To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what base year was used in calculations of local authority populations in his Department’s new waste strategy for England; and what account has been taken of significant future population and housing growth in designated growth areas in setting targets. (141947)

The Waste Strategy is a national strategy for England as a whole and does not contain local targets. As such, no calculations were carried out which required data relating to local authority populations.

The modelling that informed the setting of national targets for municipal solid waste assumed that the number of households will grow at 0.8 per cent. per annum until 2020. The national targets for reducing residual waste per head use the 2004-based principal population projections produced by the Government Actuary’s Department (October 2005).