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11 July 2007 : Column WA215
11 July 2007 : Column WA215
11 July 2007 : Column WA215
Wednesday 11 July 2007
Agriculture: Set-aside Payments
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
What response they will make to recent requests from representatives of United Kingdom farmers for European Union suspension of set-aside payments next year to overcome cereals and wheat supply deficiencies. [HL4701]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Government have signalled to our European Union partners that constraints on production such as set-aside should be eliminated as part of the CAP reform “health check”, the results of which would come into force, at the earliest, in 2009. It is important that any implications for the environment and the Rural Payments Agency's administration of the single payment scheme, to which set-aside is directly linked, are fully considered as part of the health-check discussions.
Farming organisations have argued that the set-aside rate should be set at 0 per cent for 2008, and the Commission are considering this. With the main UK harvest yet to get under way, the Government are still assessing the situation before taking a view on whether such a temporary change, in advance of a more fundamental review in the health check, would be appropriate.
Air Quality
Lord Beaumont of Whitley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which local authorities have not yet submitted an action plan to improve air quality; and what action is being taken in each case to protect the health of citizens in those areas. [HL4560]
11 July 2007 : Column WA216
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Local authorities have statutory duties for local air quality management (LAQM) under the Environment Act 1995. They are required to carry out regular reviews and assessments of air quality in their area against standards and objectives in the national air quality strategy and which have been prescribed in regulations for the purpose of LAQM. Where it is found these are unlikely to be met, authorities must designate air quality management areas (AQMAs) and prepare and implement remedial action plans to tackle the problem. Under LAQM, local authorities that have air quality management areas must produce an action plan between 12 to 18 months following designation of their AQMAs, as set out in policy guidance LAQM.PG(03). Authorities have been required to take account of the guidance in carrying out their duties since February 2003.
Defra also encourages authorities whose draft action plan primarily relates to local road transport to integrate them into their local transport plans (LTP). A number of local authorities have taken this opportunity and have integrated their action plan in their LTP.
Most local authorities have met the deadlines and have submitted their action plan to Defra. To date, Defra has received 134 action plans from local authorities. However, 24 authorities have yet to produce an action plan.
Where local authorities are late in providing plans, Defra engages with them to seek to understand the reasons for such delays. Defra has established contact with the majority of the authorities that are late in providing action plans. The table below sets out their progress to date. In some cases, Defra has agreed extensions to the original deadlines.
LAQM is an ongoing system and local authorities are continually endeavouring to protect the health of citizens in their areas through improving air quality. At the same time, the Government are committed to delivering cleaner air to protect peoples' health and the environment.
| LOCAL AUTHORITY | DATE OF AQMA DECLARATION | DATE WHEN DRAFT AQAP WAS DUE | COMMENTS/LA’S PROGRESS ON ACTION PLAN |
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Lancaster is currently developing its action plan. The plan is due to be approved by its Cabinet soon. The aim is to have an action plan in place by September 2007. | |||
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Preston has submitted a further assessment report to Defra which verifies and confirms the extent of its AQMAs. Preston is working with Lancashire County Council to have an action plan in place by March 2008. | |||
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Blackpool produced a further assessment report, submitted to Defra on 21 June. Since the collection of data for the further assessment, additional measures have been introduced to Blackpool town centre to address air-quality problems. The Blackpool local transport plan proposes a number of actions which create issues and opportunities in relation to transport demand. The transport impact of each proposal is not yet known, but potentially considerable, and will be fully evaluated through transport assessments and development briefs. Many of the proposed actions are intended for locations near the Promenade area, in the vicinity of the existing AQMA. The further assessment report should provide key information and technical justification to develop an action plan for Blackpool’s AQMA that can be fully integrated with the actions planned within the local transport plan. | |||
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Brentwood is working on its action plan. The authority has met the county council and the HA to discuss the traffic-related issues in the AQMAs and to ensure that the plan considers measures that will impact on air quality. The aim is to have a draft plan in place by the end of this year. | |||
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Work on Bridgnorth's action plan is almost completed. The action plan is due to be reviewed by the authority's consultant. The authority is working to complete the draft plan by the end of July and will be seeking Defra for comments on the plan. | |||
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Calderdale is finalising its draft action plan. The authority will be consulting on the draft plan within a fortnight and will seek comments from Defra as part of the process. | |||
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Ellesmere is working on the draft action plan. The draft plan will go before the authority's committee on 12 July. Shortly after this date, Ellesmere will send to Defra for comments as part of the consultation process. | |||
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Elmbridge submitted a further assessment report to Defra in June 2006. The report verified and confirmed the extent of Elmbridge's AQMA. The authority will be incorporating the result of the further assessment report in its action plan. | |||
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Gloucester has produced a draft of the action plan. The draft plan will be placed on Gloucester's website within the week. The authority is planning to consult on the draft plan in the middle of July and will be seeking Defra's comments as part of the process. The plan is to publish a finalised action plan shortly after. | |||
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Lewes is working on a draft plan. The draft plan will go before the authority's Cabinet on 11 September, after which it will be submitted to Defra. | |||
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Mid Bedfordshire is working to produce a draft action plan by the end of July 2007. | |||
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New Forest declared an AQMA in respect of NO2 in June 2005 and SO2 in December 2005. The authority has produced a draft plan covering the SO2 AQMA. As one of the consultees, Defra is looking at the draft plan and will provide comments on the plan shortly. The authority is working to produce an action plan covering the SO2 AQMA by early autumn. | |||
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Portsmouth is working on a draft action plan. The draft plan is going before the LA's executive on 9 July. Shortly after this date, it will be issued for consultation (Portsmouth will send to Defra for comments as part of the consultation process). The document will be made available on the www.portair.co.uk website. The LA will finalise the action plan by the end of October. The pre-executive version is available at: http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/yourcouncil/10430.html. | |||
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Southampton is currently drafting its action plan, waiting to take it through its Cabinet so it can be signed off. It hopes to send Defra a draft plan as part of a consultation in August. The authority intends to get the plan adopted by its council around October 2007. | |||
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The LA has produced a further assessment which has been assessed by Defra. The report includes an assessment of the contributions of the various sources to the exceedences and the magnitude of reduction required within the AQMA. Teignbridge is now working on a draft action plan. The authority has produced an early draft of the plan. Teignbridge has contacted Defra and an agreement has been reached that the authority will send a completed draft plan to Defra by the end of October 2007. | |||
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A further assessment report will be commissioned in the next few months to consider air quality within the AQMA. The council has recently obtained quotations for various transportation study projects, which it believes will be vital when conducting the further assessment and action planning processes. Tunbridge Wells is working closely with colleagues from highways and transportation at Kent County Council to co-ordinate and joint-fund projects. | |||
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Warwick is an excellent authority. Under the comprehensive performance assessment (CPA), excellent authorities may choose not to produce an action plan. However, Warwick has chosen to produce an action plan. The authority is working on a draft plan. In addition Warwick has included a brief description of measures to work towards air quality in Warwickshire's local transport plan. | |||
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Waverley Borough Council carried out an initial consultation in early 2006, inviting the public to comment on which measures they felt were appropriate to help tackle the air quality exceedences identified in the three air quality management areas of Hindhead, Farnham and Godalming. Many of the responses focussed on the need for a bypass at Hindhead, which is now being taken forward by the Highways Agency. Other measures included reducing traffic levels, in particular of goods vehicles in the central Farnham AQMA. All the measures raised by the public and additional ones developed within the House are being considered by Waverley's local strategic partnership this month. The goal is to produce a robust draft action plan in the autumn for consultation by Defra, the public and other stakeholders. | |||
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Kerrier is compiling a draft plan. The report is almost completed. Kerrier will send final version of the draft plan to Defra for comments by 20 July 2007. |
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