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Lord McKenzie of Luton: My Lords, the principle behind the directive is to make producers responsible for the treatment and recycling of waste, which is absolutely right. They are obviously not the only parties in these arrangements: distributors also have a role, and we believe that implementing the regulations will cover that. The overall thrust of the regulations is absolutely right and should be supported. We need to do more to recycle these waste products and, in many instances, to get them reused.
Baroness Gardner of Parkes: My Lords, is the Minister aware of the initiative that was, I believe, funded by Haringey council in which a young man set up a non-profit-making organisation that collects computers and other disused electronic equipment? Where appropriate, it clears and recycles them and sees that they go to Africa and to countries where they are needed. If they are not recyclable, the company disposes of them and recovers the parts in the appropriate way. Is there not an opportunity for more such organisations? I believe that this particular young man won the businessman of the year award for this voluntary organisation.
Lord McKenzie of Luton: My Lords, I am not aware of that example, but clearly a very worthy effort has gone on. The noble Baroness makes the important point that the community and voluntary sectors are important stakeholders in the process. We must ensure—particularly through the code of practice that
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is being developed with stakeholders—that, as the directive is implemented, the role of such organisations and initiatives can continue and will flourish.
Lord Redesdale: My Lords, given that the Government were taken to the European Court of Justice over their failure to transpose the WEEE directive, have they taken on board the Commission's comments that the UK has a very complex system of public consultation when transposing EU measures? All other member states managed to get through the process. Is one of our problems with Europe that we make the system overly complicated?
Lord McKenzie of Luton: My Lords, not all other member states have implemented the directive—I think that Malta and Finland have yet to do so. Some member states that have done so have not done it in the most effective way because they did not consult widely enough. However, the consultation process is a key part of our implementation of such provisions—it is important that that is so. Part of our implementation process involves ensuring that there is no gold-plating.
Lord Pearson of Rannoch: My Lords, can the Minister give us some idea of the total cost of the directive between the interested parties? Has the German green dot system been abandoned indefinitely? What would have been the comparative costs between this system and the German green dot system throughout Europe?
Lord McKenzie of Luton: My Lords, I do not have any data to hand on the comparison that the noble Lord seeks, but I should be happy to see whether they can be made available to him; I shall write to him on that. The comparative cost of the various components of this between the various players depends on a number of issues that will be raised in the residual consultation process and when we deal with the draft regulations in due course. A range of issues have an impact on the regulations.
Afghanistan: Helmand Province
3.23 pm
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What working arrangements are now in place between the United Kingdom forces deployed to the province of Helmand in Afghanistan and the Afghan national forces in that province.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): My Lords, a number of working arrangements are in place. These include the recently created and Afghan-led Provincial Security Co-ordination Centre, which helps to ensure effective co-ordination and liaison between Afghan and international security forces, and the operational and mentor liaison teams, which are helping to build
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the capacity of Afghan national security forces in Helmand and which deploy alongside those forces in a partnering relationship.
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. I congratulate Brigadier Ed Butler and 16 Air Assault Brigade on the vigorous way in which they have seized the initiative to try to make a difficult mission work. Does the Minister accept that there is a real shortage of support helicopters, which are vital to the success of this mission for troop movement and casualty evacuation? It is pretty demoralising for a soldier who is risking his life to know that there are not sufficient aircraft to get him to hospital if he is injured.
Lord Drayson: My Lords, we are deploying a potent force of 3,300 troops to Afghanistan, including, as the noble Lord indicated, 16 Air Assault Brigade. This force package is impressive by any military standards and is fully endorsed by the chiefs of staff. However, we will keep it under review and, should it be necessary, we will amend our plans. If that requires us to amend the level of forces that we have provided with helicopters, we will look at that.
Lord Garden: My Lords, when the plan was being formulated, the size and shape of the UK contribution presumably depended on an assumption both about the allies on either side and about the size of the Afghan forces that would be available. What was the assumption about the reliability and size of the Afghan forces, is it proving to be valid, and how does the Minister feel it is going to change with all the training measures over, say, the next 12 months?
Lord Drayson: My Lords, we feel that the deployment in Helmand is going well to date—in fact, it is going slightly faster than we had expected. Our expectation was based on a conservative assumption relating to the level of development of, and support from, the Afghan forces. Because the support of those forces is patchy, we are putting much effort into their mentoring, development and training, alongside what we are hearing quite a lot about in terms of the activity of our own forces in the field. We need to recognise that the shape of our deployment has to be developed as the mission progresses. As I said, it is moving slightly faster than we expected, and we need to respond to that.
Baroness Sharples: My Lords, the noble Lord did not answer the question of my noble friend Lord Astor. Are there sufficient helicopters in Afghanistan at the moment?
Lord Drayson: My Lords, we believe that we have the right force package in Afghanistan, including the right level of helicopters but, as I said in answer to the noble Lord, this situation is fluid. It is moving faster than we had expected, and we need to review the
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development of our forces in response to that. That includes the structure of the force package, and we need to look at helicopters as a part of that.
Lord Craig of Radley: My Lords, it would help if the Minister could indicate how many helicopters are in theatre at present, so that we can judge whether it will be necessary to add more at a later stage.
Lord Drayson: My Lords, it is not just the number of airframes that is important but the total number of helicopter hours. That is the significant point that the House needs to recognise. We need to ensure the appropriateness not just of the number of helicopters but of the availability of the air crews, the support and the flying hours as the mission develops. I shall be happy to write to the noble and gallant Lord with further details on that if he wishes.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: My Lords, will the Minister answer the question that has just been asked?
Lord Drayson: My Lords, I believe that I have answered it. I have been quite clear, and I have answered frankly to the House. In a review of the operation this morning, the point was made to me that it is not a question of airframes; it is a question of ensuring that the helicopter hours available to the commander of the British forces are appropriate as the operation develops.
Lord Hamilton of Epsom: My Lords, few independent commentators believe that 3,300 troops are enough to make any impact on this vast province in Afghanistan. If the numbers have to be increased as a result of a review, where will those troops come from?
Lord Drayson: My Lords, I shall not get into predicting how the situation may develop. We are confident that the force package that has been provided on the basis of the development put in place by the military planners is absolutely appropriate for the task in hand. However, as I have said several times already, we will need to review the profile of the deployment as it progresses. It is moving slightly faster than we had expected, but we are confident that, if necessary, we have the reserves to meet any of the changes. The overall deployment of the British Armed Forces is running at about 18 per cent of the total military capability. That is challenging, but we believe that we can manage it.
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