To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money was spent on advertising and promotional literature for her Department's initiatives, broken down by year since 1997. [183810]

The Department does not maintain separate records of its expenditure for advertising and promotional literature. The expenditure for publicity by Defra's Communications Directorate, includes marketing, advertising, publications, events, shows and direct mailings, and is recorded for the financial years since Defra's creation in June 2001 as follows:

	£million
2001–02	6.6
2002–03	4.7
2003–04	2.5

This includes communications on a wide range of matters, much of it necessary or beneficial to the public and the wide range of industries in which Defra has an interest, together with local government, voluntary organisations and other bodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the future of the Agricultural Wages Board, with specific reference to the launch of the consultation on its status; and what discussions she has had with (a) farming organisations and (b) the TGWU on this subject. [184436]

I can confirm that Ministers at Defra are fully committed to the continued operation of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales. The Board plays an important role in protecting the interests of agricultural workers including the migrant workers employed on farms.The Agricultural Wages Board as a non-departmental public body was last reviewed in 1999. There is no longer a requirement to undertake reviews at regular intervals and further reviews will be undertaken by this Department as necessary to confirm that the Board is delivering high quality services efficiently and effectively.Following the last review of the Board we announced that some aspects of the Board s operation would be modernised. We plan to introduce these changes through a Regulatory Reform Order. We do not intend to reduce the protection given to agricultural workers. However, one of our objectives will be to align the operation of the Agricultural Minimum Wage legislation and general employment law as closely as possible. This will lessen the burden on employers in agriculture and allow them to benefit from the more flexible approach available under the National Minimum Wage legislation (including the revised output work provisions that will be introduced in October).The Food and Farming Minister Lord Whitty met representatives of the NFU and the Transport and General Workers Union to discuss detailed proposals in January 2003 and November/December 2004. This issue was also raised in a meeting with members of the Transport and General Workers Union on 24 June. A consensus on the way forward is now emerging and we hope to bring forward more detailed proposals for changes to the Agricultural Wages legislation before the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many copies of her Department's, and predecessor Department's annual report were printed in each year since 1997; how many were sold in each year; and what the (a) publication costs and (b) sales revenue were. [183842]

Defra does not have the information on how many copies were printed as the departmental report is published by The Stationery Office Ltd. which determines the print quantities, based on a commercial judgment, and receives all revenues.Defra is responsible for the design, editorial, typesetting and proofing of the document and the cost for these items since the formation of the department in 2001 are:

	£000
2002	17,512
2003	15,200
2004	16,993

The report is available, free of charge, on the Department's website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the number of litres of bottled (a) sparkling and (b) still water consumed in the United Kingdom in each year since 2002; and what percentage was supplied in (i) plastic, (ii) glass and (iii) other materials. [184859]

Figures published by Zenith International in the 2004 Sucralose Soft Drinks Report estimate that bottled water consumption in 2002 was 1,760 million litres, of which 83 per cent. was still and 17 per cent. sparkling, and 2,070 million litres in 2003, of which 85 per cent. was still and 15 per cent. sparkling. Figures published by Mintel in its Bottled Water Report in June 2003 indicates that 79 per cent. of bottled water is packaged in plastic bottles, 20 per cent. in glass bottles and 1 per cent. in cans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the average fine imposed on businesses prosecuted by the Environment Agency was in each financial year since 1999–2000; [184850](2) how many businesses were

The following table gives figures relating to Environment Agency prosecutions of registered companies. It does not include sole traders, who cannot be distinguished from individuals on the agency's database.

Prosecutions of registered companies by the Environment Agency
Financial year	Number of successful prosecutions	Number of unsuccessful prosecutions	Average fine (£)
1999–2000	286	10	7,575
2000–01	307	12	6,737
2001–02	317	7	7,354
2002–03	325	5	8,356
2003–04	271	2	7,229

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will make a decision on cross compliance; and if she will make a statement. [185143]

We will be making an announcement shortly on cross compliance conditions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to delay the introduction of cross compliance; and if she will make a statement. [185144]

We will be making an announcement shortly on cross compliance conditions.

£000
	Processing and marketing gram	Rural enterprise scheme1	Vocational training scheme
East Midlands	3,021	3,541	297
East of England	998	2,297	303
North East	670	1,882	52
North West	1,264	2,477	453
South East	962	2,408	246
South West	1,255	3,948	451
West Midlands	1,090	3,112	367
Yorks and Humberside	758	2,318	211
1RES funds are also available to non-farming businesses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate Sir Don Curry made of the funding necessary to implement his Food and Farming Report; what funding she is making available for it; by what mechanism those funds are to be allocated among rural areas; how much will be paid to each region; how much will be used in urban areas; and if she will make a statement. [182561]

Sir Don Curry estimated that implementation of that; recommendations in the report of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food would cost in the region of an extra £500 million over the following three years.The Government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food (SSFF), which builds on the work of the Curry Commission, was launched in December 2002. As part of the 2002 Spending Review, the Government announced a sum of £500 million to implement the strategy. This is in addition to existing spending by Defra and other Government Departments which is already being used to deliver aspects of the strategy.The additional funding provided covers a number of major aspects of the strategy. These include the new Environmental Stewardship Scheme (Entry Level and Higher Level) and the IT system to underpin all the England Rural Develop Programme (ERDP) schemes; improvements in livestock traceability and other major animal health and welfare measures; and new food chain initiatives such as the Food Chain Centre and English Farming and Food Partnerships.Regional delivery of the strategy will be facilitated by many public body and industry representatives and these organisations will work together with both resource and funding support to deliver the vision set out in the strategy. They are making use of Government grants, industry support and the resources of Government Offices and Regional Development Agencies, as well as other Government bodies participating in regional steering groups. Existing support programmes. including the ERDP have been targeted to deliver SSFF regional action plans. Hitherto, land-based scheme budgets have not been managed on a regional basis, but they will be in future when the new ERDP IT system is rolled-out next year. Budgets for the three ERDP project-based schemes are managed on a regional basis, and the following table summarises expenditure on these schemes in 2003–04:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total number of dairy cattle in England was for the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the estimated figure is for 2004–05. [184819]

The number of dairy cows and heifers that have calved in England is shown in the following table for 1994 to 2003. Provisional figures from the June 2004 census will be available in a statistics notice to be published on the 16 September 2004 on the Defra website.

Number of dairy cows and heifers that have calved in England 1994 to 2003
	Dairy cows (Thousand)
1994	1,897.0
1995	1,809.3
1996	1,783.3
1997	1,700.3
1998	1,642.6
1999	1,659.2
2000	1,575.3
2001	1,490.2
2002	1,462.2
2003	1,434.7
Note:		Figures prior to 2000 are for main holdings only, 2000 onwards include main and minor holdings.		Source:		June Agricultural Census.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total number of dairy farms was in England for the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the estimated figure is for 2004–05. [184820]

The number of holdings in England whose predominant business dairy is shown as follows. Equivalent figures from the June 2004 census will be published on the Defra website in early 2005.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total number of farm workers employed on dairy farms in England was for the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the estimated number is for 2004–05. [184818]

The number of employees on holdings in England whose predominant business is dairy is shown in the following table for 1994 to 2003. Equivalent figures from the June 2004 census will not be available until early 2005.

Number of employees on dairy type holdings in England 1994 to 2003
	Employees (Thousand)
1994	26.4
1995	25.6
1996	24.7
1997	23.4
1998	21.0
1999	18.8
2000	16.0
2001	14.7
2002	14.7
2003	13.4
Notes		1. Employees exclude farmers, partners, directors and spouses if they work on the holding.		2. Figures prior to 2000 are for main holdings only, 2000 onwards include main and minor holdings.		Source:		June Agricultural Census.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many disposable nappies she estimates were (a) used and (b) disposed of by (i) landfill, (ii) incineration and (ii) other means in each year since 2001. [184853]

We do not collect information on the amount of disposable nappies used nor of the disposal route.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects her Department to publish the criteria for the treatment expected at the domestic waste sites which are to be allowed to accept cells containing treated toxic waste. [183796]

I assume the hon. Member is referring to the provision in the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 (as amended) that allows stable, non-reactive hazardous waste to be landfilled in a separate cell in a non-hazardous landfill site. The criteria for stabilised non-reactive granular hazardous waste are set out in part 3, paragraph 14 of Schedule 1 of the amended Regulations. Equivalent criteria for monolithic wastes are being developed and will shortly be issued for consultation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the enforcement difficulties that led to the decision of the Council of Ministers to remove the derogation from marking for ungraded eggs. [184195]

The Commission (supported by other member states, but not the UK), argued it was necessary to clamp down on fraudulent sales (eggs being sold other than by the producer) through markets. There is no evidence of any significant problems of this sort in this country.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact upon (a) egg producers, (b) small markets and (c) consumers of her proposed requirement for ungraded eggs to be marked. [184197]

Defra has received over 3,000 inquiries from small-scale egg producers on the Registration of Laying Flocks Order and the Egg Marketing Regulations. All producers must register with departments in order to obtain an identifying code. Currently small producers with less than 350 birds are exempt from this requirement, provided that the eggs are ungraded and sold direct to the final consumer.Because of enforcement difficulties in other member states, it was agreed in November 2003 that part of the derogation from marking for ungraded eggs be removed. From 1 July 2005 farmers selling eggs from their own farms at local public markets will no longer be exempt from the requirement to mark their eggs, irrespective of the number of laying hens kept A Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment was prepared on this in November 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what penalties she plans to impose for a breach of the proposed requirement for ungraded eggs to be marked. [184198]

If prosecution is required under the Egg Marketing Standards, then any person who fails to comply with any requirement properly made to him by an authorised officer of the Minister or of a food authority under these Regulations, or contravenes or fails to comply with any Community provision, will be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 (currently £5,000) on the standard scale.We will encourage producers to comply with the new Regulations and provide any necessary advice. Our Egg Marketing Inspectorate will take a sensible and proportionate approach to enforcement. Prosecution will be taken only as a last resort.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 1 July 2004, Official Report, columns 361–62W, on egg stamping, what the (a) date and (b) nature was of the Council of Ministers meeting which agreed to remove the derogation from marking for ungraded eggs; and what legislation she plans to bring forward to implement the proposed requirement for ungraded eggs to be marked. [184199]

The meeting at which the agreement was reached to remove the derogation from marking for ungraded eggs was an Agriculture and Fisheries Council which was held on 17 November 2003.The legislation anticipated to implement the proposed requirement would be The Eggs and Poultrymeat Marketing Standards (Enforcement) (England) Regulations. We hope to bring these Regulations forward later this year, following formal consultation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the external costs associated with waste disposal, with particular reference to the environmental costs. [184582]

The Review of Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management, published in May 2004 identified and quantified the health and environmental impacts of different municipal waste management options. A second related report, to be published shortly, will identify the economic values for the impacts identified in the Health and Environmental Effects review. Combined, these studies will provide a range of external costs for each municipal waste management option.

Table C4. External costs and benefits of different waste management options
Waste management option	External cost estimate, £per tonne of waste, 1999 prices
Landfill	3
Incineration (displacing electricity from coal-fired power stations)	-17
Incineration (displacing average-mix electricity generation)	10
Recycling	-161
Ferrous metal	-297
Non-ferrous metal	-929
Glass	-196
Paper	-69
Plastic film	17
Rigid plastic	-48
Textiles	-66

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of fisheries management schemes employing individual transferable quotas and effort control, based on days at sea. [184817]

The most recent evaluation of various alternative fisheries management systems was carried out by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit and set out in their "Net Benefits" report published on 25 March 2004. We will be examining the Strategy Unit's findings in detail with stakeholders before settling how to take them forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural. Affairs how much funding has been allocated for flood defences in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06. [184067]

The Government continue to recognise the importance of flood management and have agreed, as part of the recent Spending Review, to carry forward the significant increases in funding allocated in Spending Review 2002. Total Government funding of flood and coastal defence in England is planned to be £478 million in 2004–05 and at least £564 million in 2005–06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will propose to the Environment Agency that it establish a national enforcement squad to specialise in detection and prosecution of incidences of fly-tipping, especially of hazardous waste. [183231]

Defra has been working closely with the Environment Agency on proposals to help tackle fly-tipping. The agency already has a national enforcement

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Environment Agency on fly-tipping; and what joint activities are being undertaken. [183707]

[holding answer 13 July 2004]: Defra has been working very closely with the Environment Agency to tackle fly-tipping. Recent work has included bringing forward measures in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, which allowed the Secretary of State to issue statutory directions to the Agency and local authorities to clarify the division of responsibility for dealing with fly-tipping.The ASB Act also led to the development of the Flycapture database, which the Agency has developed on behalf of Defra. The system went live on 5 April 2004 and take-up has been encouraging, with around 90 per cent. of local authorities registered in the first month.Defra are currently exploring with the Agency the possibility of developing a comprehensive training package tailored for local authorities. This will allow the Agency to pass on their experience in enforcement to local authorities ensuring fly-tipping is prevented and penalised accordingly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 to extend the requirement to report fly-tipping to fly-tipping on private land. [183226]

Section 55 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 set up a requirement for waste collection authorities and the Environment Agency to submit data to Defra on incidents of fly-tipping. The new database went live in April.Take up of the system has been excellent with over 90 per cent. of authorities registered but it is important to ensure that reliability and quality of current data sources is as good as possible before exploring extending the system. The requirements to report to Flycapture will be reviewed after the first year of operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will bring forward legislative proposals to make fly-tipping an arrestable offence. [183232]

Under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 the illegal disposal of hazardous waste can incur imprisonment of up to five years on conviction on indictment. This automatically makes it an arrestable offence. Arrest without warrant can occur in relation to arrestable offences or in relation to nonarrestable offences in particular circumstances.It is open to question however, whether it would be possible to justify, by reference to the level of seriousness, making any act of fly tipping by itself an arrestable offence or one attracting a custodial sentence. However, my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, has indicated his intention under the Police Reform Act 2002 to conduct a public consultation on modernising police powers, which includes the intention to rationalise the powers of arrest.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much additional expenditure the Environment Agency has allocated in 2004–05 to address unlawful depositing of hazardous waste. [183230]

The agency's expenditure on enforcement across all its activities amounts to £12 million per annum, funded through Grant in Aid. The Agency uses its judgment to prioritise its enforcement effort to deliver the best outcome to protect the environment and human health. Unlawful activity involving hazardous waste is an enforcement priority for the agency in 2004–5 and it will not hesitate to use its powers where evidence is obtained that may lead to prosecution in the courts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) businesses, (b) trade associations and (c) trade publications her Department has contacted to provide information on changes in the way hazardous waste is treated and disposed of from 16 July onwards. [184770]

[holding answer 16 July 2004]: The Department has taken, and will continue to take, a range of measures to inform businesses of incoming legislation and their legal obligations as producers of waste.It is not possible t0 give a precise figure of how many individual businesses and trade bodies have been reached as a result of Defra and Environment Agency communications on this subject. A recent Defra survey, carried out among a cross-section of small businesses, showed a 78 per cent. awareness of the Landfill Regulations and an 84 per cent. awareness of the forthcoming Hazardous Waste Regulations.The Department works closely with other organisations who are better placed to disseminate information to businesses on our behalf. For example, Envirowise has produced a Hazardous Waste Guide for Chief Executives of small businesses, which will be distributed to over 13,000 businesses.The Department has also produced its own smaller leaflet called "Hazard Alert", which has been distributed to a wide stakeholder audience. In addition a dedicated hazardous waste web portal is available at www.hazardouswaste org.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable (a) has operated until now and (b) has been set out for the future, for informing businesses of changes to the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste and the types of waste classified as hazardous, resulting from waste-related European Union Directives. [184771]

[holding answer 16 July 2004]: The timetable for implementing changes resulting from European Union Directives usually takes several years, and businesses should expect and anticipate the regulatory changes from an early stage.To date, businesses have been informed about these changes through the negotiation of the Directives, via the consultation exercises undertaken on the implementation and regulatory amendments and also by means of stakeholder forums, such as the Hazardous Waste Forum.Since early 2004, a Defra communications strategy has been in place to inform businesses about the changes that are being introduced as a result of the Landfill and Hazardous Waste Directives over two years. As part of this function a dedicated website, widely distributed leaflet, a number of stakeholder events and relevant articles in the trade press have been produced.Communicating with businesses about these changes will continue while the waste-related European Union Directives are implemented.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes in Manchester, Central have benefited from the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme. [184172]

The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme is now marketed as Warm Front. Between the launch of the scheme in June 2000 and the end of March 2004, approximately 2,889 households in Manchester, Central received assistance from the Scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the cases of human pesticide poisoning mentioned by the right hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Alun Michael) in his broadcast comments on Farming Today of 17 June; in each case (a) who was the investigating agency and (b) what information from medical practitioners was obtained; and whose conclusion it was that illness was found not to be due to the effects of pesticides. [184435]

It would be quite wrong for me to release the individual case details of the 60 incidents referred to in my broadcast. They were investigated by the Field Operations Directorate of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and detail of individual incidents is presented to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides to inform the pesticides approvals process.Cases of alleged ill health caused by the use of a pesticide are investigated by the HSE or the Local Authorities. Reports are then submitted to the Pesticide Incidents Appraisal Panel (PIAP) for their assessment. The membership of PIAP includes medical practitioners and a representative from the Department of Health. PIAP considers individual incident and case reports to identify if there is a link between exposure and ill health which may indicate a trend to inform the regulatory system. Medical records are only obtained from GPs and hospital doctors with the consent of the subject. PIAP considers clinical information as it is recorded in medical files.The details of the results and conclusions are available in the latest PIAP annual report available at:http://www.hse.gov.uk/fod/pir0203.pdf

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she applied for a derogation from the EU Landfill Directive for the years (a) 2006, (b) 2008 and (c) 2018. [182988]

Article 5(2) of the EC Landfill Directive sets three target years 2006, 2009 and 2016 by which member states must reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfills in proportion to the amount produced in 1995. Under the Directive there is a four-year derogation from these targets available to member states that sent to landfill more than 80 per cent. of their collected municipal waste in 1995. The UK qualifies for this derogation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why the targets in the Landfill (Scheme Year and Maximum Landfill Amount) Regulations 2004 are measured by weight instead of volume. [182989]

The Landfill (Scheme Year and Maximum Landfill Amount) Regulations 2004 divide the UK's targets under Article 5(2) of the EC Landfill Directive between the four countries of the UK. The Directive limits by weight the amount of biodegradable municipal waste allowed to be sent to landfill from member states. The Regulations set the targets consistently with the way the UK's performance will be measured under the Directive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the delays to the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme. [182990]

The decision to delay the implementation of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme until 2005, announced by the Minister of State for Local and Regional Government on 19 November 2003, was made as part of Defra's contribution to helping to reduce spending pressures on local government in 2004–05.The decision reflected the views of local authorities, received through the consultation on implementing the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, that more time was needed to prepare for this new scheme which is a significant departure from the normal operations of local authorities. The delay in starting the scheme will mean that waste disposal authorities will have to make steeper annual reductions in the amount of biodegradable waste they landfill in order to meet the first target year of 2010 but they will have more time to plan how to do this.The Government are using the additional time to raise awareness of the scheme within local authorities and to support those who plan to make use of its provisions. A series of regional events will be taking place later this month to explain the scheme to local authorities, waste management companies and other interested parties. In addition, workshops will be arranged early in 2005 to give local authority officers hands-on experience of operating a trading scheme. Written and electronic guidance material will also be made available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's plans are to deal with biodegradable municipal waste which will not be permitted to be sent to landfill under the Landfill (Scheme Year and Maximum Landfill Amount) Regulations 2004; and whether she plans to permit an increase in the number of incinerators in the UK as a consequence of the regulations. [182991]

It is for individual waste disposal authorities to decide which waste management options to use to meet their statutory obligations in the light of local circumstances. The Government have no plans for the provision of any particular number of incinerators.Defra's Waste Implementation Programme provides waste disposal authorities with a package of support measures designed to help them meet their share of the national target for the diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill. In particular its new Technologies Demonstrator programme aims to establish five plants by the end of 2005 with a further five initiated by the end of 2006. The 10 plants will cover at least four different technologies either not currently available in this country or new to the industry, with a target of diverting at least 240,000 tonnes/annum of biodegradable municipal waste away from landfill. This should encourage the faster development and take up of new and innovative technologies.The Statutory Instrument specifies the maximum amount of biodegradable municipal waste allowed to be sent to landfills; it does not impose a ban on land filling above these permitted levels. However, waste disposal authorities responsible for part or the whole of the UK exceeding the maximum amounts set out in the Instrument will be liable to a penalty.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what increased funding will be given to local authorities to cover their responsibilities under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme. [182992]

The cost to local authorities of meeting Landfill Directive obligations was addressed in the main in Spending Review 2002, which included increases to the Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services (EPCS) block and PFI credits for local authorities.The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme is designed specifically to enable local authorities to choose the most cost effective way to meet their Landfill Directive targets taking account of local circumstances.The Spending Review settlement 2004 announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 12 July incorporates additional targeted funding for waste management including an extra:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of the Landfill (scheme year and maximum landfill amount) Regulations on incineration in England. [183035]

The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme requires local authorities progressively to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill. Incineration, with or without energy recovery, provides an alternative to landfill, as does recycling. It is up to local authorities to develop and implement a strategy for implementing the scheme to match their local circumstances, taking into account statutory recycling and composting targets and planning guidance, among other things.Waste Strategy 2000 provided five estimates of waste management options over the period 2000 to 2020. A 'base case' was modelled so that the additional cost of meeting the landfill targets for biodegradable waste and the waste strategy goals could be calculated. The other four models provided different mixes of recycling, composting and incineration and the additional capacity required for those facilities under each option.The actual figures for additional capacity can be seen in annex C in Part Two of Waste Strategy 2000 (table C8 on page 194). A copy of the strategy is in the House of Commons Library and can also be accessed through the Defra website (www.defra.gov.uk)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many waste landfill sites she expects to have received a permit to receive hazardous waste by 16 July. [183798]

Seven dedicated hazardous waste sites will have received a PPC permit to receive hazardous waste by 16 July. This figure comprises five merchant sites and two in-house sites.In addition to these, 12 sites are awaiting the final decision on their PPC permit application, but currently hold Waste Management Licences to receive hazardous waste. This figure comprises six merchant sites and six in-house sites. These sites will continue to be able to receive those hazardous wastes allowed under their Waste Management Licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money raised under the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme has been diverted from local environmental trust distributors to the Treasury. [184644]

As part of the reform of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, approximately £84 million, £92 million and £92 million was allocated to a new public expenditure programme in England (the Waste Implementation Programme) for the financial years 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06. The purpose of this programme is to take action to enable local authorities and others to meet the requirements of Article 5 of the EU Landfill Directive to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled.Under the reformed Landfill Tax Credit Scheme approximately £47 million a year continues to be available for spending on local community environmental projects in England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) mobile phones and (b) printer cartridges were (i) recycled, (ii) reused overseas and (iii) disposed of within the UK waste stream in the most recent year for which figures are available. [184858]

The Government do not currently collect data on the numbers of mobile phones and printer cartridges that have been recycled, roused or disposed of in the UK waste stream.The Government will be collecting data on the amounts of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), including IT and telecoms equipment, reused and recycled to report to the European Commission when the producer responsibility obligations of the WEEE Directive come into force from August 2005.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many National Trails there are in the UK. [185095]

There are 15 National Trails in England and Wales and four Long Distance Routes in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional assistance will be available for orchards following the introduction of single farm payment; and if she will make a statement. [183830]

The Commission has confirmed that it will carry over into the single payment scheme land in dual use such as traditional grazed orchards to be considered as forage rather than orchard land, subject to some conditions still to be clarified, and so that they qualify for payments. We are in the process of drafting detailed guidelines for the application of this guidance with the assistance of English Nature and the Forestry Commission.Subject to approval by the European Commission, grants to farmers and other land managers for the conservation and restoration of traditional orchards will also be available under the new Environmental Stewardship Scheme, which is to replace the Countryside Stewardship and Environmentally Sensitive Areas Schemes in 2005.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to incorporate companies that fall below the minimum requirements only because of their franchise arrangements within the working of the packaging regulations. [183503]

This is a matter currently being considered by the Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP) and subject to their advice, the Government may include proposals for amendments to the packaging Regulations in a packaging consultation document that we expect to issue next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to ensure that free videos are incorporated into the working of the packaging regulations. [183504]

This is a matter currently being considered by the Advisory Committee on Packaging's (ACP) "Free Rider" Task Force. The Task Force will submit a best practice document for the identification and detection of free riders to the ACP later this year. Subject to the Committee's advice, the Government will consider what further action is needed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place in the Library the most recent review of (a) her Department's pay systems, (b) the pay systems of the non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible and (c) the departmental equal pay action plan. [181346]

Defra completed an Equal Pay Review and submitted this together with an action plan to Cabinet Office in April 2003. The review covered core-Defra and two of its agencies, Pesticides Safety Directorate and Veterinary Medicines Directorate, for which the core-department has pay remit negotiating responsibility.The review found that there were no significant pay gaps within the department provided that Defra's multi-year pay settlement was fully rolled out for future years up to and including 2005–06. Defra is now entering the third year of the four-year settlement.The Equal Pay Review has been published within Defra and has been accessible to staff via the departments' intranet, Defra Online. A copy will be placed in the House of Commons Library.Senior managers will be considering the implications of Defra's Equal Pay Review Action Plan in conjunction with developing new pay arrangements for Defra for 2006 and beyond, following the end of the current multi-year pay settlement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government have to extend post-marketing surveillance to pesticide products in the same way as for new medicinal products. [184449]

The pesticide approvals process requires all approval holders to report any adverse effects to the Pesticides Safety Directorate. In addition a range of monitoring activities are carried out to ensure that pesticide products are formulated and used correctly. These activities include formulation analysis of pesticide products, label checks, and the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme. In addition a number of investigations are carried out by the Health and Safety Executive and local authority Trading Standards officers. Therefore, the Government have no plans to extend the post marketing surveillance of pesticide products.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her strategy is to encourage the use of recycled fibre in the private sector. [184954]

Government recognise that it is not only important to collect materials for recycling, but to make good use of them. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) was set up by Government and the Devolved Administrations to help in this area. Their aim is to create stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and to remove the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.Over the past three years WRAP have been working with a wide variety of businesses to encourage the use of recycled materials and also to find new uses for recycled materials.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total tonnage of waste collected by community recycling organisations was in England in each year since 2000. [183187]

According to Defra's latest annual Municipal Waste Management Survey of local authorities in England, the total tonnages of voluntary organisation recycling are:

	Thousand tonne
2001–01	35
2001–02	35
2002–03	37

However, these figures are likely to be an underestimate as not all recycling carried out by community organisations is reported to local authorities.The results of the survey are based on information supplied by local authorities in England for the financial year 2002–03, the latest year for which data are available. A summary of the survey was published on the Defra website in April this year and can be accessed through this link: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2004/ 040429a.htm

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total value of contracts between community recycling organisations and local authorities was in England in each year since 2000. [183188]

The Department does not collect this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many community recycling organisations were registered in England to collect waste in each year since 2000. [183189]

This information is not available. All organisations involved in waste collection are required to have a Waste Carrier's Licence or an Exemption to that requirement. The Environment Agency (EA) issues and regulates the licensing system but its records do not differentiate between commercial organisations, charities, community groups or individuals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to tackle false claims of recycling achievements by the packaging industry. [183703]

[holding answer 13 July 2004]: The Department, in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Northern Ireland administration, the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland has commissioned fact-finding exercises to establish whether there is any substance to the allegations of inappropriate issuing of Packaging Waste Recovery Notes (PRNs) and Packaging Waste Export Recovery Notes (PERNs) by some packaging waste reprocessors and exporters.The first fact finding exercise took place last year and investigated the wood packaging waste sector. On completion of the exercise, the fact finding team presented their findings in a report which can be found on the Department's website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/ topics/packaging/index.htmDuring the course of the exercise the team established that there were no inappropriate operations of the kind that might warrant criminal proceedings. However, some assumptions were being made, for example about the tonnages of packaging waste in mixed loads, that were unrealistic or were made on the basis of insufficient evidence. The team therefore recommended that the amount of wood packaging waste recycled in 2002 should be reduced by 76,400 tonnes. This was done.The second fact finding exercise is currently focusing on the plastic packaging waste sector and the findings will be announced shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase the amount of recycling in London. [184279]

In common with all local authorities in England, London boroughs were set statutory national recycling and composting targets for 2003–04 and 2005–06.To help support achievement of these targets over the last two years, Defra has allocated £24.9 million from the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund to the London Recycling Fund, for a range of sustainable waste management schemes in London. A further £20.55 million has been awarded for 2004–05 to 2005–06.Twenty-two London boroughs included a sustainable waste management target in the first round of local Public Service Agreements (PSA). The second round of local PSA negotiation is now under way and four London boroughs have proposed sustainable waste management targets.I have also written to all local authorities offering direct consultancy support on waste management projects up to the value of £20,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will advise farmers of the rules for (a) set aside, (b) uncultivated fields and (c) permanent pasture; and if she will make a statement. [185145]

With regard to set-aside, we will be advising farmers before the 1 August deadline. We will be making an announcement shortly on cross compliance conditions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to allow farmers to receive single farm payment in Euros; and if she will make a statement. [185233]

The Government are committed in principle to providing farmers with the option of receiving grants and subsidies in Euros. The computer systems at the Rural Payments Agency that will deliver the single payment are being developed with that in mind, and I will make an announcement in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many departmental publications are in storage; and where they are located. [183871]

Defra regularly publishes reports, consultations and publicity material. The current list of titles published by the department and available to the public numbers 1,595, of which 438 are stored digitally and printed on demand. Publications are stored at Defra Publications, based in East Kilbride, Scotland.Additionally, The Stationery Office publishes a number of publications on behalf of the department and for these publications retention and storage is a matter for the publisher.The titles available are listed on the Defra website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the cost to business of the stock-piling of toxic waste in the six month period following 16 July owing to the short-term shortfall of disposal capacity. [183797]

None. It is Government policy to ensure as smooth a transition as possible of the implementation of the requirements of the Landfill Directive and to avoid the need for storage of hazardous waste over and above that which normally occurs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if her Department will launch a public information campaign alerting businesses to their legal obligations as producers of waste. [183197]

The Department is taking a range of measures to inform businesses of their legal obligations as producers of waste. Defra has issued a code of practice and information leaflet covering the duty of care requirements which are set out in Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. We are currently reviewing the duty of care regime which will result in a consultation later in the year and should assist in raising public awareness.With the forthcoming changes to the management of hazardous waste, a dedicated hazardous waste web portal will be available at www.hazardous waste.org.uk from the 16 July 2004. Other measures to inform businesses of these changes include leaflets, updated and signposted Defra. Environment Agency and Envirowise websites, press releases, case study material and a communication network, established primarily through the Hazardous Waste Forum.The Envirowise programme, which is partly funded by Defra, offers businesses in the UK advice on their legal obligations relating to waste, together with a range of support and guidance on waste minimisation.Defra and the Department for Trade and Industry are informing businesses of their obligations under the Packaging Regulations and the forthcoming Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations and End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulations. For example, during the implementation of the WEEE directive the Government have organised over 50 workshops to alert stakeholders to the regulations.Defra also supports the Environment Agency-led NetRegs project, which provides businesses with an online plain English guide to the environmental legislation that applies to them. and how to comply with it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if (a) her Department and (b) the Environment Agency will establish an online database to monitor flows of wastes and other materials through the economy. [183229]

Good quality data on waste is vital to monitor and evaluate performance, underpin planning and investment decisions and formulate strategy and specific policy interventions. Defra's Waste Implementation Programme has established a data work-stream to ensure effective co-ordination, provision and dissemination of reliable data on different waste streams, through the development of a national three-year data strategy.Already in place is the development of a web-based intranet and central database to provide quarterly data on municipal waste. Waste Dataflow (www.wastedataflow.org) has been established by Defra together with the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, and is widely supported. The system will provide more timely, efficient and accessible data than is currently available, helping to monitor progress against landfill directive targets. The Environment Agency has played an important role in helping to steer this project.Our medium-term aim is to develop an accessible central database of current (and where available historic) data on all waste streams, working closely with the Environment Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance her Department issues to business producers of waste on how to discharge the statutory duty under section 34 of the 1990 Environmental Protection Act and the extent of due diligence required of such a producer in discharging its duty. [183228]

Defra has produced "Waste Management The Duty of Care Code of Practice" to offer guidance on complying with section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This is available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/ management/doc/pd f/waste_man_duty_code.pdfDefra has recently re-issued a leaflet entitled "Waste and Your Duty of Care" which can also be accessed online at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/management/doc/index.htmA comprehensive review of the duty of care regime is currently under way which will result in a consultation and an updated code of practice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is Government policy to close the Water Voice office in Exeter; and if she will make a statement. [185276]

[holding answer 20 July 2004]: The Government's policy in relation to Water Voice regional offices is to take forward the recommendations made by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in its report on the organisational and regional structure of the Consumer Council for Water that was published in January 2004, and for an Implementation Steering Group, which includes representatives from Defra, WaterVoice and Ofwat, to decide on the location of merged regional offices for the new Consumer Council for Water.PwC recommended that the offices in Exeter and Bristol currently serving the South West and Wessex should be merged in to one office and located either in Exeter, Bristol or at a new site in Taunton. Following consultation with staff in Exeter and Bristol, the Steering Group agreed that the merged office should be located in Bristol.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans does she have to ensure that the programme of investment on waterway infrastructure will meet the target of seven million tonnes of freight being transported on British Waterways navigations by 2010; and if she will make a statement. [183684]

The target referred to is one set by British Waterways itself, rather than the Government. It is an ambitious target but that is greatly to the credit of British Waterways.We encourage British Waterways to facilitate waterway transport by encouraging the transfer of freight from roads to water where this is practical, economic and environmentally desirable. The Government will continue to provide grant in aid to support British Waterways' Corporate Plan and in particular to help it address its backlog of maintenance and so enable it to meet its freight and other objectives. British Waterways is also eligible for grants from the Department of Transport's freight facilities grant programme towards infrastructure investments that will lead to identifiable transfer of lorry movements from roads.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations his Department has made to the US Administration about state aid for the US aviation industry; and if he will make a statement. [183294]

The issue of state aid has been raised in the negotiations between the European Community and the United States over a transatlantic Open Aviation Area. The new EU regulation on protection against subsidisation and unfair pricing practices by third country carriers, which has recently entered force, is designed to address unfair competition arising from subsidies to non-EU airlines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost of running the Department's canteen facilities was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available. [185244]

In 1996–97 the Department's restaurant services were provided by an outside contractor and the contract attracted a subsidy of £25,000. The Department also paid the accommodation and utilities costs. These were borne within the overall costs for the building (so separate figures are not available). The contract was re-let in 2000, it was let on a self-financing basis. This gave the contractor freedom to operate commercially and it obviated the requirement for a cash subsidy. The Department still pays the accommodation and utilities costs. Another contract has recently been let still under the same self-financing principle.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) incidents and (b) complaints regarding the safety of civil aircraft the UK aviation authorities received in (i) 2004 to date, (ii) 2003 and (iii) 2002, broken down by (A) airline, (B) aircraft type and (C) country of registration. [184129]

Neither we nor the CAA maintain a central record of complaints about the safety of particular airlines. We receive very few complaints from the public about the safety of airlines and these are dealt with as they arise. Appropriate action is taken if a complaint reveals any non-compliance with required standards.Article 117 of the Air Navigation Order establishes a Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) scheme for safety related incidents. The purpose of the scheme is to ensure that the CAA is advised of hazardous or potentially hazardous incidents and defects, and that knowledge of these occurrences is disseminated so that other persons and organisations may learn from them. This enables an assessment to be made by those concerned of the safety implications of each occurrence.Occurrence reports are an important part of our open reporting culture and the fact that an occurrence report has been made is not necessarily an adverse indication about the safety standards of an airline. The MOR scheme aims to ensure the safety of the UK industry but some reports, mainly relating to occurrences en route in UK airspace, do involve foreign aircraft.The tables, which have been placed in the Libraries of the House, set out the number of aircraft the subject of mandatory occurrence reports by state of registry and aircraft type for the years 2002 to 2004. Slight discrepancies exist between the figures because of the way data is recorded. Section 23 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 constrains the Civil Aviation Authority's ability to release information relating to individual companies that it receives under the MOR scheme. I therefore consider that it would be inappropriate for me to undermine those constraints by publishing a list of airlines whose aircraft have been the subject of mandatory occurrence reports.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the minutes of the Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Visual Disorders' special forum on progressive and non-progressive retinopathy. [184634]

The minutes of the meetings of the Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Visual Disorders are published regularly on the DVLA website. At the last meeting the Panel suggested that a useful area of research would be a workshop on retinopathy. We are currently considering whether this initiative should be included in the Department's research programme.If approved the results of the workshop will be published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost of printing departmental headed notepaper was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the last year for which figures are available. [185235]

[holding answer 19 July 2004]: The Department does not retain records of the former Department of Transport's expenditure, and to investigate the costs of printing its headed notepaper in 1996–97 could be done only at disproportionate cost.The Department for Transport's expenditure on headed notepaper for 2003–04 was £1,424.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how, under his proposals of 15 July, the borrowing of Network Rail is guaranteed. [185425]

[holding answer 20 July 2004]: Network Rail's borrowing benefits from support arrangements provided by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). As announced to the House by the Secretary of State for Transport on 15 July 2004, the SRA is to be closed. Its financial obligations, including those in support of Network Rail's borrowing, will be transferred to the Department for Transport, subject to the passage of the necessary legislation. In the meantime, the existing SRA support arrangements will continue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library the most recent review of (a) his Department's pay systems, (b) the pay systems of the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible and (c) the departmental equal pay action plan. [181356]

A copy of the Department's equal pay action plan will be placed in the Libraries of the House once it is finalised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the average journey time between central London and the centre of (a) Manchester, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Bristol and (d) Newcastle by (i) air, (ii) rail, (iii) lorry and (iv) car, including, in the case of air, check-in time at the airport. [182376]

Data on journey times by mode between these cities are not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) his Department, (b) its predecessor Department and (c) its related agencies in each year since 1997. [183892]

The Department for Transport came into existence on 29 May 2002 following Machinery of Government changes. The total travel and subsistence costs for civil servants in the Department for fiscal year 2002–03 were £1,606,589, and for 2003–04 were £1,919,678. Information for earlier years can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.The totals for the Department's agencies in the same years were £18,696,176 (2002–03), and £21,975,803 (2003–04).All travel undertaken by civil servants in the Department for Transport complied with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether British troops charged with torture or mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq could be tried in an Iraqi court under Iraqi law. [183244]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave on 1 July 2004, Official Report, column 432W, to the right hon. Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram). British troops serving in Iraq have immunity under Coalition Provisional Authority Order 17.United Kingdom armed forces, wherever they operate in the world, are subject to English criminal law. They can be tried by court martial for acts committed overseas if those acts would constitute a criminal offence if committed in the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when and in what circumstances Ministers were first informed of the practice of hooding; what the nature of the practice was; and what the reasons were for its abandonment. [183944]

[holding answer 20 July 2004]: The hooding of detainees for the purposes of arrest or transit was a standard procedure for United Kingdom troops prior to Operation Telic and, as such, was not specifically brought to the attention of Ministers. The UK believes that hooding during arrest and transit is acceptable when there is a strong military reason, for example to offer security to our own forces and locations or to provide protection to the detainee (through the prevention of identification by other detainees).Military commanders became aware that the practice of hooding could be harmful to prisoners, especially if it was applied inappropriately. They judged that these concerns outweighed the military justification for the continued use of hooding as a means of blindfolding, and that the most prudent, immediate response was to introduce a ban.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment were (a) awarded medals and (b) mentioned in despatches following their recent deployment in Iraq. [184500]

Following their recent deployment to Iraq (from June 2003 to November 2003), four personnel from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment were awarded medals and two were Mentioned in Despatches.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 7 July 2004, Official Report, column 721W, on Iraq, why he decided to publish the extracts from the document. [185600]

[holding answer 20 July 2004]: The extract contained the relevant information.

I first became aware that SIS had withdrawn the reports as a result of the Butler Review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the costs of participation in the European Rapid Reaction Force. [185202]

There is no standing European Rapid Reaction Force. National forces declared under the Helsinki Headline Goal are made available to European Union operations on a voluntary, case-by-case basis, as for NATO or United Nations operations. United Kingdom contributions to such operations are provided from within existing forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the responsibilities of the (a) Defence Housing Executive, (b) Defence Medical Training Organisation, (c) Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency, (d) Policy Director, (e) Deputy Chief Defence Staff (Equipment Capability), (f) Chief of Defence Intelligence, (g) Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, (h) Internal costs, (i) Programme Account and (j) Nuclear Management Groups. [181747]

The responsibilities of the management groupings requested are listed as follows:

(a) This organisation ceased to exist on 31 March 2003 when it was absorbed into Defence Estates.

(b) This organisation ceased to exist on 31 March 2003 following the formation of Defence Medical Education and Training Agency (DMETA).

(c) This Agency, owned by the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff Personnel (DCDS(Pers)), contributes to operational effectiveness through the provision of pay and administration services to Service personnel. In addition, the Agency provides direct support to the mobilization of reservists and the deployment of improved Operational Manpower systems.

(d) The Policy Director is responsible for future defence policy and international security policy.

(e) The Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Equipment Capability) heads the Equipment Capability Customer organisation. whose role is to develop an integrated and affordable equipment programme that meets Defence capability requirements, and to drive the delivery of new and enhanced military capability.

(f) The Chief of Defence Intelligence is responsible for the provision of defence intelligence to the MOD, the armed forces, wider Government and allies. His areas of responsibility encompass the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) including its agencies, the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency and the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre.

(g) Training in security, languages, intelligence and photography takes place at the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, who also provide advice on intelligence and security policy.

(h) This Management Group was discontinued with effect from 31 March 2004. It has been merged with (i) Programme Account.

(i) The responsibilities of the Programme Account Management Group are: the purchase of new equipment systems and associated weapons including major upgrade programmes and system procurement expenses such as studies and the management and funding of Defence Procurement Agency staff, accommodation and all related activities.

(j) The responsibilities of the Nuclear Management Group are; to sustain a safe and effective Nuclear Warhead capability and to discharge MOD's liabilities for waste management and decommissioning at the sites of BNFL and UKAEA.

Further information on individual defence agencies is available in the Library of the House of Commons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the responsibilities of the (a) Fleet, (b) General Officer Commanding (Northern Ireland), (c) Field Army, (d) 1st (UK) Armoured Division, (e) 2nd Division, (f) 3rd Division, (g) 4th Division, (h) 5th Division, (i) UK Support Command (Germany), (j) Joint Helicopter Command and (k) Land Support management groups. [181779]

The responsibilities of the management groupings requested are listed as follows:

(a) The Commander-in-Chief Fleet ensures the Royal Navy carries out its responsibilities by delivering an effective and capable Fleet based on flexible support, the continuous development of people, organisations and capability and through the most efficient use of resources.

(b) It is the responsibility of the GOC NI to implement policy in accordance with Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of General Staff Directives and to support the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in the defeat of terrorism and in the maintenance of Public Order in order to assist HMG's objective of returning to normality.

(c) Exercising operational command of the Field Army and training designated forces for war and other operations in order to provide military capability in the right place, at the right time in the most cost effective manner.

(d) 1st (UK) Armoured Division is to maintain and where possible enhance the Division's capabilities with emphasis on war in order to set the conditions for future success on operations.

(e) 2nd Division is to provide the most effective regional command and infrastructure support to all formations and units within Scotland and the North of England in order to enable Commander Regional Forces to deliver the required military capability and infrastructure support to CinC LAND.

(f) 3rd (UK) Division is to exercise operational command, train designated forces for war and other operations, and conduct operations as directed in order to provide military capability within readiness.

(g) 4th Division is to deliver, and where possible enhance, both military capability and the provision of infrastructure support to designated formations and units.

(h) 5th Division is to provide the most effective regional command and infrastructure support to all formations and units within its geographical area in order to enable Commander Regional Forces to deliver and, where possible, enhance the required military capability and infrastructure support to CinC LAND.

(i) The mission of United Kingdom Support Command (Germany) is to deliver, and where possible enhance, both military capability and the provision of infrastructure support to designated formations and units.

(j) Commander Joint Helicopter Command's primary role is to deliver and sustain effective Battlefield Helicopter and Air Assault assets, operationally capable under all environmental conditions, in order to support UK's defence missions and tasks.

(k) Land Support Management Group exists to effectively manage the resources of Headquarters Land Command, and the overall Communication Information Systems requirement for Land Command.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many nations he estimates have (a) air, (b) land and (c) submarine-launched (i) cruise and (ii) skim missiles with a range of more than 20 nautical miles. [185574]

The Ministry of Defence does not hold the information requested on all countries.

	Entry level 1 and 2(%)	Entry level 3(%)	Level 1 (%)	Level 2+(%)	Sample size
Literacy
England	5	11	40	44	7,874
North East	8	14	41	37	877
Northumberland	8	21	38	33	182
Tyne and Wear	7	15	42	36	310
County Durham	5	10	39	46	191
Tees Valley	10	15	43	33	294
Numeracy
England	21	26	28	25	8,040
North East	28	27	25	21	894
Northumberland	41	23	22	15	182
Tyne and Wear	24	26	24	26	317
County Durham	23	24	28	25	192
Tees Valley	31	30	24	15	303
1please note the small sample size

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what programmes his Department has established for collaboration between schools and independent countryside interpretation centres. [185548]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training is given to police officers employed in British-run military and civilian prisons in Iraq; and how long it lasts. [177245]

There are no British-run civilian prisons in Iraq. The only British detention facility in Iraq is the Divisional Temporary Detention Facility in Shaibah. Internees are guarded by soldiers of the Military Provost Staff who are trained to Home Office standards. No civilian prison or police officers are employed in Shaibah.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will update the data prepared for each English constituency by the Basic Skills Agency in 2000; and what the updated information is for each constituency in the North East Region. [185169]

In May 2004 the DfES commissioned work to produce local level estimates of literacy and numeracy in England based on the results of the Skills for Life survey (published in October 2003). The survey mapped skill levels to the National Standards for Adult Literacy and Numeracy. These estimates will update those provided by the Basic Skills Agency and will be available via the DfES's website in autumn 2004.At the current time, based on the Skills for Life survey findings, we can provide estimates of literacy and numeracy levels for the North East and its constituent Learning and Skills Council areas:

We welcome collaboration between schools and independent countryside interpretation centres and would encourage schools to develop relationships with them.More specifically, our Growing Schools programme has worked with 12,000 schools and 40 partner organisations which specialise in the field of outdoor education to assist teaching about food, farming and the countryside both within and beyond the school grounds. The programme is now further developing an accreditation scheme for countryside centres such as estates, farms, woodlands, parks, gardens and outdoor museums.Our London Challenge programme has commissioned the Field Studies Council to provide outdoor learning experiences for London pupils over a three year period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many dental clinical academics hold honorary consultant contracts. [181642]

I have been asked to reply.Detailed information has been published by the Council of Heads of Medical Schools and the Council of Deans of Dental Schools in "Clinical Academic Staffing Levels in UK Medical and Dental Schools", May 2004. A copy has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many (a) consultants and (b) advisers his Department employs; and what the annual cost is of their employment; [184739]

Working in partnership and involving front line practitioners in policy thinking and system change is fundamental to our vision for managing the transformation of the education system. We consult regularly with schools and take advice from headteachers and teachers to support the development of our policies.Authority to use consultants and advisers is delegated to Directorates and data on numbers is not recorded centrally. The cost of consultants charged to administration budgets in 2003–04 was £4.7 million. The cost charged to programmes is not recorded centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many teachers and teaching assistants posts will be lost at the end of the current school year in Nottingham City maintained schools; [184654]

The Department collects statistics on numbers of teachers and support staff in January each year and will be publishing the figures for January 2004 by local education authority in the autumn. These show an increase in full-time equivalent regular teachers in Nottingham City between 1999 and 2003 of 210 (10 per cent.). Schools make changes in their staffing levels every year in response to a range of issues including changing pupil numbers, new school priorities and the resources available to them.The calculation of the Education Formula Spending Share has a floor and ceiling component which ensures that all authorities see a minimum increase per pupil which is in part funded by having a ceiling which imposes a maximum increase per pupil. In 2004–05 Nottingham City local education authority received the ceiling increase (6.8 per cent. per pupil) which reduced its Education Formula Spending Share by £2.8 million.The funding allocation for each local education authority for 2005–06 will be announced in the provisional local government finance settlement in the autumn. However, every authority will receive an increase in the Schools Formula Spending Share of at least 5.5 per cent. per pupil. [Primary and nursery schools will receive a minimum funding increase per pupil of 5 per cent. and secondary schools of 4 per cent. where pupil numbers do not change.]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many eligible feeder schools there were in each of the last five years in (a) the state sector and (b) the independent sector for grammar schools subject to the feeder school provisions of the grammar school ballot regulations, broken down by local education authority in England. [184748]

Responsibility for identifying qualifying feeder schools for the purpose of petitions and ballots to decide the future admission arrangements of grammar schools falls to the designated ballot administration company, Electoral Reform Services. Consequently, the Department does not collect this data.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the oral answer of 8 July 2004, Official Report, column 1022, if he will publish the guidance and regulations which require schools wishing to expand to take account of (a) the local situation, (b) other schools in the area, (c) the adjudicator and (d) other factors. [185598]

[holding answer 20 July 2004]: The current statutory guidance to decision-makers and those wishing to publish proposals is available on the Department's website and hard copies are sent to interested parties on request. In deciding proposals for the expansion of schools, School Organisation Committees and Adjudicators are required to consider a range of factors including relevant local issues, the impact on neighbouring schools and the effect on standards in the area, though there is a "strong presumption" in favour of popular and successful schools being able to expand.The Five Year Strategy document announced plans for a new fast track process to enable popular and successful schools to expand more quickly. We will consult on amendments to regulations, procedures and guidance in September. We intend that the decision on proposals will continue to be for the School Organisation Committee (SOC) or, where they cannot agree unanimously, the schools adjudicator. Decision-makers will continue to decide proposals on their merits, taking into account all relevant factors. The current strong presumption that proposals should be approved will be reinforced in revised guidance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the Board Members of Partnership for Schools indicating the other public sector appointments each member holds. [182506]

The Board Members of Partnerships for Schools are all officials of the Department:

• Stephen Crowne
• Peter Stanton-Ife
• Lorraine Chapman

The first two are also directors of Partnerships for Church of England Schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much will be spent per learner in Stalybridge and Hyde in (a) school sixth-forms and (b) further education colleges in 2004–05. [185364]

The Department does not collect information on the level of funding per pupil in school sixth-forms and further education colleges at the local level. Mark Haysom, the Learning and Skills Council's Chief Executive will write to the hon. Member with details of funding provided for (a) school sixth-forms and (b) further education colleges in 2004–05 in the local area covering Stalybridge and Hyde. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Libraries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to provide specific funding to help further education colleges in Stalybridge and Hyde refurbish and rebuild their estates. [185365]

All of the Department's post-16 learning and skills sector capital investment is allocated to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The Department does not provide a specific budget to the LSC for rebuilding and refurbishing property in further education colleges at either the local or regional levels. It is for the LSC to determine for itself the right level of capital investment is further education colleges. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provision has been made to protect schools against the risk of financial failure on the part of a private finance initiative contractor. [185399]

Most PFI deals involve stand-alone special purpose vehicles (SPVs) with other investors and contractors, plus bank financing. It is a usual feature of PFI projects that the banks have the opportunity to step in and find a new contractor in the event of insolvency and we would expect the banks to do this. The Department for Education and Skills is not party to schools PFI contracts; these are between the local authority and the relevant consortium. Officials are ready to assist and advise local authorities if this should prove necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to the education budget of (a) school admissions and appeals, (b) the School Adjudicator and (c) school admissions policy staff in his Department in the last year for which figures are available. [185242]

[holding answer 20 July 2004]: The Department does not collect data on expenditure by each local authority on the administration of school admissions and appeals. However, for the financial year 2004–05, LEA net planned budgets to cover this expenditure totals £46 million, or approximately £307,000 per local authority. This includes budgets for funding delegated to governing bodies of schools that are their own admission authority and administer the system themselves.For the financial year 2003–04, outturn figures showed the total cost of the Schools Adjudicators and their support staff to be £637,572 and the total cost of school admissions policy staff to be £530,287.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what encouragement is given to (a) local education authorities and (b) schools to source locally grown produce for school meals; and if he will make a statement. [185281]

In 2003 the Department produced a purchasing guide for schools and LEAs that encourages them to source locally grown produce for school meals. In addition, there are case studies of good practice available on the Teachernet website at http:// www.teachernet.gov.uk/.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the surplus places rule was abolished. [184632]

There has been no formal surplus places rule. In the past, local authorities bid for capital support for new pupil places in areas where there was pupil growth, to meet their statutory duty to provide sufficient school places. In assessing the bids, my Department took account of places in surrounding schools in coming to a view on how many additional places to support each year. However, capital funding for school buildings can come from a number of sources, including other capital programme authorities' own resources and agreements with developers.From 2004–05, against a background of rising capital investment in school buildings, and in order to simplify the process for allocating resources on pupil places criteria, we have moved to making allocations by formulae.In addition, from 2003-04 we have set up a dedicated capital stream and issued guidance that has a strong presumption in favour of expansion to enable successful and popular schools to expand.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many copies of his Department's annual report were printed in each year since 1997; how many were sold in each year; and what the (a) publication costs and (b) sales revenue were. [183883]

DFID's first departmental report was produced in 1998.Between 1998 and 2002 publication of DFID's departmental report was handled by The Stationery Office Limited (TSO). The cost of production was met by DFID. The cost of printing was met by TSO. TSO provided an agreed number of copies to DFID and retained revenue from sales.The following table includes the number of copies supplied to DFID, the number of copies issued by TSO and the production costs met by DFID. The total number of reports produced is not available, nor is the revenue earned by TSO.

	Copies supplied to DFID	Copies issued by TSO	Cost of production met by DFID (£)
1998	1,500	605	33,672
1999	2,662	531	65,051
2000	3,842	509	98,000
2001	5,000	547	81,576
2002	3,500	531	61,235

From 2003 the arrangements with The Stationery Office Limited (TSO) were changed. DFID handled both the production and print of the report itself, providing the required number of copies to TSO. TSO retain the revenue of any copies sold. The report is also available to download, free of charge, from DFID's website.This second table includes the number of copies produced, the additional number of copies issued by ISO, and the cost of printing and production met by DFID.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Haiti. [184330]

[holding answer 20 July 2004]: DFID is addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Haiti primarily through its contribution to the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and through its shareholding in the World Bank. Both organisations provide grants to Haiti's National Programme for HIV/AIDS.The Global Fund approved two grants to Haiti amounting to US $25 million in late 2002. As a result, the National Programme accelerated its delivery of treatment and care to a target group of 500,000 poor people. So far, US $17 million has been disbursed.The World Bank agreed a US$ 2.9 million grant to Haiti in early 2003 for the prevention and control of infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS. The grant is being implemented with the support of the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). In addition, DFID has provided support to WHO/PAHO to help kick-start the provision of affordable Anti-Retro-Viral medicines globally, from which Haiti will benefit.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures he proposes to cater for women affected by AIDS and their children. [185547]

The UK Government's new strategy, 'Taking Action: The UK's Strategy for Tackling HIV and AIDS in the Developing World', launched by the Prime Minister on 20 July 2004, prioritises women and young people. Chiefly, the UK Government will:

Support comprehensive programmes for women that address not only their access to sexual and reproductive health and rights but also access to education, employment and social protection.

Support efforts to promote girls' education and work to support programmes tackling gender violence and stigma and discrimination.

Strengthen the links between AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health programmes.

Make support for orphans and vulnerable children a cornerstone of our response, by dedicating at least £150 million over the next three years to address their needs, including through:

securing international commitment to UNICEF's Strategic Framework;

reflecting our commitment in the Country Assistance Plans in all affected countries; and

working on a range of interventions to assist keeping children productively in school, secure access to health care and social protection.

Support prevention and treatment programmes that meet the needs of marginalised groups.

Promote the greater involvement of people with HIV and AIDS—including women, young people and marginalized groups—in planning and delivering programmes.

Ensure the human rights of marginalised and vulnerable groups, including women and children, are given proper attention, including:

supporting legislative reform to improve the human rights environment—including anti discrimination legislation, legislation to regulate the conduct of public institutions like the police, and to guarantee individuals access to services.

Working with the formal justice sector to make justice systems more responsive to human rights concerns and more accessible to vulnerable groups.

The UK Government will also support research to build the evidence base and contribute to effective AIDS programmes worldwide. DFID will work to help coordination and information sharing between the various research initiatives concerned with the delivery and the impacts of HIV treatment. In particular DFID will support research efforts, which address access to treatment by the poorest and most vulnerable, including women and children.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures he proposes to take to tackle AIDS in Asia. [185581]

DFID currently funds major HIV and AIDS programmes in eight countries in Asia¹, and supports regional initiatives to reduce the spread of infection and provide services for vulnerable groups. Fuller details are set out in the table on page 20 of the recently launched "Taking Action, the UK's Strategy for Tackling HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries".DFID will continue to strengthen political leadership and public support for action in all the Public Service Agreement countries in Asia. DFID will intensify its support to national programmes including through non-Government organisations, for example, by supporting India's National AIDS Control Organisation and targeting vulnerable groups in Vietnam and Bangladesh.DFID will assist the Chinese Government to expand the delivery of services for high risk populations in the poorest provinces of China, and to replicate the approach on a national basis.