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9 Mar 2006 : Column 1681W—continued
Radioactive Fallout (Chernobyl)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what compensation is provided for farmers on farms contaminated by radioactive fallout from Chernobyl who cannot move or sell their sheep for human consumption. [56367]
Jim Knight: On farms under restriction as a result of the Chernobyl incident all sheep are monitored for contamination before being permitted to enter the food chain. Farmers receive £1.30 per head each time an animal is monitored.
Animals which fail the monitoring process cannot be sold for human consumption.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of radioactive contamination from Chernobyl on the market value of the farms where restrictions still apply; and if she will make a statement. [56368]
Jim Knight:
My Department is not aware of any assessment on the effect of radioactive contamination from Chernobyl on the market value of the farms where restrictions still apply.
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Rights of Way
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many claims for a right of way for mechanically propelled vehicles on byways were outstanding on (a) 19 December 2003 and (b) 19 May 2005. [56253]
Jim Knight: The figures Defra has compiled from information provided by local authorities tell us that there were 497 applications for Byways Open to all Traffic (BOATS) outstanding at 9 December 2003 and 992 applications for BOATS outstanding at 19 May 2005.
Risk Assessment
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Government will take steps to create a tool to allow advisory committees to deal consistently with risk assessment. [56328]
Mr. Bradshaw: We are fully in support of the development of more systematic tools to enable better risk assessment. We are encouraging academia to come forward with innovative ideas for dealing with risk and uncertainty as instanced by a recent call, supported by DEFRA by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for research proposals 1 . These new tools will take some time to develop and we have to note the caution expressed by the Treasury that risk assessment methodologies can be highly specialised and specific to the nature of the risk 2 . Thus advisory committees have to work with the risk assessment methodologies that pertain to their particular risk portfolios which may not be tractable to any single systematic tool.
1 Scientific Uncertainty and Decision Making for Regulatory and Risk Assessment Purposes Sandpit on January 2006, Shrigley Hall, Pott Shrigley, nr Macclesfield
The assessment and decision making processes within environmental, health, food and engineering sectors pose numerous challenges. Uncertainty is a fundamental characteristic of these problems. How do we account for all the uncertainties in the complex models and analyses that inform decision makers? How can those uncertainties be communicated simply but qualitatively to decision makers? How should decision makers use those uncertainties when combining the scientific evidence with more socio-economic considerations? And how can decisions be communicated so that the proper acknowledgement of uncertainty is transparent?"
Special Protection Areas
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2006, Official Report, column1359W, on special protection areas, if she will list the sites that (a) her Department has designated and (b) English Nature has recommended as special protection areas. [54553]
Jim Knight:
There are currently 77 classified Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in England and additionally, one cross-border SPA with Scotland and two cross-border SPAs with Wales, all of which have been recommended by English Nature. Further information
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on the individual sites is available from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's website (http://www.jncc.gov.uk.).
There are currently two sites which English Nature has recommended should be classified as SPAs, which are currently under consideration by Defra. These are Mersey Narrows and North Wirral Foreshore, and Breckland.
Thames Gateway
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to ascertain the condition of flood defences in the Thames Gateway where this is unknown. [54697]
Mr. Morley: The Environment Agency (EA) is the principal operating authority for flood risk management in England and has a general supervisory duty over all matters relating to flood defence.
The national flood and coastal defence database, which is being developed by the EA in partnership with other operating authorities, will record the location, height and condition of all flood defences in England. Iunderstand the database does not yet contain full information on Thames estuary tidal defences but that this information will be in place by the end of March 2006. The EA uses the database, together with locally held information, to prioritise a risk based rolling programme of flood defence inspection, maintenance and renewals. They estimate that £200 million will be spent on maintenance and operation of Thames estuary flood defences over the next 15 years.
Urban Green Spaces
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Deputy Prime Minister on the contribution of urban green spaces to the protection of ecosystems. [57040]
Jim Knight: This Government have taken forward a number of initiatives to enhance urban green space, and,in general, the quality of urban green space has improved.
Measures to continue this trend are regularly discussed with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and other departments at official level. In particular, Defra continues to promote policies to protect these spaces for their wildlife interest and to improve their wider recreation and health benefits.
Water Conservation
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what targets have been set for (a) energy efficiency, (b) water efficiency and (c) other environmental issues since July 2003. [54711]
Mr. Morley: The information is as follows:
(a) There are two targets in the household sector. The Energy Efficiency Action Plan 2004 included an aim to save 3.5 million tonnes of carbon from homes in England
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by 2010, set in accordance with the requirements of the Sustainable Energy Act 2003. The Housing Act 2004 added a further goal—to take reasonable steps to improve residential energy efficiency by at least 20 per cent. by 2010, from a year 2000 baseline. In the public sector, the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government estate 2004 states that Government Departments are to increase the energy efficiency of the buildings on their estate by 15 per cent. by 2010–11, relative to 1999–2000.
(b) Since 1996, all water companies in England and Wales have had a duty to promote the efficient use of water by all their customers. The Office of Water Services (Ofwat) enforce this duty and report on water company progress in the annual 'Security of supply, leakage and the efficient use of water' report. In the public sector, the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government estate 2004 states that Government Departments should reduce water consumption in office buildings to an average of 7.7 m 3 per person per year by 31 March 2004 or 7m 3 per person per year for all new buildings and major refurbishments where design commences after 2002.
(c) There are a number of other environmental targets for the public sector set out in the Framework on the Government estate 2004. The Framework sets operational targets to be met by central Government Departments and their Executive agencies to encourage more sustainable management of the Government's land and buildings. The Framework has a largely environmental focus and comprises nine parts (including waste, water, energy and biodiversity). Specific targets for water usage and energy efficiency are mentioned above.
Since July 2003, specific targets have been set for biodiversity, procurement, estates management and construction and social impacts. Reports on progress against the Framework targets are published each year in the annual Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) reports. The Framework is currently being reviewed in order to deliver a step change in the way the Government sustainably manages its land and buildings (further background on this is shown in the attached annex).
Outside the public sector Government have a range of other environmental targets. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has nine public service agreement (PSA) targets which have been agreed with the Treasury since 2003. The majority of these PSA targets relate to environmental issues and they all contribute to DEFRA's overarching aim of sustainable development. The PSA targets are published and reported on in DEFRA's current Autumn Performance Report which is available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/default.htmt#apr
Other targets relating to environmental issues are published in DEFRA's Five Year Strategy: Delivering the Essentials of Life, which is available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/5year-strategy/index.htm, and in the UK Government's Sustainable Development Strategy: Securing the Future, which is available at: http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/publications/uk-strategy/index.htm
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