefited from that funding. [161318]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA does not provide direct grant in aid for the development of new flood protection technologies, as it would contravene competition legislation. Flood risk management authorities are in a much better position to decide which technologies will work best to manage flood risk in their area.
The Property Level Grant schemes operated by DEFRA and the Environment Agency between 2009 and 2012 stimulated the market for innovative products. Amongst the innovations to emerge during this period were flood- proof doors.
DEFRA aims to build public confidence in products and technologies through the development of testing and standards. In 2003 we sponsored the development of a British Standard (PAS1188), which provided independent verification of the effectiveness of property level flood management technology.
Government funding is channelled to specific areas as grant in aid through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, which can prioritise cost beneficial schemes on the basis of local need. The Lead Local Flood Authority or the Environment Agency can develop local schemes to access this funding.
Fly-tipping
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of fly-tipping; and if he will commission a review of steps to prevent it. [161423]
26 Jun 2013 : Column 315W
Richard Benyon: In 2011-12, local authorities in England reported over 744,000 fly-tipping incidents to the Environment Agency's Flycapture database. The estimated cost to local authorities of clearing fly-tipped waste from public land was £37.4 million.
Following our 2011 Review of Waste Policy in England, the Government have been taking action to tackle and prevent fly-tipping including:
cracking down on waste criminals by working with the Sentencing Council to ensure fines and sentences act as a real deterrent to offending.
supporting and working with the DEFRA-chaired National Fly-tipping Prevention Group. The Group has helped develop a draft Fly-tipping Partnership Framework outlining best practice for the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipping. The Framework is currently being finalised ahead of publication.
funding two pilot projects in Suffolk and Swindon during 2013-14 to test some of the best practice options outlined in the Framework.
Hunting Act 2004
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to bring forward proposals for a statutory instrument allowing more than two hounds to pursue a fox towards guns under the Hunting Act 2004. [161464]
Richard Benyon: The Government currently have no plans to amend the Hunting Act. The Government have said that they will bring forward a motion on whether the Hunting Act 2004 should be repealed. To date, no time scale has been set for this work.
Nature Conservation
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government plans to take to implement the commitment in the Prime Minister's recent G8 communiqué statement to tackle the illegal trafficking of protected or endangered wildlife species. [161503]
Richard Benyon: HRH the Prince of Wales and the Government co-hosted a meeting on 21 May with key Governments and other partners. This identified three key areas for action: law enforcement and criminal justice issues; reducing demand for ivory and rhino horn; and supporting the development of alternative livelihoods in affected communities.
The Government will host a high-level international meeting in late autumn to secure commitment from governments and the international community at the highest level to combat illegal wildlife trade. At the same time the Government are assessing the actions of all relevant departments and agencies to provide a co-ordinated cross-government approach to ensure the UK is playing a full part.
Public Expenditure
Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the equality impact of his Department's spending reductions since 2010; whether this assessment has been used to inform his planning ahead of the 2013 comprehensive spending review and with what result;
26 Jun 2013 : Column 316W
what plans he has to publish the equality impact assessments undertaken by his Department as a result of the upcoming comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement. [161178]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA considers equality issues in exercising its functions, including in setting priorities within its budget, in order to comply with equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect specific groups in society.
DEFRA provided HM Treasury with an equalities assessment of its main areas of expenditure both before and during the spending round process.
DEFRA's overall spending round submission was informed by its own equality assessments and by the SR equalities assessment commissioned by HMT.
The assessment of equalities feeds into both spending round decisions and future decisions by DEFRA. The outcome of the spending round is published today 26 June 2013.
Termination of Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions (a) a compromise agreement, (b) a confidentiality clause and (c) judicial mediation was used when an employee of (i) his Department and (ii) the public bodies for which he is responsible left their employment in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [160906]
Richard Benyon: The information is as follows:
| Number of occasions | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
26 Jun 2013 : Column 317W
26 Jun 2013 : Column 318W
| (1) Abolished March 2013. It would incur disproportionate cost to provide this data. (2) Abolished March 2011. It would incur disproportionate cost to provide this data. | |||
Training
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible enrolled in publicly-funded training courses in each of the last five years; what the total cost has been of such courses; and what the monetary value was of the 10 highest training course fees in each such year. [155428]
Richard Benyon: The information required to answer this question in full is not held in a way that would allow all aspects of it to be answered other than at disproportionate cost.
The following tables show the data that are available:
| Core DEFRA | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. (2 )These are figures for spend logged under training account codes. This expenditure could be for a variety of reasons from actual training courses to booking course venues. | |||||
26 Jun 2013 : Column 319W
26 Jun 2013 : Column 320W
| Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. | |||||
Commission for Rural Communities
The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost.
| Consumer Council for Water | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. (2) Figures include costs incurred as a result of attending training courses such as accommodation expenses. To disaggregate these from total spent on the actual courses could only be done at disproportionate cost. | |||||
| Environment Agency | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost (2 )These figures are the total annual spend on Learning and Development for the Environment Agency. This covers a wide range of types of development and includes associated costs such as booking course venues. To disaggregate these figures could only be done at disproportionate cost. | |||||
| Gangmasters Licensing Authority | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10- | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. (2) Figures include costs incurred as a result of attending training courses such as accommodation expenses. To disaggregate these from total spent on the actual courses could only be done at disproportionate cost. | |||||
| Joint Nature Conservation Committee | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. | |||||
26 Jun 2013 : Column 321W
26 Jun 2013 : Column 322W
| Marine Management Organisation | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. (2) This body was not operating during these years. (3) Figures include costs incurred as a result of attending training courses such as accommodation expenses. To disaggregate these from total spent on the actual courses could only be done at disproportionate cost. | |||||
| National Forest Company | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. | |||||
| Natural England | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. (2) Figures include costs incurred as a result of attending training courses such as accommodation expenses. To disaggregate these from total spent on the actual courses could only be done at disproportionate cost. | |||||
| Royal Botanic Gardens Kew | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1 )The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. (2) Figures include costs incurred as a result of attending training courses such as accommodation expenses. To disaggregate these from total spent on the actual courses could only be done at disproportionate cost. | |||||
| Seafish Industry Authority | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-1-0 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1) The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. | |||||
| Sustainable Development Commission | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1) The figures are either not held or held in a way that to provide an accurate answer would be at disproportionate cost. (2 )This body was not operating during this year. | |||||
26 Jun 2013 : Column 323W
Tyres: Waste Disposal
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate has been made of how many waste tyres are currently stockpiled across the UK; and what information his Department holds on the locations where these are held. [160664]
Richard Benyon: It is not possible to determine how many tyres are stockpiled in England.
There are 60 sites that have environmental permits that allow the treatment, including recycling, of waste tyres. This does not include transfer stations and civic amenity sites, where small numbers of tyres may be accepted for storage and then subsequent onward transport.
26 Jun 2013 : Column 324W
Tyres are also managed at an additional 4,450 sites that are registered with the Environment Agency as exempt from the need for an environmental permit. These sites are not required to submit records of the waste handled. Both permitted and exempt sites are subject to limits on the quantity of waste tyres stored and/or processed, but the Environment Agency does not have data on the total quantity of tyres stockpiled at these sites.
The Environment Agency is also aware of 47 sites that are handling waste tyres illegally without the relevant environmental permit or exemption. The Environment Agency is actively investigating these sites with a view to taking appropriate enforcement action.