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The data come from the National Waste Packaging database.

The Defra-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has been investigating the options for recycling plastics other than plastic bottles. In June, WRAP held a conference on these issues and discussed the outcomes from its research. These included technical and economic assessments of the various alternatives for recycling mixed plastics. All the information from this conference, along with background information on WRAP's mixed plastics programme, is available on its website.

WRAP also launched a capital competition in June, offering a £2,000,000 grant to help stimulate the development of waste management infrastructure for the recycling of mixed plastics, and to boost recycling capacity by at least 40,000 tonnes per year by 2011.

Regional Development Agencies: North West

Question

Asked by Lord Fearn

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): The Mersey Forest covers an area of 465 square miles, north and south of the Mersey. It covers the seven local authority areas of Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Warrington, St Helens, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton.

The government-approved forest plan sets out a 30-year programme of landscape improvement through community forestry. This year marks the halfway point toward the completion of the programme in 2024. To date more than 8 million new trees have been planted.



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Schools: Inspection

Question

Asked by Lord Lucas

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): Ofsted is the only organisation which inspects state schools. The other organisations currently approved to inspect independent schools in England are the Schools Inspection Service (SIS) and the Bridge Schools Inspectorate (BSI). SIS inspects 60 independent schools belonging either to the Focus Learning Trust or the Steiner Waldorf Schools' Fellowship and BSI inspects 57 schools belonging either to the Christian Schools Trust or the Association of Muslim Schools UK.

Schools: Music

Questions

Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): The value of learning music is well documented, most recently summarised in the resource pack for Tune In-Year of Music, a national campaign to celebrate and develop participation in music over the 2009-10 academic year and which was launched by the Secretary of State in September.

Schools are already doing superb work in developing the essential music-making skills of performing, composing and listening. Whichever instrument is chosen, including the voice, there is an expectation of increasing proficiency, and teachers assess progress in national curriculum music against eight level descriptions of increasing difficulty. Children and young people who choose to take their instrumental playing further may also take graded exams which form part of the National Qualifications Framework and count as UCAS points.

Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: Music is a national curriculum statutory subject to age 14. The teaching of particular instruments is not specified. Information about the requirements of national curriculum music can be found on the website of the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency.



4 Nov 2009 : Column WA70

Schools: Unregistered Institutions

Question

Asked by Lord Lucas

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): All organisations offering full-time education to five or more children, or one child with special educational needs, are either maintained or independent schools. Independent schools must be registered with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and a proprietor operating an unregistered school can be fined or imprisoned. No assessment of unregistered full-time provision has been undertaken as all full-time independent schools must be registered. In taking forward the provisions of the Education and Skills Act 2008, which require part-time providers of education falling within specified thresholds to register, DCSF surveyed a sample of local authorities to determine the number of providers that would in future need to register. The survey produced estimates of between 1,385 and 1,629 for the number of part-time providers of education likely to meet the criteria for registration when the provisions of the Act are commenced. No assessment has been made of the number of part-time education providers falling below the threshold for registration.

Shipping: Budgets

Questions

Asked by Lord Berkeley

The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): My department is currently engaged in continuing discussions with the General Lighthouse Authorities, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch as part of the normal process of reviewing budgets for the next financial year.

Shipping: MV "Canna"

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Maritime and Coastguard Agency did not discover that the passenger certificate of MV "Canna" showed an expiry date of 31 August 2008 until 3 October 2008, while completing its annual survey.

Shipping: Safety

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): Passenger ship safety certificates issued to domestic passenger ships are ordinarily valid for five years, with annual re-survey during the term of validity. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) records show that there are around 850 vessels with a passenger ship safety certificate issued in the past five years.

To collate the data as requested can be done only at disproportionate cost.

Somalia

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): The general criteria that we apply for recognition of an independent state remain as described in the Written Answer dated 16 November 1989 (Official Report, col. 494) by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. The UK has signed up to an EU common position, and to many UN Security Council resolutions, which refer to the territorial integrity and unity of Somalia. The Government do not propose to raise this issue in the EU.

Special Areas of Conservation

Questions

Asked by The Duke of Montrose



4 Nov 2009 : Column WA72

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): The designation of special areas of conservation (SACs) under the EU habitats directive is not a matter for Natural England, but is the responsibility of Ministers in the relevant country administrations. So far 609 terrestrial/coastal SACs have been designated. Of these, 73 are partly located in inshore waters.

Before sites are formally designated by the relevant Secretary of State they need to be approved by the European Commission. A further seven terrestrial/coastal sites (three of which are partly in inshore waters) and five marine sites in offshore UK waters have either been submitted to, or recently approved by, the European Commission and are likely to be formally designated by government in due course. Full details of the sites are available on the website of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

Asked by The Duke of Montrose

Lord Davies of Oldham: Special areas of conservation (SACs) are afforded protection under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended), the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (as amended) and the Offshore Marine Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 2007 (as amended). The controls contained in these regulations are strictly enforced. Most designated sites will also be subject to management schemes agreed between the relevant statutory nature conservation body and owners, occupiers and other bodies.

Waterways: Moorings

Question

Asked by Lord Berkeley

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): The proposed installation of new moorings at the mouth of the River Brent has been carefully evaluated by British Waterways, the Port of London Authority and the Inland Waterways Association. All three bodies support the scheme which they consider will enhance the waterspace in this area without adversely affecting safety or navigation.


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