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31 Mar 2008 : Column 499W—continued
Ground Water: Pollution
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008, Official Report, columns 735-6W, on ground water: pollution, what plans he has to initiate research into the level of groundwater contamination in the UK and to publish a strategic plan detailing the level of (a) contamination and (b) clean water. [196360]
Mr. Woolas: In 2006 the Environment Agency published a report which identified the main risks to and impacts on groundwater quality. The Environment Agency has also carried out a groundwater protection policy review, which provides information on the key issues surrounding the contamination of groundwater. I have arranged for a copy of both documents to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
As part of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the agencies must prepare assessments of the risks to, and the status of, groundwater bodies in the UK and prepare strategic plans to meet WFD objectives. Preliminary risk assessments were published in 2004. These will be revised and published, together with status maps and proposed actions, in the draft River Basin District Management Plans. We expect these to issue for public consultation in December 2008.
Hare Coursing
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of illegal hare-coursing in England since the implementation of the Hunting Act 2004. [195758]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA has made no assessment of the extent of illegal hare-coursing in England since the implementation of the Hunting Act 2004.
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many households received at least one main measure under the Warm Front Scheme in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06, (d) 2006-07 and (e) 2007-08, broken down by local authority area. [195120]
Mr. Woolas: I have arranged for the information requested to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Incinerators: Pollution
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much air pollution control residue from incinerators was treated and disposed of in Gloucestershire in the latest period for which figures are available; what percentage of the UK's total this represents; and if he will make a statement. [196595]
Jonathan Shaw: During 2007, Gloucestershire treated and disposed of 22,170 tonnes of air pollution control residues; this represents 15 per cent. of the total in England and Wales.
Nature Conservation: Wildlife
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to give equal consideration to native and non-native species in exercising his powers on species to be added to and removed from the list of species in Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; and if he will make a statement. [197008]
Joan Ruddock: In view of the EU-wide import ban on wild birds and sales controls under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, I announced in Westminster Hall on 23 January that non-native species would not be considered for retention on or addition to schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
No decision has yet been taken on which native species should remain on or be added to schedule 4.
Planning Permission: Gleadthorpe Farm
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many bids were received for the former ADAS site at Gleadthorpe, Nottinghamshire; who the successful bidder was; what plans are being made to return the site to native heathland; and if he will make a statement. [196337]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 26 March 2008]: The Department received six bids by informal tender for Gleadthorpe Grange Farm.
The Department has given very careful consideration to the value for money to the public purse of each proposal received, including the financial, environmental and biodiversity benefits of the individual bids. The Department has also considered whether the benefits of any particular offer provided enhanced value or efficiency in terms of policy delivery when compared to normal spending programmes.
Detailed consideration was given to the value for money offered by a proposal which would have seen the land returned to forestry. The Department concluded that insufficient quantifiable efficiencies arose in excess of those offered by the use of normal spending methods, and as a consequence, the Department felt unable to progress this proposal further.
The Department concluded that the maximum economic value should be accepted in the case of this disposal.
For reasons of commercial confidence and contractual negotiation, the Department is unable to identify the preferred bidder at this time. The details of the successful purchaser will become a public record at the Land Registry upon completion of the sale.
It is understood the land will remain in agricultural use.
Sugar: Subsidies
Mr. Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid to farmers for the production of a pound of sugar on the most recent date for which figures are available; what subsidy was available per pound for exporting sugar; what tariff was applied per pound import of sugar from outside the EU; what national derogations from the EU sugar regime are in place; and how revenue from sugar imports is allocated. [195711]
Jonathan Shaw:
Council Regulation (EC) No. 318/2006 sets a minimum price of €29.78 per tonne for raw sugar beet supplied by farmers in the 2007-08 marketing year. It is important to note that this is a minimum price; the
actual price is subject to commercial agreements between British Sugar and their growers, for which there are no official figures.
Export subsidies are the subject of competitive tender. The most recent tender took place on 13 March 2008, resulting in a maximum export refund for successful bidders of €32.947 per 100 kg.
Imports of both white sugar and raw cane sugar are subject to a range of controls depending upon the country of origin. Duty-free import regimes exist between the EU and a wide range of developing countries through the Sugar Protocol and Everything But Arms arrangements. In circumstances where an import duty is payable, this is currently set at €33.9 per 100 kg for raw sugar for refining and €41.9 per 100 kg for white sugar. Import duties on all commodities are collected by HM Revenue and Customs on behalf of the Exchequer.
The EU sugar regime is applicable in all member states, including the United Kingdom.
In each case above, the prices are set in Euros and metric weights.
Sustainable Development: Aviation
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) his officials have met representatives of (i) Friends of the Earth, (ii) Greenpeace, (iii) WWF-UK, (iv) Airportwatch, (v) Stop Stansted Expansion, (vi) Plane Stupid, (vii) the Aviation Environment Federation, (viii) Enoughsenough, (ix) Hacan Clearskies, (x) the Campaign to Protect Rural England, (xi) the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and (xii) the Woodland Trust to discuss issues related to the sustainable growth of aviation in the UK in the last six months; and how often such meetings have taken place. [185805]
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times Ministers or officials from his Department have met representatives of (a) Friends of the Earth, (b) Greenpeace, (c) WWF, (d) Aviation Environment Federation, (e) AirportWatch, (f) HACAN Clearskies, (g) Stop Stansted Expansion, (h) Plane Stupid, (i) the Commission for the Protection of Rural England, (j) the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, (k) The Woodland Trust and (l) Enoughsenough to discuss the environmental impact of aviation since September 2007. [186692]
Mr. Woolas: Ministers and officials have met on several occasions with key stakeholders to discuss various issues including aviation.
Of particular note is my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Hilary Benn)’s launch of the Climate Change Bill in October 2007. Representatives from several organisations attended. Aviation growth was referred to during the question and answer session which followed.
In addition, the Secretary of State and myself attended a meeting in December 2007 before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change talks in Bali with representatives from Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund UK and others.
Waste Management: Finance
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what funding has been provided to local authorities in Northern Ireland from the waste and resources action programme in the last five years; [192180]
(2) what support the waste and resources action programme has given to local authorities in Northern Ireland in the last 24 months. [192315]
Joan Ruddock: The waste and resources action programme (WRAP) do receive funding from Northern Ireland to carry out work commissioned by the Northern Ireland Executive. The funding is dependent on the amount and value of the work carried out on its behalf, which is agreed between WRAP and the Northern Ireland Executive and is a devolved matter.
Waste Management: Landfill
Julia Goldsworthy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he
has made of the amount of waste per person sent to landfill in each local authority area in England in each year since 1997. [197407]
Joan Ruddock: The amount of municipal waste per person sent to landfill by local authorities with a waste disposal duty in England are shown in the following table. These data are reported annually to DEFRA by local authorities through WasteDataFlow (for 2004-5 onwards) and through the Municipal Waste Management Survey for earlier years. 2004-5 was a pilot year for WasteDataFlow and therefore complete data are not available. Data for 1997-8 are not available at individual local authority level.
Most municipal waste (an average of around 87 per cent. in England) is from household sources. However, some waste sent to landfills is from non-municipal sources such as the commercial, industrial and construction sectors, and this is not included in these figures. The estimates for each local authority represent the amount which is collected in their area and then sent for disposal in landfill regardless of the landfill site's location.
Population estimates for each local authority for each year are those published by the Office for National Statistics.