To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the Agricultural Waste Regulations to come into operation. [124458]

We are preparing the Regulations necessary to apply the Waste Framework Directive's controls to those types of agricultural waste which are not excluded from the Directive's scope by Article 2. A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is also being prepared. This work is being carried out in consultation with the Agricultural Waste Stakeholders' Forum whose terms of reference etc. are available on its website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/agforum/index.htmOn completion, the draft Regulations and RIA will be issued for a 12 week public consultation period. A firm date for publication of the consultation paper has not yet been set but our aims are to publish it in the Autumn and for the Regulations to come into operation in early 2004.