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.