To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) number and (b) total area was of landfill sites in each region of England in each year since 2002-03. (137894)

At the end of 2005 there were approximately 638 active landfill sites in England and Wales, as shown in the following table. Data for 2005-06 and 2006-07 are not yet available.

The number of sites listed will include inactive sites. The area will include non-active parts of a landfill site. Historical information is not held in one single place and is therefore not 100 per cent. accurate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the basis is for the policy on the allocation of landfill allowance trading scheme targets for local authorities (a) in sustainable communities plan growth areas and (b) outside those areas. (139144)

[holding answer 24 May 2007]: Landfill allowances were allocated in 2005 to local authorities based on the approach that all waste disposal authorities (WDAs) make the same relative contribution to the landfill directive targets for England, based on their share of municipal waste arisings in 2001-02.

Allowances have been allocated each year from 2004-05 to 2019-20 to provide local authorities with greater certainty for long-term planning. The allocation does not differentiate between local authorities in sustainable communities plan growth areas and local authorities outside those areas. Predictions of future population growth do not provide a sufficient basis of certainty for allocating allowances.

The Government recognise that WDAs located within the Government's specified growth areas may find meeting targets for reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill particularly challenging. The flexibilities of trading, banking and borrowing allowed within the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme are intended to give WDAs every opportunity to avoid becoming liable to a financial penalty for failure to comply with limits on landfilling.