asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Statement by Lord Rooker on 7 July (Official Report, cols. 568–70), how the Independent Scientific Group calculated the cost of a prolonged badger cull over an area of 250 to 350 square kilometres; and what was the total at which it arrived. [HL4862]

The Independent Scientific Group (ISG) derived costs for a culling programme carried over a 100km² area for five years from a cost-benefit analysis study carried out by Defra in 2005, which is available on the Defra website. These are presented in the ISG final report as follows:

Cost estimates for cage trapping, gassing and snaring are based on culling operations being undertaken by skilled and specialist field staff, as carried out in the RBCT. The cost estimate is based on farmers undertaking the culling operations themselves under licence. The ISG acknowledges that these costs are only estimates and do not take into account additional costs which would be associated with the implementation of a badger-culling control policy, such as the need for security and police involvement.

The report does not explicitly state the calculated costs for a prolonged badger cull over an area of 250km² to 350km², but based on the above estimates and, once again, assuming 75 per cent access to overall land area, a government-led cull using cage trapping over an area of 350km² for five years would cost an estimated £4,987,500. The ISG’s final report is available on the Defra website.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 2 June (WA 4), whether the Government market transformation are able to supply (a) the number of analogue radios currently in use; (b) the number of digital radios that are likely to be in use by the end of 2011; (c) the number of digital televisions likely to be in use by the end of 2011; and (d) the number of plasma screens likely to be in use by the end of 2011; and, if so, what the figures are. [HL4492]

Audio equipment, including analogue and digital radios, is not modelled separately by the Government’s market transformation programme (MTP), which is thus unable to provide numbers for radios in use in 2011.

Integrated digital television (IDTV) stock—of a range of viewing technologies from liquid crystal display (LCD) to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and plasma—is projected to be around 34,500,000 in 2011. This is expected to represent 51 per cent of all TVs.

Plasma TV stock is projected to be around 7,250,000 in 2011 and is expected to represent 11 per cent of all TVs. It is projected that 85 per cent (around 6,200,000) of plasma TVs will have an integrated digital tuner.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will ensure that their cluster munitions, including those equipped with improved technology, are included in the terms of the Dublin Convention. [HL4877]

All UK cluster-munitions, as defined by the adopted text of the Oslo convention, are subject to the terms of the convention as agreed in Dublin.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have assessed the role of new nuclear energy plants in reducing carbon emissions. [HL4621]

Paragraphs 2.10 to 2.25 of the nuclear White Paper published in January 2008 set out the reasoning behind our conclusion that throughout their lifecycle the carbon emissions from nuclear power stations are low and that new nuclear power stations could therefore make a material contribution to tackling climate change, as part of a wider strategy to cut emissions.

The department also published a cost-benefit analysis for nuclear power alongside the energy White Paper in May 2007. This compared nuclear power with gas-fired generation and alternative low-carbon generation options. This analysis is available at: www.berr.gov.uk/files/file39525.pdf.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many transport aircraft used for troop movements are currently owned by, and in service with the Royal Air Force; and what are the make, year of manufacture and year of acquisition of each. [HL4685]

The information requested is as follows:

Notes:

1. Four aircraft were initially acquired on lease in 2001. An agreement was signed in 2006 to purchase the leased aircraft; the purchase will be completed later this year.

2. TriStar and VC10 aircraft are also used by the RAF to provide a strategic air-refuelling (AR) capability; some airframes can be used in either the transport or the AR role.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much funding was awarded to the anti-waste organisation WRAP in each of the past five years.[HL4832]

The following table provides details of funding awarded to the Government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) over the past five years.