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Turkey
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What internal changes they consider Turkey must make before they will support that country's accession to the European Union. [HL4580]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The Government support Turkey's application to join the EU and welcomed the opening of accession negotiations on 3 October 2005. This was made possible by the progress which led the European Council to agree in December 2004 that,
Before accession, Turkey will be required to have met EU standards in the 35 chapters of the acquis, as well as the political criteria. Advancement in negotiations will be measured against Turkey's progress. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary raised the need for further reforms, including on the freedoms of religion and expression, when he visited Turkey in January.
Universities: Applications
Baroness Greenfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How the downward trend in university applications for 2006–07 breaks down by region; social class; age; ethnicity; and gender. [HL4321]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis): The latest available information released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) showing students who had applied by the mid-January deadline disaggregated by age, gender and socio-economic group is given in the tables. Comparable figures on ethnicity and region are not available centrally. It is still too early to judge the complete picture, as 25 per cent of applications are still to
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come in. The next UCAS press releases will cover applicants who have applied by the end of March (usually around 80 to 85 per cent. of final applicants) and by the end of June (around 90 to 95 per cent). The socio-economic figures (which show decreases of 6 per cent. for classifications 1 to 3 and 5.6 per cent. for classifications 4 to 7) do not fit with the overall decrease of 4.5 per cent. as there has been an increase of 1.2 per cent. in the number of applicants whose socio-economic background is not known. But the proportions of English applicants to UK institutions from the standardly-defined higher and lower socio-economic backgrounds were unchanged from 2005: 69 per cent. of applicants to UK institutions came from socio-economic classifications 1 to 3, and 31 per cent. from classifications 4 to 7.
Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
Waste Management
Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 2 March (WA 103–04), what steps they are taking to increase public awareness of the maximum penalty of £5,000 payable for the offence of burning plastic household waste, which changed as a result of the European Waste Directive. [HL4516]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Bach): The Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 have not yet been laid in Parliament.
It is important to note that it is already an offence to burn waste in some circumstances. Section 2 of the Clean Air Act 1993 prohibits emissions of dark smoke from the open burning of material on industrial and trade premises, subject to certain exceptions, and provides for a maximum fine of £20,000. Section 20 of the 1993 Act prohibits emissions of smoke from chimneys of properties in smoke control areas and provides for a maximum fine of £1,000 on summary conviction. If the area is not a smoke control area, it could be a statutory nuisance offence under Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The change to Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act will make it an offence to treat, keep or dispose of household waste within the curtilage of a dwelling in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
Local authorities have powers to taken action against offenders but it will be for local authorities to decide how this power is used, in line with local enforcement policies.
In addition to the previous public consultation and national press releases, when the change is made, Defra will encourage the Local Government Association to send out an alert to its local authority members announcing the legislative changes.
Lord Willoughby de Broke asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 2 March (WA 103) concerning the disposal of household plastic waste, which authority will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing the Waste Management Licensing (England and Wales) Regulations 2006; and [HL4523]
Whether the Waste Management Licensing (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 implements a European Union Directive; and, if so, which directive. [HL4524]
Lord Bach: The Environment Agency is the competent authority for the waste management licensing regime. However, waste collection authorities have powers to take action against illegal waste disposal or "fly-tipping". Under the voluntary fly-tipping protocol agreement, local authorities focus on the smaller incidents of illegal waste disposal whereas the Environment Agency deals with larger, more serious incidents.
The Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 will implement some provisions of the Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC as amended by 91/156/EEC).
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