To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers did not receive Common Agricultural Policy subsidy payments because of inaccuracies in the maps of their land which they submitted to his Department in the last two years. (284408)

The data required to provide the number of farmers that did not receive CAP subsidy payments because of inaccuracies in the maps of their land is not held in a form that is easily accessible. The process to reconcile such information is resource intensive, time consuming and would cost more than £750 to collate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the new set of maps issued by the Rural Payments Agency in connection with claims for payment under the single payment scheme will seek to prevent claims being submitted by more than one farmer per field. (286069)

Single payment scheme applicants can only claim for land at their disposal for the relevant scheme year. Instances where the same field is being claimed by more than one farmer are identified and resolved through the SPS claim validation process.

The rural land register mapping update exercise will increase the accuracy of the map data used to validate these claims for payment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of (a) particulate matter, (b) nitrogen dioxide and (c) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adjacent to main roads to within the limits prescribed in EU legislation. (285514)

[holding answer 9 July 2009]: EU air quality limits are already met across 99 per cent. of the UK (land area). For the very small parts of the country where limit values are not yet met, including London, roadside locations present the greatest challenge. The UK, like most other member states is using the provisions in EU legislation to secure from the European Commission additional time to meet the limit values for both particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. If successful these would extend the compliance deadlines to 2011 for particulate matter and to 2015 for nitrogen dioxide.

The Government submitted in April their application for particulate matter:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/euint/eudirectives/airqualdirectives/notification.htm

and is working with the Mayor of London and relevant local authorities with a view to consulting on the application for nitrogen dioxide early in 2010. Applications need to set out the measures that will be taken to meet the limit values by the extended deadlines. The additional time will allow current and planned measures to take effect.

EU target values for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons do not come into force until 2012. In 2008 all monitoring sites at roadside locations exhibited concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon below the target value. Measures to reduce emissions from traffic source will continue to reduce concentrations at urban sites.

More widely, Government are working to improve the regulation of biomass heating systems to ensure that their rollout minimises any negative impact on air quality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on his Department's request for a derogation from EU air quality standards in respect of particulate matter; and if he will make a statement. (287840)

EU air quality limits are already met across 99 per cent. of the UK (land area). For the very small parts of the UK where limit values are not yet met, roadside locations present the greatest challenge. The UK, like most other member states, is using the provisions under directive 2008/50/EC to secure additional time from the European Commission to meet the limit values for particulate matter (PM₁₀).

In April, following public consultation, the UK Government submitted a notification to the Commission applying for the additional time available for eight areas across the UK. These are areas where at some point since 2005 exceedences of the PM₁₀ limit values have been reported to the Commission.

Additional information was submitted to the Commission at the beginning of July in response to a request from them following their initial examination of the application. The Commission has indicated that it will conclude its examination in the autumn.

The UK application is available on the DEFRA website at:

www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/eu-int/eu-directives/airqual-directives/notification.htm

The additional information provided to the Commission shall be available on the website shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress has been made in reducing levels of live animal exports. (288011)

The export of live animals is a lawful trade and to restrict it would be contrary to free trade rules. Such trade must, though, adhere to the standards set out in health and welfare rules.

The Government would prefer a trade in meat to the long distance transport of live animals to slaughter, whether in the UK, or across borders.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to increase rates of battery recycling to meet the requirements of the EU batteries directive. (288709)

The Government have introduced new UK regulations to transpose the EU's batteries directive. The regulations make battery producers responsible for collecting, treating and recycling waste batteries.

Most industrial and automotive batteries are already recycled. The regulations seek to ensure that this will continue. However, few portable batteries are currently recycled. The new regulations require portable battery producers to join a Battery Compliance Scheme. The schemes will be responsible for increasing battery collection rates. DEFRA and the schemes will also carry out publicity activities to encourage consumers to recycle their batteries. From February 2010, most shops selling household batteries will collect waste batteries from consumers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the environmental effects of the disposal of batteries. (286359)

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform published an impact assessment on the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 (SI No. 890/2009) in May. This covers environmental effects and can be found at:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/em/uksiem_20090890_en.pdf

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the volume of Brazilian beef imported into the UK which was raised in illegally deforested areas in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (285558)

We do not hold figures on the volume of Brazilian beef imported into the UK which would link across to deforestation.

For animal health purposes, Brazil is split into ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe’ disease regions, to prevent the arrival of disease into either the UK or EU. The meat imported to the EU must be accompanied by appropriate animal and public health certification and must come from EU approved plants in the exporting country (in this case Brazil).

Any illegal imports of Brazilian meat would be seized, destroyed or re-exported.

We are working hard internationally, including under the UNFCCC to find ways of helping developing countries to address deforestation. The approach aims to provide incentives to reduce deforestation through reflecting the real value of forests, including their role in reducing emissions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has for the introduction of practical steps to reduce levels of bovine tuberculosis in Devon; and what the timescale is of those plans. (287782)

This Government remain committed to working with industry to monitor and enhance TB control measures. Most recently, the TB Eradication Group was set up in November 2008 to make recommendations to the Secretary of State for developing a plan for reducing bovine TB in all parts of England, including Devon, with the ultimate objective of moving towards eventual eradication.

We are also actively pursuing the future use of vaccination of cattle and wildlife, through vaccine research, and the Badger Vaccine Deployment Project (BVDP), alongside our current control measures. Two of the areas for the BVDP are in Devon and the aim is that the vaccination of badgers will commence in summer 2010 and take place for at least five years in each area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in (a) Essex and (b) the East of England were under bovine tuberculosis restrictions on the latest date for which figures are available. (288111)

DEFRA cannot provide the information in the format requested. DEFRA collects data on the number of herds under restriction because TB measures apply to a herd and not a farm.

We can provide the latest data from Vetnet (1 June) which shows that the number of herds under bovine TB restrictions on 31 March 2009 was (a) 19 herds in Essex, and (b) 636 herds in the East of England region.

Note:

Data downloaded from the Vetnet system is provisional and subject to change as more data becomes available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many vaccinations of each badger will be required under the new Badger Vaccine Deployment Programme. (287212)

Badgers only need to be vaccinated with BCG once to confer a protective effect on an individual badger. However, it is unnecessary to vaccinate every individual, although the more badgers vaccinated the better overall.

We do not know how long the protection lasts but an annual vaccination campaign is consistent with published results that BCG protection lasts at least one year in animals. Safety data from the Badger Vaccine Study (BVS) on repeated annual vaccinations will be reported in the final report of the BVS which is expected in March 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how long the temporary tag on badgers as part of the Badger Vaccine Deployment Programme will last. (287213)

The temporary marks on vaccinated badgers will last for at least several weeks, depending on weather conditions. This is so a marked badger re-trapped in any given trapping session can be released without further vaccination. There is no need for long-term marking as there is no detrimental effect if a badger is injected again in subsequent years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timetable is of the Badger Vaccine Deployment Programme. (287214)

DEFRA has recently had a series of meetings with key regional representatives and local veterinary practices in each of the proposed deployment areas. The next step is speaking with farmers in these areas, followed by signing-up participants and training contractors, which will begin during the autumn.

Sign-up will be in phases to allow capacity to be built up and early lessons to be implemented. Therefore, during 2010, vaccination will be carried out in a lead demonstration area, where contractors will be trained, and 20 per cent. (20 km²) of the other five areas. The project will be fully rolled out, in all the areas, by the third year (i.e. all areas will have been vaccinated by 2012). Once this initial phase has been completed vaccination across 100 per cent. of the areas will continue each year and each area will be vaccinated for at least five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what mechanisms will be used to assess the effectiveness of the Badger Vaccine Deployment Programme; (287215)

The Badger Vaccine Deployment Project aims to increase farmer confidence in TB vaccines and develop practical know-how for vaccinating badgers, including how best to deploy vaccines in an area and developing an understanding of training needs and costs. To this end, we will be monitoring levels of take up among farmers and contractors, and training will be assessed and monitored throughout the project. We will also build up an understanding of the costs of injectable badger vaccination. This information will inform plans for future use of both injectable and oral badger vaccines for bovine TB. Possible further measures of success are currently being considered.

The Badger Vaccine Deployment Project is not a scientific trial, but a practical project to develop know how for vaccinating badgers. The project will target cattle farming areas of up to 100km² (25,000 acres) in each of the six high incidence TB areas for five years vaccination. While the project will be unable to demonstrate a treatment effect of the vaccine in cattle herds, an exploratory analysis of routinely collected cattle disease data will be carried out at the end of the project and independent expert statistical advice has been taken to ensure the project design gives a good chance of detecting any changes in cattle TB trends that may be associated with vaccination. We expect landowner participation in the project to be at least 70 per cent. within the 300km² catchment areas, which will enable us to reach our 100km² target in each area. Social science research looking at changes in farmers’ attitudes to vaccination and factors that influence farmer behaviour can provide meaningful results on a smaller scale. The project design has also been discussed and agreed with the TB Science Advisory Body, along with two of its subgroups dealing specifically with TB vaccines and economics and social science, key farming and veterinary stakeholders and the TB Eradication Group for England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps will be taken to prevent unvaccinated badgers entering Badger Vaccine Deployment Programme areas; (287216)

All trapped badgers will be vaccinated. It is not necessary to trap and vaccinate every individual in a population or to prevent the entry of unvaccinated ones to control a disease. This is because as the proportion of immunised individuals increases, the risk to all individuals, whether vaccinated or not, decreases. The stable social structure of undisturbed badger populations, where there is little mixing of individuals between social groups, lends itself to the generation of this ‘herd immunity’ through vaccination.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated cost is of the Badger Vaccine Deployment Programme. (287218)

The final business case for the badger vaccine deployment project is still being developed, and cost estimates will be subject to change to reflect, for example, the costs of contractors bidding for the work and the final costs for purchasing the vaccine. We do not propose to release cost estimates until these are more certain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people will be employed on the Badger Vaccine Deployment Programme. (287219)

We do not know at this stage exactly how many people will be employed on the Badger Vaccine Deployment Project. However, we do know that it takes 10 people (five teams of two) to vaccinate a 100 km² area in one trapping season. The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), which already has a number of trained staff, will vaccinate badgers in the training area and will train contractors who will work in the remaining five areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to expedite single farm payments to farmers affected by the taking into receivership of Dairy Farmers of Britain. (287821)

Recently agreed EU legislation provides the possibility for member states to make 70 per cent. advance payments under the 2009 single payment scheme (SPS) from 16 October where full scheme controls have been completed.

We have always said that we would consider the case for advance payments on the basis of an assessment by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) on what consequential impacts would be, including on the timetable of full payments for all claimants. We have yet to take a final decision, but DEFRA have spoken to the chief executive on the issue and it is clear that there would be a real risk that making advances would affect the RPA's ability to match last year's performance in making nearly £1 billion of full SPS payments in December.

Whatever the final decision reached on advances, the RPA will continue to address any cases of individual hardship as sympathetically as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) attempts and (b) successful attempts were made to gain unauthorised access to each (i) database and (ii) ICT system run by his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. (286546)

It is not in the interests of the UK’s national security for Departments to confirm information on the number of attempts, successful or otherwise, to gain unauthorised access to departmental systems or databases. Such disclosure could undermine the integrity and security of departmental systems and thereby expose them to potential threats.

DEFRA complies with the mandatory requirements of the Security Policy Framework in relation to information security including managing the risk of unauthorised access to ICT systems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information databases his Department (a) maintains and (b) uses which do not contain personal information. (284398)

DEFRA maintains and uses a wide range of databases reflecting its diverse policy and regulatory functions. A full list could be provided only at disproportionate cost to the Department.

However, DEFRA’s Information Asset register does provide details of many of the databases managed by the Department. This register is available on the Department’s website at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/opengov/defra/available/iar/index.htm

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what categories of personal information on members of the public will be held on each of his Department’s and its agency’s databases expected to become operational in the next five years; what estimate he has made of the likely number of individuals’ details each such database will hold when fully operational; and if he will make a statement. (286496)

Information about the categories of personal information on members of the public that will be held on each of the Department’s and its agency’s databases expected to become operational in the next five years and estimates of the likely number of individual’s details that each dataset will hold when fully operational can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Routine assurance of database developments during the business planning cycle ensures that any planned databases containing personal information are identified before development commences and referred to the departmental data protection team to ensure that they adhere to the Data Protection Act.

Moreover, following the publication of the cross government data handling review in June 2008, staff establishing new projects and programmes that hold significant amounts of personal data are obliged to conduct privacy impact assessments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many interns work in his Department; what terms of reference apply to their appointment; what remuneration they receive; and how long on average an intern appointment lasts. (286822)

Five graduate internships commenced placements with DEFRA on 6 July 2009, three via the Cabinet Office Summer Development programme (ethnic minorities) and two from the summer placement scheme (disability). All interns are engaged on a paid basis at civil service EO level salaries.

These internships consist of a minimum of 12 weeks’ work placement, extendable as required.

The type of work offered to interns will, for example, range from a time-limited project to a more varied programme of work. The aim of such internships is to help internees develop their levels of skill and practical experience, and to increase their employability.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to encourage the veterinary profession to work more closely with the medical profession on matters relating to the transmission of diseases between humans and animals; and if he will make a statement. (288963)

DEFRA are fully aware of the need for close collaboration between the veterinary and medical profession in preventing and controlling transmission of diseases between humans and animals. Officials continue to collaborate with their counterparts in the Department of Health, the Health Protection Agency and the devolved Administrations regular inter-departmental meetings are held to assess the risk from diseases, as well as from newly emerging conditions, which might have the potential for inter-species transmission. There is also strong collaboration at the local level where joint assessments and co-ordinated veterinary and medical investigations of disease outbreaks are made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the annual level of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from electrical appliances being left in standby mode. (287896)

The most recent analysis of the energy consumption of equipment in households and commercial properties was undertaken by DEFRA's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) in 2006. This estimated that the level of carbon emissions resulting from all the appliances most commonly found in UK homes was at least 7.2 TWh equal to 2.1 per cent. of UK electricity consumption or 0.8 million tonnes of carbon. The MTP is in the process of updating this information for 2008.

The report, ‘Estimated UK Standby Electricity Consumption in 2006 (V2.0) (BNXS36)’, can be found on the MTP website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the tonnage of (a) aluminium, (b) wood, (c) paper, (d) green waste, (e) glass, (f) steel and (g) textiles in the municipal waste stream in each year since 1997; and how much of each he estimates was (i) recycled, (ii) landfilled and (iii) sent to energy from waste facilities (A) in total and (B) in each local authority area in each such year. (286469)

DEFRA keeps tonnages of municipal waste sent for recycling in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, broken down into material types. Data on waste sent to landfill or for energy recovery is not broken down into material types, but the totals are available. All this data are available at local authority level and will be placed in the Library shortly.

Municipal waste management statistics back to 1995-96 are available at national level on DEFRA’s website.

Source:

WasteDataFlow and DEFRA's Municipal Waste Management Survey.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make an estimate of the unit cost to a local authority of the provision of wheeled refuse containers for the collection of household waste. (286529)

It is not feasible to make an estimate of the unit cost to a local authority of the provision of wheelie bins. This will depend on a number of factors including which company the local authority procures the bins from and the number of bins ordered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to Lord Taylor of Holbeach of 2 July 2009, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA94, on waste management: refuse collection, what proportion of dwellings used wheeled refuse containers for the collection of residual waste in each year for which figures are available. (286812)

The following table shows the percentage of dwellings in England that have been issued with wheeled refuse containers by local authorities for the collection of residual (black bag) waste from 2000-01 to 2007-08.

Data for 2004-05 is unavailable. This is due to partial submission of data by local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Environment Agency spent on consultants in each of the last five years. (283736)

The Environment Agency delivers major investment programmes through flood risk and civil engineering work. Expenditure includes the feasibility, design and supervision of these projects which are developed through accessing specialist engineering companies.

The following table shows total Environment Agency expenditure on consultants in each of the last five years. This expenditure includes regional and national civil engineering consultants, water management engineering consultants, environmental policy consultants and management consultants.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the statutory obligations upon it provided for in legislation introduced as a consequence of obligations arising from EU legislation in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available. (283476)

It is very difficult to provide precise figures for the proportion of UK legislation that stems from the European Union.

The administrative burdens measurement exercise carried out by the Government in 2006 put the proportion of administrative burdens stemming from the EU at approximately one third of the total administrative burden.

The important thing is not the origins of a legislation, which could of course be a devolved administration or a local authority, as well as the Government or the EU, but the quality of the regulation. All regulations, irrespective of their origins, should comply with the principles of better regulation. Regulations should be risk based, proportionate and well designed, so as to achieve their objectives while also keeping costs to a minimum. The Government continue to work with European partners to ensure that EU regulations meet these standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received on levels of bank lending to farmers; and if he will make a statement. (285138)

No recent formal representations have been received on the subject of bank lending to farmers. At the end of March 2009, net lending to agriculture, forestry and hunting in the UK stood at just below £11 billion. This was more than £900 million higher than at the same point in 2008 and some £280 million above the level recorded at the end of 2008. There is strong evidence that the banking sector is continuing to lend to farm businesses with sound business cases but DEFRA will continue to monitor the situation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions for breaches of fishing quota regulations have been brought in each sea fishery committee area in each of the last five years. (288207)

Sea fisheries committees do not generally prosecute fishing quota offences. Therefore, DEFRA does not record data on prosecutions for breaches of fishing quota regulations by sea fishery committee area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the additional £25 million in capital funding for flood defences brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10 and 2008-09 on (a) the number of homes receiving earlier flood protection and (b) improvements to British Waterways network infrastructure; and how much of the funding has been spent in each month since it was announced. (286651)

In 2008-09, £5.1 million of funding for flood and coastal risk management was brought forward from 2009-10. In 2009-10, £20 million of funding was brought forward from 2010-11 as part of the fiscal stimulation package announced in the 2009 pre-Budget report to provide early protection for 27,000 homes.

The Environment Agency forecasts full spend of its £349.4 million capital budget (not including funding for implementing the recommendations of the Pitt Review) for 2009-10. At the end of May 2009 it had spent £44 million.

As part of the fiscal stimulation package, £5 million of funding for British Waterways was brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10 to be spent on infrastructure projects. This will take place as part of the major works programme which is concentrated during winter months when the waterways are not highly used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions arising from the use of patio heaters in the UK in (a) each year since 2000 and (b) each of the next five years. (288430)

DEFRA does not hold the specific estimates requested. The most recent data available that can be used to estimate the carbon emissions of outdoor patio heaters are from 2007.

In spring 2007, the Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) produced a briefing note (BNDH18) intended to estimate the CO₂ emissions as a result of the use of patio heaters. This note estimated that ‘outdoor heaters’ (both domestic and non-domestic) accounted for around 94.9 GWh of energy being consumed annually, equivalent to 22.2 ktCO₂ (thousand tonnes of CO₂).

In October 2007, the MTP updated the assumptions in the original study to estimate CO₂ emissions from patio heaters as a result of the smoking ban. The report estimated that the annual emissions from patio heaters as a result of the smoking ban would be between 96 and 282 kt CO₂, depending on the type of heaters and how they were used.

The MTP estimates are not derived from surveys or detailed research, and should not be interpreted as accurate data on energy consumption and carbon emissions. I am unable to give a prediction of future emissions as we have no way to estimate future sales of patio heaters.

The MTP's Briefing Note ‘BNDH18: Outdoor Heating for Comfort’ is available at:

www.mtprog.com

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many landfill sites in each region are expected to close in each year until 2020; and what the combined area of those sites is. (286353)

The Environment Agency does not require landfill operators to specify in what year they will close their site. This depends on the rate of infilling, among other factors. As such I am unable to provide a prediction of the number of sites that will close year on year in the period 2009-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many landfill sites there were in each region of England in each year since 1997; and what the combined area of the sites was in each of those years. (286354)

The Environment Agency has published the number of permitted operational landfill sites for the period 2005 to 2007 on its website. Prior to 2005, data on the number of landfill sites was included in the Environment Agency’s ‘Strategic Waste Management Information for England and Wales’. The following table provides a summary of the published data.

In 1997 all landfill sites required a WML. From 2001 to 2007 all site operators had to apply for a PPC permit, replacing the WML.

The number of permitted landfill sites for 2008 is currently being validated and should be published in the autumn of 2009.

We do not hold information on the combined area of landfill sites.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much hazardous waste was sent to landfill sites in each region in each year since 1997. (286355)

The following tables show the amount of hazardous waste sent to landfill in each year where accurate information is available.

A new hazardous waste management system and database was introduced in July 2005 to coincide with the introduction of the new Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) regulations 2005. Changes in the way hazardous waste was classified and how data was collected caused inconstancies in data for 2005 and it was therefore not published.

In 1997 all landfill sites required a waste management licence. From 2001 to 2007 all site operators had to apply for a pollution prevention and control permit, replacing the WML.

The number of permitted landfill sites for 2008 is currently being validated and should be published in the autumn of 2009.

We do not hold information on the combined area of landfill sites.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to which (a) organisations and (b) purposes revenue from fines due to breaches in landfill targets will be allocated. (287430)

The Waste and Emissions Trading (WET) Act provides for a fine to be imposed on a waste disposal authority for each additional tonne of biodegradable municipal waste that it sends to landfill above the number of allowances the authority holds under the landfill allowance trading scheme in a particular scheme year.

During the passage of the WET Act through Parliament, there was discussion about the destination of penalties. It was agreed that funds raised from penalties would be returned to all local authorities, including waste collection authorities, but would not be ring fenced to waste management options. It would therefore be for a local authority to decide for what purpose any returned funds were used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) cattle, (b) sheep, (c) goats and (d) poultry were exported in each of the last three years. (284943)

Table 1 gives information on exports in cattle from Great Britain and is taken from the GB cattle tracing system. The system is updated on a daily basis and hence these figures can be subject to amendments.

Table 2 gives the number of live sheep, goats and poultry recorded as exported from the UK in 2006, 2007 and 2008 as in HMRC official overseas trade statistics.

Please note these figures are obtained using VAT records and will exclude some EU trade for businesses which are below the VAT threshold. As a result, actual trade levels may be higher than those given, particularly for trade with mainland Europe. As a result care should be taken not to read too much into the year to year changes shown.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will (a) undertake and (b) publish an equality impact assessment of the relocation of Marine and Fisheries Agency staff out of London. (288015)

DEFRA officials are currently finalising an equality impact assessment (EqIA) on the relocation of the Marine and Fisheries Agency’s HQ office out of London to Tyneside. This will incorporate the impact of the relocation on MFA staff based outside the London HQ office. A copy of the EqIA will be published when completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent assessment is of the cost to the public purse of the establishment of the headquarters of the Marine Management Organisation. (287431)

The indicative one-off establishment costs of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), as shown in the impact assessment accompanying the Marine and Coastal Access Bill, are £2.9 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will assess the effects on the intellectual property rights of members of staff of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), given their change in status as a result of the creation of that organisation; and whether those staff are to be permitted to publish in their own name work produced for the MMO. (288000)

When vested, the MMO will, as any other employer, have the benefits of any work produced by its employees. Employees will not be able to publish works produced for the MMO without the organisation’s permission.

Former employees of the Marine Fisheries Agency, or another Government Department, will transfer to the MMO with their existing terms and conditions of service, which give the intellectual property rights to the employer. New MMO employees from elsewhere will be subject to similar restrictions under an MMO contract of employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Invasive Non-native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain in tackling invasive species arriving from countries which have no comparable strategies. (287595)

We have made no specific assessment of this. However one of the ongoing actions set out in the implementation plan for the Non-Native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain is to maintain contact with colleagues dealing with invasive non-native species policy issues in other European member states and encourage consistent representation of issues of concern to Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Alongside this, the UK is supporting the European Commission in developing its thinking on proposals for an effective EU Strategy on Invasive Alien Species.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at which locations in England levels of nitrogen oxide (a) exceed 40 micro gm-3 nitrogen oxide annually and (b) exceed 200 micro gm-3 nitrogen oxide hourly more than 18 times per year. (288258)

Under EU legislation, the UK is required to assess ambient air for levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and to report to the European Commission on an annual basis. Detailed reports on the assessments are available from the air quality archive at:

www.airquality.co.uk

For the purpose of implementing EU legislation, the UK is divided up into 43 agglomeration zones (areas with a contiguous population of over 250,000 as specified by the air quality directives) and non-agglomeration zones. There are 28 agglomeration zones and 15 non-agglomeration zones.

There are a number of locations within England where:

(1) annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) are in excess of 40 microgrammes/m³; and/or

(2) there are more than 18 occurrences of hourly mean NO₂ >200 microgrammes/m³ in a year.

The locations where points 1 and/or 2 apply have been identified are in the following tables, with reference to both monitored (measured) and modelled (predicted) NO₂ data.

Monitoring data for 2008 are given in table 1. The modelling assessment for 2008 is not due to be completed until the end of the summer, so 2007 results are given in table 2.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2009, Official Report, column 1590, on fishing catches, whether the Lithuanian and Polish vessels referred to were entitled to fish in North sea fishing grounds prior to their countries’ accession to the European Union. (287856)

The catch statistics for Polish and Lithuanian landings from the North sea provided in my answer of 22 January 2009, Official Report, column 1590, relate to landings in 2006. Both Poland and Lithuania joined the European Union in 2004 and therefore were members at that time. Access to North sea fish quota is determined by historic rights or else the countries in question would be required to swap in or purchase quota to access the fishery.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of oil pollution have been reported in each enumeration area (a) in each year since 1997 and (b) in 2009 to date; and how many of these incidents have resulted in prosecutions. (286299)

The following table shows the number of reported incidents received by the Environment Agency since 1997. The Environment Agency's national incident recording system began to be used in 2001. It is not possible to access information broken down into each enumeration area prior to 2001 without incurring disproportionate cost.

The following table shows the number of reported incidents received by each Environment Agency region since 2002. This includes incidents from category 1-4. Category 1 incidents are the most serious, category 2 are significant but less severe, category 3 are relatively minor and category 4 are unsubstantiated incidents.

The following table shows the number of prosecutions from oil pollution incidents since 2001. This information has been provided by the Environment Agency's national enforcement database in tandem with the information above. On that basis information prior to 2001 is not available.

In cases where a prosecution is not the most appropriate course of action, the alternatives of a caution or warning will be considered. A warning is a written notification that, in the Environment Agency's opinion, an offence has been committed. It will be recorded and may be referred to in subsequent proceedings.

There is a lag between incident and prosecution, which may well be in excess of 12 months depending on the type of offence and its complexity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals his Department has for the disposal of residual waste from energy production. (287410)

DEFRA has no plans affecting the disposal of ash or other residual waste from power stations. This is the responsibility of the operators of such facilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will commission research into consumer attitudes in respect of country of origin labelling for goods imported into the UK from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. (287155)

The Government are not planning to commission research into consumer attitudes in respect of labelling goods from the occupied Palestinian territories.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he next plans to revise guidelines to farmers on the spraying of pesticides near schools and residences. (287819)

The Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products includes advice to farmers on spraying pesticides near schools and residences.

Two new pieces of European legislation governing the system for pesticides are likely to come into force in 2011; a Regulation on pesticide authorisations that is largely an updating of the existing European regime, and a directive on the sustainable use of pesticides that will establish a framework to promote best practice in the storage, use and disposal of pesticides.

The Government plan to hold a public consultation this autumn on a range of options for the implementation of this new legislation. Once we have agreed our approach to national legislation and guidance, we will revise the Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of diffuse pollution have been recorded in each year since 1997; and how many such incidents have resulted in (a) prosecutions and (b) fines for those convicted of such offences. (286464)

The Environment Agency’s national incident recording system (NIRS) records all pollution incidents reported to the Agency since 2001. The Environment Agency does not classify such incidents as point or diffuse pollution. An approximation of the number of “diffuse incidents” can be derived from NIRS by counting incidents that arose from an unregulated site where the cause was not identified. Data are available and provided on this basis for full calendar years from 2001 until 2009.

For prosecution and fines there is often a time lag between the incident being reported and the completion of any enforcement action. Yearly figures in this table therefore may relate to incidents which occurred in the previous year or earlier. This is why some prosecutions have been prosecuted and reported in 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of waste collected in the City of York was recycled in each year since 2003-04; what funding his Department provided to City of York council to increase recycling rates in that period; and what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage local authorities to increase waste recycling rates. (285866)

Recycling is strongly promoted by a range of Government measures in recognition of its environmental benefits. This includes the introduction of three national indicators within the local government performance framework to encourage local authorities to reduce waste, recycle more and send less household waste to landfill. This is in line with DEFRA's belief that local authorities are best placed to make decisions on the waste management strategy for their communities. 85 per cent. of authorities have negotiated at least one waste-related national indicator target with the Government Office in their region.

DEFRA has provided the City of York council £359,838.71 in 2008-09 and £361,122.65 for 2009-10 as part of Waste Infrastructure Capital Grant (WICG). This funding is provided to help authorities get waste management facilities on the ground in time to help England meet landfill targets.

The following table shows York city council's municipal recycling rates from 2003-04 to 2007-08. 2004-05 is not available due to data not being submitted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the capacity of reservoirs owned by the water industry in England was (a) in 1989 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available. (286785)

A reservoir capacity figure for 1989 is unavailable.

The total capacity of reservoirs owned by water companies in England which fall under the Reservoirs Act 1975 (large raised reservoirs with a capacity of 25,000 m³ or more above natural ground level) was 1,855,244,628 m³ on 14 July 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the likely effects of the recent raw sewage spillage in the Thames in the Mogden area on river usage and wildlife. (288784)

The Environment Agency measured the chemical quality of the river using a series of water quality monitoring stations located at strategic points along the estuary. Readings taken indicated a significant decline in the oxygen saturation of the river.

Environment Agency officers were deployed to assess the extent of the incident by monitoring the river in the upper reaches to record the impact on fish at low water. Approximately 200 dead fish, mostly flounder, were found around the Kew area. Other inspections did not identify notable amounts of dead fish.

The monitoring network indicated the river returned to a near normal condition by the afternoon of 5 July.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of significant non-water industrial discharges to rivers in each region was reviewed by the Environment Agency in each year since 1997. (286463)

This information is not readily available. It will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of daily energy consumption resulting from the use of stand-by units on televisions. (287897)

The Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) estimates that in 2008 the 66 million television sets in use in UK homes consumed an average of just over 600 Watt hours each per day. Of this an average of 30 watt hours (5 per cent.) was consumed while the television was in stand-by mode.

MTP evidence indicates that the on average a new television consumes 2.5 watts while in stand-by. This will be reduced to one watt from January 2010 as a result of new EU legislation under the ecodesign for energy using products framework directive and falling further to 0.3 watts in 2012.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will assess the effect on mammalian wildlife of the removal of trees from Thundersley Common. (287868)

While negotiating a higher level stewardship agreement with Castle Point borough council to support the council's heathland restoration work on Thundersley Great Common site of special scientific interest (SSSI), Natural England assessed the overall impact on the mammalian fauna as neutral or beneficial, for the following reasons:

(1) The common is small and heavily used by the public, and so does not support a rich mammal fauna, though both bats and badgers do occur;

(2) The restoration only affects part of the common and the wooded part of the common outside the SSSI will not be affected;

(3) The result of the restoration will be a mosaic of open heath, scrub and trees which should be at least as favourable for mammal and bird species as the common is now. The mosaic will also support a range of more unusual heathland plants and animals and provide an open greenspace for the public to enjoy.

Before issuing a felling licence for the removal of some trees, the Forestry Commission assessed the selected trees individually. The commission considered one to be of potential value for roosting bats so Castle Point borough council agreed that this tree should be left and an alternative one removed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department has had with (a) Essex County Council and (b) Castle Point Borough Council in respect of Thundersley Common in the last five years. (287870)

My Department has had no substantive discussion with either local authority about Thundersley Common in the last five years. However, Natural England (non-departmental public body sponsored by DEFRA) has had discussions with Castle Point borough council.

Natural England’s purpose is to ensure England’s natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for current and future generations. An important part of Natural England’s remit is the protection of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs)—the country’s best sites for wildlife and geology.

Castle Point borough council owns and manages Thundersley Common, which includes Thundersley Great Common SSSI. Within the last five years, discussions in respect of this SSSI between Natural England and the borough council have included several on-site and office meetings and regular discussions by phone, e-mail and letter. Natural England has offered consistent advice to the council on the conservation management of the site, aimed at restoring the heathland habitats for which the SSSI is notified. Since 2007, council staff have negotiated a higher level stewardship agreement with Natural England to support the council’s restoration of the SSSI to favourable condition.

Within the last five years, Natural England has not held discussions with Essex county council specifically on this SSSI, because the county council does not own or manage it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what public consultations have been held in respect of the removal of trees from Thundersley Common; and if he will make a statement. (287872)

Natural England does not have any information on public consultations held in respect of the removal of trees from Thundersley Great Common site of special scientific interest (SSSI), or in respect of the other essential components of the heathland restoration work being undertaken by Castle Point borough council. These works have the full support of Natural England, in fulfilling the council’s statutory duties to protect and enhance the special interest features for which this SSSI is notified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date responsibility for Thundersley Common was transferred to Natural England; and if he will make a statement. (287888)

Thundersley Great Common (14.8 hectares) is owned and managed by Castle Point borough council. In 1987, 8.9 hectares of the common were notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 by English Nature (one of Natural England's predecessor bodies): the ownership remains with the borough council. Both Castle Point borough council and Natural England have statutory responsibilities to conserve and enhance the special interest features of the SSSI.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many oak trees have been removed from Thundersley Common in the last five years; and for what reasons the trees were removed. (287889)

The notified special interest features of Thundersley Common Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) are its dry heath, wet heath and acid grassland plant communities. It is one of the best remaining fragments of heathland in Essex.

Natural England's records show that five oak trees, and one birch, have been removed from Thundersley Great Common SSSI since 2004. These trees were felled during the 2008-9 winter by Castle Point borough council with the assent and support of Natural England. The work was done as part of a higher level stewardship agreement to restore the special interest features of the SSSI—namely its rare heathland habitats—to favourable condition. Some tree removal is essential as part of this restoration work because many oaks became established on the heathland in the second half of the last century when the site was less actively managed. There are now over 100 trees on the northern half of the SSSI which are rapidly shading out the remaining patches of heathland vegetation. If these are all left to mature a large part of the SSSI will soon be dense woodland and the heathland will be lost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what responses his Department has received from (a) the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee, (b) Wastematters, (c) the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers, (d) the Chartered Institute of Waste Management, (e) the Association of Public Service Excellence, (f) the County Surveyors Society Waste Panel and (g) Keep Britain Tidy on consultations which his Department has conducted on waste incentive schemes in the last two years. (286646)

The Department received written responses on consultations from these bodies detailed as follows:

Consultation on the Incentives for Recycling by Households, May 2007:

(a) the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee

(d) Chartered Institute of Waste Management

(e) Association of Public Service Excellence

(f) County Surveyors Society

Informal consultation on draft guidance, June 2008:

(a) the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee

(d) Chartered Institute of Waste Management

(f) County Surveyors Society

Formal consultation on statutory Good Recycling Service guidance, September 2008:

(e) Association of Public Service Excellence

Responses were not received on any consultation from (b) Wastematters, (c) the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers or (g) Keep Britain Tidy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what waste products have been classified as (a) inert and (b) toxic waste in the last 18 months. (286964)

The Environment Agency does not classify individual waste arisings. While it does collect data on all wastes received at sites that it regulates, this information describes the waste using the European waste catalogue codes and as such would not allow the Environment Agency to state which individual waste products have been classified as either inert or 'toxic' (a hazardous property that could make a waste hazardous).

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many inspections were carried out at industrial and waste sites by staff of each Environment Agency office in each year since 1997. (286369)

The following table shows the total number of inspections of industrial and waste sites carried out in each Environment Agency region in each year since 1997. Environment Agency records do not provide an office by office breakdown. Inspections include visits and audits for processes regulated under six regimes: Integrated Pollution Control, Pollution Prevention and Control, Waste management licensing, Environmental Permitting Regulation, Special (Hazardous) Waste, and Waste Producers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the credit crunch on schemes for waste disposal plants under the private finance initiative. (286795)

DEFRA continually assesses the relevant finance and construction markets to maintain an up to date understanding of the effect that conditions in credit markets may have on the private finance initiative waste projects. This includes meeting with banks, contractors and waste companies as well as individual local authorities.

Our findings show that while tightening credit conditions since 2008 have had an effect on the availability of finance, commercial lenders are maintaining strong interest in financing waste private finance initiative projects. We also continue to see good evidence of new entrant interest from contractors in recent bid lists.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the waste industry on the effects on waste disposal plants operated under private finance initiatives of the economic downturn. (287703)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recently attended the Futuresource conference with representatives of the waste industry, at which a number of issues affecting the waste industry were discussed.

Commercial lenders are maintaining strong interest in financing waste private finance initiative projects and we continue to see good evidence of new interest from contractors in recent bid lists.

The granting of PFI credits for waste projects continues, the most recent being awarded to a partnership between Coventry city council, Solihull metropolitan borough council and Warwickshire county council under their umbrella-title ‘Project Transform’ in June this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the effect of universal water metering on (a) the net income of the water industry and (b) the rate of consumption of water by domestic consumers. (286786)

No estimate has been made of the effect of universal metering on the net income on the water industry.

Research shows that, on average, the rate of consumption by household customers is reduced by about 10 per cent. when metered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition his Department uses of a permeable surface in relation to surface water drainage charges. (288074)

Government guidance to Ofwat does not define permeable surfaces. It is generally accepted that they include, for example, burial grounds, grass sports fields and school playing fields. These drain naturally rather than into public sewers. Permeable areas should not count towards the chargeable area under site area charging for surface water drainage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in which water company areas voluntary groups are affected by the new system of surface water charges; and what assessment has been made of the likelihood of such systems being taken up in other such areas. (288981)

Four of the 10 water and sewerage companies in England and Wales have switched to site area charging for surface water drainage: Northumbrian Water, Severn Trent Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water.

While Ofwat is recommending that other companies switch to site area charging for surface water drainage, it is for companies to decide whether to make the switch and for Ofwat, as the independent economic regulator of the water industry, to approve charging schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the volume of water lost through leakage from (a) company supply pipes and (b) piping between the water company connection point and a householder’s tap in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2008. (286471)

Water companies report annual leakage figures to Ofwat as part of their annual regulatory returns. Ofwat publishes leakage performance annually in the service and delivery report.

Leakage performance for the water company distribution network excluding customer supply pipes, and for customer supply pipes only for the years 1996-97 and 2007-08 were as follows: