| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
19 May 2003 : Column 526W—continued
Nuclear Waste
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 29 April 2003, Official Report, column 308W, on nuclear waste, what contingency plans are in place to deal with future arisings of low level wastes that cannot be accommodated at Drigg. [112456]
Mr. Meacher: The 2001 UK Radioactive Waste Inventory gives the time profile for generation of the 1,490,000m 3 of low level waste referred to in my answer of 29 April 2003, Official Report, column 308W. This shows arisings of that waste during the period to 2120 with the majority being produced after 2070. For this reason the currently estimated life of the existing Drigg disposal facility is of the order of 50 years. The capacity of the site and its forecast life will be reviewed by the
19 May 2003 : Column 527W
Environment Agency in light of safety cases provided by the site's operators, British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL). At some future point either extension of Drigg or the identification of another disposal site will be necessary. Further consideration can begin to be given to this once the outcome of the Environment Agency's review of the safety cases is known, around mid-2004. The outcome will provide vital information for consideration of disposal capacity, as well as providing a basis for the Agency's review of the Drigg disposal authorisation.
Packaging
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has undertaken of the success of industry-based packaging minimisation programmes; and what action she will take to disseminate examples of good practice in the industry. [113180]
Mr. Meacher: I have recently asked my officials to look into minimisation of packaging and as part of this, the Advisory Committee on Packaging is setting up a Task Force to look into this issue, including looking at current examples of minimisation as well as ways of further encouraging this.
The DTI is commissioning a study to examine the impact of the Essential Requirements regulations on waste minimisation.
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of packaging regulations in encouraging the minimisation of waste arising from packaging. [113188]
Mr. Meacher: As a result of the packaging Regulations, the amount of packaging waste going to landfill has fallen from 6.9 million tonnes in 1998 to 4.8 million tonnes in 2001. This figure is expected to continue falling as we set higher recycling targets in the future.
Recycling
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the highest recycling rate is that has been achieved in England and Wales in areas which do not receive regular separate collections of recyclable and non-recyclable waste. [111862]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 8 May 2003]: Estimates based on 2000–01 Municipal Waste Management Survey data indicate that the highest household waste recycling rate achieved in a local authority area which does not receive kerbside recycling collections in England was 23 per cent.
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average recycling rate is for households in England and Wales which (a) are provided with separate collections of recyclable and non-recyclable waste and (b) receive only a single collection of mixed waste. [111863]
19 May 2003 : Column 528W
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 8 May 2003]: Local authorities frequently operate separate household recycling collections in only part of their area. The Municipal Waste Management Survey for 2000–01 shows in England:
| Households served by some form ofseparable collection of recyclable andnon-recyclable waste | Average recycling rate |
|---|---|
| 80 | 15 |
| 20–80 | 11 |
| below 20 | 8 |
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the proportion of homes that will require separate collections of recyclable and non-recyclable waste in order that (a) 30 per cent., (b) 33 per cent. and (c) 50 per cent. of households waste in England and Wales is recycled. [111864]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 8 May 2003]: No estimate has been made of the number of households that will need a regular separate collection of recyclable and non-recyclable waste in order to achieve recycling rates of 30 per cent., 33 per cent. and 50 per cent. However, doorstep recyclate collection is not the only mechanism for enabling us to reach our recycling targets. Increasing the number of, and intensity of use of, bring sites and civic amenity centres, for example, can be used to increase the recycling rate. Local authorities will need to consider a range of options if they are to reach their targets
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of households in England and Wales are provided with separate collections of recyclable and non-recyclable waste. [111865]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 8 May 2003]: The proportion of households served by kerbside recycling collection schemes in England in 2000–01 was estimated at 51 per cent.
Rural Tourism
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on possible action to encourage rural tourism. [113417]
Alun Michael: I last met the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting on 30 April to discuss the paper produced by the Rural Affairs Forum sub-group for Rural Tourism with members of the sub-group. He and I and officials from DEFRA and DCMS are in frequent contact on rural tourism issues.
Rural Transport
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money the Countryside Agency has provided to the
19 May 2003 : Column 529W
Rural Transport Partnership in the south west region in each of the years of the existence of the scheme for which figures are available. [111645]
Alun Michael: The amounts are as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 2,046,203 |
| 2001–02 | 944,569 |
| 2000–01 | 492,792 |
Timber
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will reply to the Environmental Audit Committee's Sixth Report of Session 2001–02, Buying Time for Timber: Timber Trade and Public Procurement; and if she will make a statement on the time taken to reply. [111593]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 7 May 2003]: The Government's response to the Committee's report is not yet ready but I expect it to be made before Parliament's summer recess. I regret that a response has been delayed for so long, and apologise for that to the Committee and will write briefly to give an explanation.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Age Discrimination
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what safeguards are in place under current legislation to prevent firms from unfairly discriminating against younger women, and in favour of older women less likely to take advantage of maternity and other benefits; and if she will make a statement. [113497]
Alan Johnson: Discrimination on the ground of pregnancy or maternity is a form of direct discrimination on the ground of sex. The courts have interpreted the Sex Discrimination Act as meaning that discrimination on the ground that a person is, or might become, pregnant is unlawful. The amended Equal Treatment Directive published on 5 October 2002 says that less favourable treatment on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity within the meaning of the Pregnant Workers Directive constitutes sex discrimination.
Business Transfer Regulations
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made over the past two years on her Department's review of the Business Transfer Regulations; what delays have been experienced; and if she will make a statement. [113500]
Alan Johnson: In September 2001, the Department issued a formal public consultation document, accompanied by a more detailed background document, setting out policy proposals for the reform of the TUPE Regulations. Responses to that consultation were considered during 2002, and follow-up discussions took place informally with key stakeholders and TUPE interest groups. In December 2002, a further round of
19 May 2003 : Column 530W
consultation was launched, in the DWP/Treasury Green Paper "Pensions and the Workplace", on the specific issue of the protection of occupational pension rights on transfer. The outcome of that further consultation is currently under consideration. In the meantime, we announced in February 2003 that we intend to proceed with the other, non-occupational pensions aspects of our proposed reforms. We envisage carrying out a final round of consultation, on draft Regulations (excluding occupational pensions aspects) later this year with the intention of bringing these into force in April 2004.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |