There are no current plans for an OSCE Summit, while the next formal Ministerial Council is due to take place in Basel, Switzerland on 4-5 December 2014. However the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has been in regular contact with OSCE Chairman and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, most recently when they met in Vienna on 6 May, while the Minister for Europe, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), spoke by telephone to OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier on the same day.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they expect that an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Summit meeting will discuss Ukraine and crisis management there in the immediate future.[HL6958]
Baroness Warsi: The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been at the forefront of the international response to the crisis in Ukraine over recent months. The crisis has been a regular topic of discussion on the Organisation's agenda since the Permanent Council met to discuss it in special session on 3 March. Both the Permanent Council and the Forum for Security and Co-operation have discussed Ukraine on numerous occasions since then.
The OSCE has launched a number of initiatives to contribute towards de-escalation of the crisis. On 21 March the Permanent Council agreed to the deployment of a Special Monitoring Mission (SMM)
to Ukraine. That Mission, which includes a UK Deputy Chief Monitor and nine UK staff, swiftly deployed across the country with a mandate to gather information, report on the security situation and assess how best to meet the concerns of all parties. The Mission is providing regular reporting and recently played a key role in the negotiation of the safe release of the Vienna Document unarmed military inspectors who had been detained in Slavyansk. In Geneva on 17 April the US, the EU, Ukraine and the Russian Federation agreed that the Mission should have a role in verifying the implementation of agreed steps towards de-escalation. The Government fully supports this Mission's work and is actively backing it with both finance and personnel. The UK has so far contributed over £1 million and is currently the second biggest contributor to the Mission's core costs.
In addition to the SMM, the OSCE has been active in Ukraine through the work of its autonomous institutions, the High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Representative on Freedom of the Media, while there has been a rolling programme of visits by unarmed military inspectors under the Vienna Document 2011. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is sending a large scale mission of 1000 observers to monitor the Ukrainian Presidential Elections on 25 May. The UK will be providing 10% of the total number of observers with 10 Long Term Observers and 90 Short Term Observers.
There are no current plans for an OSCE Summit, while the next formal Ministerial Council is due to take place in Basel, Switzerland on 4-5 December 2014. However the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has been in regular contact with OSCE Chairman and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, most recently when they met in Vienna on 6 May, while the Minister for Europe, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), spoke by telephone to OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier on the same day.
Violence Against Women
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 9 April (WA 305), what engagement will take place between the Home Office and the devolved administration in Northern Ireland with a view to expanding such services to Northern Ireland. [HL6874]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach) (Con): The provision of domestic violence services is a devolved matter and the decision about the use of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers will be for the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Government will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to the Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan.
Waste Management: Fly-tipping
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the provision in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 on stop, search and seizure of vehicles suspected of involvement in fly-tipping has been commenced; and, if so, how many vehicles have been seized under that provision.[HL7002]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley) (Con): In 2014/15 we plan to commence the revised powers under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 in respect of the stop, search and seizure of vehicles. Local authorities and the Environment Agency have similar powers under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989. Local authorities have reported to Flycapture, the national flytipping database, that 1149 vehicles have been seized since April 2008.
Water Management
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is a requirement in the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive to treat surface rainwater runoff.[HL6960]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley) (Con): The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive requires the collection and treatment of urban waste water. The Directive defines urban waste water as ‘domestic waste water or the mixture of domestic waste water with industrial waste water and/or run-off rain water’. Therefore, the treatment of surface rainwater runoff is required where it is mixed with domestic or industrial waste water and collected in a collecting system.
Water Management: Sewage
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government for how many spills a year the Environment Agency has licensed the upgraded Mogden sewage works; and how many were achieved in the first year of operation.[HL6961]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley) (Con): Mogden Sewage Treatment Works has an Environmental Permit issued by the Environment Agency to discharge treated and storm effluent to the Thames Estuary at Isleworth. The discharge of storm effluent is permissible only when the capacity of onsite facilities for treatment and containment are exceeded. This includes a 77,000m³ storm tank.
The permit does not specify a number of spills per year. It requires the works to provide secondary treatment for a specific flow rate of incoming sewage.
The current version of the permit came into effect on 31 March 2013. During the subsequent 12 months, Thames Water reported 54 occasions when the works discharged storm sewage to the Thames. Thirty-four of these were during the wet weather in January and February.