To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which projects run by the consultancy Eunomia (a) his Department and (b) the Environment Agency has funded since 1997; and what the (i) cost and (ii) objective was of each project. (104312)

The Department came into being in June 2001. The core-Department does not hold information centrally of any work commissioned by Defra’s executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies with Eunomia. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information held centrally in the core-Department on expenditure with Eunomia is as follows:

From information held centrally, this expenditure relates to work commissioned from Eunomia as part of the direct consultancy support provided to local authorities under Defra’s Waste Implementation Programme (WIP). The consultancy concerned environment regulation policy, and various aspects of waste management strategy including but not limited to waste disposal; waste and recycling; municipal waste; waste procurement; waste minimisation; regulatory impact assessments; planning and pollution central regimes; waste technologies; and waste practice guidance.