To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the most recent growth projections for the British economy are. [197397]

The Government last published forecasts for the UK and world economy in the Budget on 10 March 2004, with UK GDP projected to grow by 3 to 3.5 per cent. both this year and next. We will update our forecasts, as usual, in the forthcoming 2004 pre-Budget report.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on plans to change the tax status of Business Link organisations. [197398]

Changes to the way Business Link organisations deliver their services mean that an increased part of their service is being provided free of charge. This has implications for VAT. It is a basic principle of VAT that when an activity is provided free of charge there is no supply for VAT purposes and the supplier therefore cannot recover the VAT incurred on purchases.

Customs are currently working with the Small Business Service, Regional Development Agencies and Business Link organisations to put in place simplified arrangements to enable Business Link organisations to calculate their tax liabilities.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on start-up companies of section 22 of the Finance Act 2003. [197399]

We are aware, from sector representations, that reform of the taxation of employee shares through schedule 22 of Finance Act 2003 has resulted in uncertainty of tax treatment for researchers in universities starting up spinout companies.

Officials are working closely with the sector to identify solutions that provide certainty of tax treatment. the Government are committed to creating a clear fiscal environment that enables public sector research establishments to grow companies based on their research.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes he has made to his forecasts for growth in the North West since this year's Budget. [197400]

HM Treasury does not produce economic forecasts for individual regions of the United Kingdom. However, I can report that the regional policies this Government has put in place to level up the performance of all regions to that of the best has seen the North West enjoying above UK average growth of GVA per capita in recent years and the highest employment and lowest unemployment since records began.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to achieve progress towards full employment. [197401]

The Government's long-term goal is employment opportunity for all—the modern definition of full employment. Its aim is to ensure a higher proportion of people in work than ever before by 2010. The Government's strategy is set out in "Full Employment in Every Region", published alongside the 2003 pre-Budget report, and is based on maintaining macroeconomic stability and ensuring a dynamic and flexible labour market that equips people to adapt to change.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the change in the level of indirect taxation between 1997 and 2004. [197402]

In 1996–97, revenues from taxes collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise totalled £89.8 billion, equivalent to 10.7 per cent. of Gross Domestic Product. In 2003–04, the corresponding figures were £115.7 billion, or 10.4 per cent. of GDP.

The change reflects a combination of factors including strong economic growth and consumer spending, policy changes—including real-terms cuts in the duties on fuel and alcohol, and increases in tobacco duties—and successful efforts by Customs and Excise to measure and tackle losses from fraud, avoidance and non-compliance.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has held with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on the effects on the economy of developing workforce skills. [197403]

Treasury Ministers have regular dialogue with their colleagues in the Department for Education and Skills about a range of issues, including the importance of developing the skills of the workforce.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met G8 leaders to discuss progress towards reducing Third World Debt. [197405]

At the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, donors agreed to work together to extend the HIPC initiative for a further two years. This will enable another 10 countries to benefit from over $30 billion of debt relief, freeing up resources which can be spent on health and education and the eradication of poverty.

G8 Finance Ministers have been asked to report back by the end of the year on additional measures that can further help developing countries address the sustainability of their debt, including the UK's decision to provide our share of up to 100 per cent. cancellation of multilateral debt for the poorest countries.

To ask The Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the role of economic instruments in tackling climate change and global warming. [197406]

The Government have introduced a number of economic instruments to help tackle the challenge of climate change—including the climate change levy, enhanced capital allowances, and the reform of company car taxation. The role of economic instruments in tackling environmental challenges was set out in "Tax and the Environment: using economic instruments", published alongside PBR2002. The Government continues to explore options for using cost-effective economic instruments, alongside other policies, to tackle climate change and global warming, taking into account all social, economic and environmental objectives.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been achieved in meeting the millennium goals. [197407]

The world is on track to meet the poverty reduction goal. Progress towards the other seven goals varies. On current rates of progress, Sub-Saharan Africa will not meet any of the goals by 2015. For this reason, the Prime Minister set up the Commission for Africa to generate further international action on Africa. The Government are also seeking to raise the finance needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals, through the International Finance Facility.

To ask The Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the economic objectives of the UK's presidency of the G7. [197408]

The Government sees the UK's Presidencies of the G7 and the EU in 2005 as an opportunity to develop consensus for, and action towards, the appropriate responses to the challenges and opportunities of today's global economy.

This includes: a greater focus on development to ensure that the world's poorest can share in rising prosperity; structural economic reform in the developed world to increase flexibility; and ensuring that we have the correct structures and institutions in place to deal with these challenges and opportunities.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many drug-related deaths were recorded in England in the last five years. [196443]

holding answer 9 November 2004

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 11 November 2004

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many drug-related deaths were recorded in England in the last 5 years. (196443)

Available figures are related to deaths from drug poisoning, not on the number of deaths which were drug-related. The most recently available information is for deaths in 2002. Figures are shown in the table below for the calendar years 1998 to 2002.

Number of deaths from drug-related poisoning, England,1998 to 2002 2⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾ Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 292, 304, 305.2–305.9, E850-E858, E950.0-E950.5, E962.0 and E980.0-E980.5 for 1999 and 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-IO) codes FII-F16, FI8-F19, X40-X44, X60-X64, X85 and YJO-Y14 from 2001 onwards.

⁽²⁾ Data are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer

(1) what meetings (a) he, (b) his departmental Ministers and (c) advisers and officials have held with representatives of (i) Sun City International, (ii) MGM Mirage, (iii) Mandalay Resort Group, (iv) Kerzner International, (v) Las Vegas Sands, Inc., (vi) Harrah's Entertainment, (vii) Caesar's Entertainment and (viii) other foreign casino firms; what the (A) dates and (B) venues of the meetings were; and which individuals were present; [193763]

(2) which (a) UK and (b) international organisations have submitted written representations to the Department concerning the Government's proposals for changes to legislation on gambling; and on what dates each representation (i) was received and (ii) was given a substantive response; [194512]

(3) on what dates (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the Department have held meetings with representatives of the UK gambling industry to discuss proposed changes to legislation on gambling. [194516]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the occasions on which (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have met representatives of (i) US casino operators, (ii) British casino operators and (iii) casino operators from other countries to discuss gambling issues, broken down by date of meeting. [195071]

The Chancellor keeps all taxation under review. As part of policy development and analysis, Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from, and have meetings with, a wide range of organisations and individuals, including the gambling industry. All such contacts are conducted in accordance with the "Ministerial Code" and the "Civil Service Management Code".

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the overseas visits made by (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the Department in relation to proposed changes to legislation on gambling; what the itinerary was for each visit; how long each visit lasted; which hotels were used; what the cost was in each case; and how each visit was funded. [194543]

holding answer 1 November 2004

Since 1999 this Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House.

An official of HM Customs and Excise visited France in connection with the proposed changes to legislation on gambling. The cost of the visit was met by the Department.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average level of physical activity (a) including and (b) excluding walking was in each region for each year in which the General Household Survey has been published since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [197365]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Don Foster, dated 11 November 2004

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the average level of physical activity including and excluding walking in each region for each year in which the General Household Survey has been published since 1990. (197365)

The General Household Survey, carried out by the Office for National Statistics, periodically publishes participation rates in at least one sport, game or physical activity (including and excluding walking). The latest available estimates are for the 2002 survey. The attached tables show participation rates in the 4 weeks before interview for:

(a) Government Office Region, 2002;

(b) Standard Region, 1996;

Unfortunately, regional analyses for 1990 to 1993 are not readily available.

In England, adults living in the North, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside regions were the least likely to have taken part in some sport or physical activity during the four weeks before interview (57%, 59% and 61% respectively) and those living in the South West, East Anglia or the two South East regions outside of London were the most likely to have participated (66%, 67%, 68% and 67% respectively). Adults living in Scotland also had high participation rates (66%) compared with England (64%) and Wales (63%).

Scotland had the highest participation rate at 62% compared with 58% in England and 57% in Wales. In England, adults living in the South West were more likely than those in other regions to have participated in at least one activity excluding walking (50% compared with 37% to 46% for other regions in England).

As with any sample survey, estimates from the General Household Survey are subject to sampling variability.

Games and Physical activities: participation rates in the four weeks before interview by Standard Region 1996 1.Persons aged 16 and over Great Britain: 1996

⁽³⁾ Regional data are only available from the General Household Survey for 1996 and 2000

Source:

General Household Survey

Games and Physical activities: participation rates in the four weeks before interview by Government Office Region 2002 Persons aged 16 and over Great Britain: 1996⁽⁴⁾

⁽⁴⁾ Regional data are only available from the General Household Survey for 1996 and 2002

⁽⁵⁾ Weighting for non-response was introduced on the General Household Survey in 2000, in order to reduce non-response bias and improve the quality of data. For 2002 the weighted base (000's) shown is the base for percentages. Bases for earlier years are of similar size and can be found in GHS reports for each year.

Source:

General Household Survey

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2004, Official Report, column 580W, on hospices (VAT relief), on which purchases hospices can benefit from specific VAT zero rates. [193727]

pursuant to the reply, 27 October 2004, Official Report, c. 1295W

I very much regret that the opening sentence of my earlier answer inadvertently contained information that was incorrect. It should have read:

The construction of a new building for use as a hospice and the first sale of a hospice converted from an existing non-residential building is VAT zero-rated.

I apologise for this mistake.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on funding for the voluntary sector. [197404]

Government funding represents a significant proportion of overall revenue for the voluntary and community sector, and is rising in absolute and percentage terms. The Home Office plans to publish a report on central Government funding for the voluntary sector at the end of November.

To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what facilities an ex-Member of the House of Commons who holds an ex-Member's pass is able to use within the Palace of Westminster; and if he will make a statement. [196730]

An ex-Member's pass allows the holder to use the Terrace Cafeteria and the Strangers' Bar and, on Monday lunchtimes only, the Members' Dining Room (the smaller of the two) in the House of Commons.

To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what plans he has to introduce a green travel plan for the parliamentary estate to include hon. Members. [196982]

Travel arrangements made by hon. Members to or from the parliamentary estate are not primarily the responsibility of the House of Commons Commission. Cycle parking facilities are provided on the estate for hon. Members, their staff and staff of the House of Commons. In the past year, former Member's car parking bays in Star Chamber Court have been converted into cycle parking racks, and additional racks have been provided outside 7 Millbank.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) publications, (c) initiatives, (d) projects and (e) receptions organised by his Department which have received funding from outside commercial bodies since May 1997, broken down by (i) funding body and (ii) amount paid. [196602]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what proportion of publications issued by his Department are available in (a) Braille, (b) autoprint, (c) large print and (d) easy read format. [194301]

The Wales Office has never been requested to provide any of its publications in any of these formats. In the event that such a request was received, the Office would endeavour to meet it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his estimate is of the cost of theft and fraud to (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997. [191423]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Wales to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 21 January 2003, Official Report, column 73W.

The Wales Office was established on 1 July 1999. The Wales Office does not sponsor any agencies or non-departmental public bodies.

Since this time, there has been no reported theft or fraud against this office.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of the staff in his Department in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 were people with disabilities. [196126]

I refer the hon. Member for Buckingham to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 9 November 2004, Official Report, column 619W.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has spent on the Development Awareness Fund. [197201]

Since 1998–99 a total of £27.6 million has been spent on the Development Awareness Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions the Government have had with the Nigerian Government on the implementation of the UK's Country Assistance Plan in Nigeria. [197202]

The Department for International Development has carried out extensive consultations on the new Nigeria Country Assistance Plan (CAP) with the Nigerian Government, both at federal and state level. We have also consulted widely with the private sector and civil society organisations. Discussions have included the Minister of Finance, the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, other members of the Economic Reform Team, the National Planning Commission, the Nigerian High Commission in London, and various federal Government agencies. State and local governments were consulted in a series of meetings held across the country. I personally met with a range of government representatives during my visit to Nigeria in September.

We will continue to work closely with our Nigerian partners in Government, Civil Society, the Private Sector and the Nigerian Diaspora as we move to implement the new CAP.

I will arrange for a document entitled "Report on the Outcomes of DFID Nigeria's CAP Consultation with Key Stakeholders in Nigeria and the UK" to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on the new energy efficiency commitment being used to stimulate the market for micro-combined heat and power and domestic heat pumps. [195183]

The consultation exercise on proposals for the Energy Efficiency Commitment after 2005 received a number of suggestions for the inclusion of an incentive for innovative technologies. The consultation period closed on 13 August. Following the formal consultation process, we received a number of representations from Members of Parliament in support of a specific amendment to the Order. They hoped that their proposal would assist the promotion of new energy efficient technologies, such as domestic heat pumps and micro combined heat and power.

We have been considering all suggestions as part of the development of the draft legislation for the next phase of the Energy Efficiency Commitment to be laid before Parliament shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and (b) English Heritage concerning the weighting given to heritage in the calculation of need for coastal defences. [193493]

I have had no direct discussion on this issue with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

However English Heritage, as the Government's statutory adviser on matters concerning the conservation of England's historic built environment, was consulted during development of guidance on environmental appraisal of flood and coastal defence projects and of the scoring system for prioritising such projects for Defra grant aid. English Heritage is also represented on Defra's Stakeholder Forum to inform the Government's new Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management.

Economic justification for proposed defences should as far as possible take into account benefits arising from protection of all assets, including heritage assets. Higher benefits in relation to costs will tend to increase a proposed project's priority score and, additionally, a specific allowance is made for protection of heritage assets in the scoring system. It is important to note that the priority scoring system does not attempt to determine the need for defences in an absolute sense but to prioritise proposed projects so that finite funding is allocated to best effect nationally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been paid out under (a) the Beef Special Premium Scheme, (b) the Suckler Cow Premium Scheme, (c) the Slaughter Premium, (d) the Over 30 Scheme and (e) the Beef National Envelope in each county in England in 2003–04; and if she will make a statement. [193847]

The total amount paid out under the(a) Beef Special Premium Scheme (BSPS), (b) Suckler Cow Premium Scheme (SCPS), (c) Slaughter Premium Scheme (SPS), (d) Over 30 Month Scheme (OTMS), and the (e) Beef National Envelope (BNE) for each county in England for the 2003 scheme year is as detailed in the following table:

£

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of her annual departmental budget was spent on the payment of professional advisers and private sector consultants in each year since June 2001. [197223]

Details of expenditure on professional advisers and private sector consultants since June 2001 are not held centrally.

For the financial year 2003–04, the Department spent £45 million on externally provided professional services, approximately 10 per cent. of core departmental expenditure on goods, services and works.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the private sector consultants and professional advisers employed by the Department since June 2001 are former civil servants; and, of those, how many were previously employed by her Department and its predecessor. [197224]

The information requested cannot be provided as the Department does not keep records of the employment of staff after they leave the Department. The criteria for the selection of professional service providers in Defra are eligibility, economic and financial standing, and the ability and technical capacity to provide the services required at best whole life cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the UK defines a specialist private keeper when processing Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species importation applications for primates; and if she will make a statement. [196415]

This is not an expression defined by CITES or used by the UK CITES management authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average dairy farm income in (a) England and (b) Lancashire was in the last period for which figures are available. [194624]

In 2002–03 the average net farm income for dairy farms in England was £18,300 and for the north-west Government office region £16,800. There are insufficient farms in the sample to quote county levels of income by farm type for Lancashire. Net farm income is the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and to the tenant-type capital of the business.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) dairy cows and (b) dairy herds there were in the UK in each of the past 10 years for which records are available. [196688]

The following figures show the number of dairy cows and the number of holdings with dairy cows in England from 1994 to 2003.

Notes:

1. Figures for the other UK countries fall under the jurisdiction of the devolved authorities.

2. Figures prior to 2000 show main holdings only. From 2000 onwards all holdings are included.

Source:

June Agricultural Census

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will break down the budget set by her Department for public expenditure on the food industry and crops for financial years (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 by programme. [196693]

The Department's plans for public expenditure on food industry and crops for the two years 2004–05 and 2005–06 consist of the following programmes:

£ million

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the status will be of egg imports from other EU countries where the eggs are produced in conditions that would not meet the standards set for the welfare of laying hens in this country. [193929]

Council Directive 1999/74/EC sets down standards for the protection of laying hens and all eggs produced in the UK or imported from other EU countries have to meet these standards.

World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules do not permit the prohibition of imports of goods on animal welfare grounds alone. Restrictions can only be applied where there is a threat to human, animal or plant health in the importing country. Restriction on trade of goods based on method of production is not permitted and would put us in breach of WTO rules.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to ensure that energy efficiency measures are implemented in the Government's Sustainable Communities Plans. [195189]

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister lead on delivery of the Government's Sustainable Communities Plans. Defra is working closely with ODPM at all levels to ensure that these plans encourage, among other things, an energy-efficient built environment. Low-carbon technologies, including CHP, changes to planning policy and building regulations, support for exemplary development schemes and research in the growth areas all have a role to play in this. Defra is also actively contributing to the development of the Code for Sustainable Buildings, to be demonstrated in the Thames Gateway and elsewhere.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when Government Departments will publish their plans detailing the actions they will take to deliver energy targets. [193824]

Under the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate, all Departments were required to publish their delivery plans (within six months for civil Departments, eight months for MOD) detailing the actions they will take to deliver energy targets. These energy targets were published in February 2004. Delivery plans should be posted on departmental websites and can be accessed via the framework website at http://www.sustainable~development.gov.uk/sdig/improving/progressa.htm.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the Greek presidency of the EU the committees (a) for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress and implementation of the directives on waste met, (b) on the directive on packaging and packaging waste and (c) for the adaptation to technical and scientific progress of the directive on the protection of the environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present at each meeting; what (i) technical and (ii) financial issues were raised by the UK Government expert at each meeting; what recommendations the committee produced during that period; what actions were (A) proposed and (B) taken by (1) the EU and (2) the UK Government as a result of the committee's recommendations; and if she will make a statement. [193396]

During the Greek Presidency, which took place between January to June 2003, the technical adaptation committee (TAC) on waste met twice in Brussels on 15 January and 7 May. On 15 January, the committee voted to adopt a commission decision establishing component and material coding standards for vehicles pursuant to directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles. This subsequently appeared in the Official Journal on 28 February 2003, and was transposed in the UK by the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations 2003 (S.I.2003/2635).

No decisions were taken at the TAC meeting on 7 May, but there was preliminary discussion on a common system for demonstrating compliance with the recovery and recycling targets in the ELV directive.

The packaging and packaging waste committee met once during the Greek Presidency, on 29 January 2003, in Brussels. The committee's role is to exchange information on and progress harmonisation of related issues including data reporting by member states to the commission and marking of packaging.

The committee in relation to the Recycling to Agricultural Land Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC) did not meet during the Greek Presidency. Command Paper 6097 "Developments in the European Union, January to June 2003, the Greek Presidency" was laid before Parliament in January 2004 and is available at www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers, and gives further information on progress during the Greek Presidency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to minimise the number of experiments that will need to be conducted on animals following the introduction of the EU Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive. [196821]

Keeping animal testing to the necessary minimum is a prime objective of the UK Government in negotiating the REACH regulation. Our aim is to protect human health and the environment while keeping bureaucracy to a minimum and keeping animal testing down both by use of alternative methods and by avoiding duplicates. Our proposal for "one substance one registration" commands support because it is designed to meet all these UK negotiating requirements and discussions in Council Working Groups are continuing on that basis.

We welcome the fact that there is now widespread acceptance of the need to minimise animal testing. Concerns of the UK and others have led to several provisos being included in the legislative proposal to encourage maximum use of existing data, avoid duplication of testing and to require the use of alternative methods wherever possible and appropriate.

The Commission proposal includes a pre-registration phase which should allow for data sharing. There are also incentives to encourage consortia formation through sharing fees incurred in the registration process. The UK has proposed a mandatory system of "one substance, one registration" to ensure data sharing and decrease the burden on regulators, and this is currently being discussed in Council Working Groups.

The UK Government have in place a programme for work on improving animal welfare in research and in May 2004 we set up a New Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research with a doubling of the budget for the current year to £660,000. The new centre will develop a UK strategy for the implementation of the 3Rs, fund high quality research that advances the 3Rs, provide advice on the 3Rs and animal welfare to the scientific community and work with regulators on the acceptance of alternative methods for regulatory toxicity testing. The work of the centre will help to reduce the animal experiments required under REACH.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate how many extra experiments will need to be conducted upon animals in each of the next five years as a result of the UK's implementation of the EU Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive. [196822]

The UK Government's approach to REACH is to achieve the best possible outcome in terms of protecting human health and the environment while keeping both the bureaucratic burdens on industry and the extent of animal testing to the necessary minimum. REACH is currently under negotiation in Council and in the European Parliament and is unlikely to be agreed before 2006. Once agreed REACH will phase in existing substances over 11 years. REACH is still being negotiated and any estimate of how many experiments would be needed over each of the next five years could be misleading.

The information needed by REACH to provide the basis for protecting human health and the environment may come from a number of sources, of which animal testing is only one. The chemical industry already has some of this information while there are other sources of information such as mathematical modelling and read-across of data from one chemical to another which will reduce the number of new experiments that will be required.

Another factor that will lead to further reductions in the number of experiments that will be conducted under REACH is the significant amount of testing that has taken place internationally over recent years and is ongoing on high production volume chemicals (those produced or imported in quantities over 1,000 tonnes per year) that will not need to be repeated.

It is an overall objective for the UK Government, in negotiating the REACH Regulation, to ensure that animal testing is kept to the minimum necessary to protect human health and the environment.

We hope that our proposal for "one substance, one registration" will have significant impact in minimising animal testing and that meaningful estimates can be provided once the process of negotiation is complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full-time equivalent jobs (a) her Department and (b) its executive agencies had in (i) Yorkshire and the Humber and (ii) the City of York in (A) 1997 and (B) the latest year for which figures are available. [191850]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 25 October 2004, Official Report column 1053W.

The information placed in the Library of the House did not include the Rural Payments Agency, which had 420 permanent staff in Yorkshire and the Humber on 1 April 2004. None of these staff were located in the City of York. Data is not available for 1997 as RPA was created in November 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the information requested in the "Extensification Payment Scheme 2004: Status of Subsidiary Holdings" is also available on pages 17 and 18 of Farm's 2003 Integrated Administration and Control System form. [193874]

The information requested by the Rural Payments Agency in a letter entitled "Extensification Payment Scheme 2004: Status of Subsidiary Holdings" is not available in answers given on a producer's Integrated Administration and Control System application or any of the bovine scheme claim forms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to ensure that hospitality within her Department is sourced from fair trade producers wherever possible within the boundaries set by the public procurement rules. [196656]

We have introduced fair trade food and drink products into nine of the eleven Defra staff restaurants, including the Department's headquarters and a number of regional offices in Guildford, Reading, York and Crewe. At all of these sites the teas and coffees served as official hospitality are fair trade products.

The position in Defra generally is explained in a case study published on the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative web site. URL: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/casestudies/tea-coffee.htm.

The web site also provides advice on fair trade considerations at http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/trade.htm, including a link to the Office of Government Commerce's "Guidance on Fair and Ethical Trading".

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the latest position on the proposed flood defence scheme for the Silk Stream, Edgware and Colindale. [194851]

Main works at Prince Edward's Playing Field in Harrow are expected to be complete by December 2004 and work on the flood storage area in Summerhouse Lake is expected to start in April 2005. Construction to enhance flood storage at Stoney Wood Lake is expected to start in September 2005 subject to the availability of funds in the Environment Agency (EA)'s Capital Programme for 2005–06.

The EA's proposed Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) needed for the new flood storage areas at Bury Farm and Edgwarebury Park is currently being implemented and a revised planning application for the proposed work will be submitted in December 2004. Subject to funding and the satisfactory resolution of any objections to the CPO, work is scheduled to begin at both sites in 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what reports the Department has received from the Met Office about potential flooding in the UK during the coming winter. [196002]

The Department receives twice-weekly briefings on the flood risk outlook from the Environment Agency, which are based on forecast information that they receive from the Met Office. The Met Office does not claim to be able to make predictions of rainfall and other major meteorological drivers of flooding for more than about five days ahead.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of recent development of the glass container industry upon the industry's prospects for meeting the 2008 target for glass recycling under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive; and if she will make a statement. [194723]

No assessment has been made of the UK's ability to meet the Packaging Directive's glass target of 60 per cent. in 2008 following the recent developments within the glass container industry.

While the UK glass container industry alone is unlikely to have sufficient reprocessing capacity to deliver the glass target in 2008, there is work being carried out with Industry, WRAP and the Agencies to open up viable alternative markets for recycled glass in order to bridge the gap. The Department, in conjunction with the Advisory Committee on Packaging, is continuing to monitor progress on glass recycling closely and fully expects the UK to comply with the target in 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

(1) what progress the Government have made in meeting targets for emissions of greenhouse gases in the UK; [195980]

(2) what further plans the Government have for achieving a reduction in the output of greenhouse gases in the UK. [195964]

The UK remains on course to achieve its Kyoto target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2008–12. Total UK emissions of greenhouse gases in 2003 are provisionally estimated to have fallen by 14 per cent. compared to 1990. Emissions of carbon dioxide for 2003 are provisionally estimated at about 7 per cent. lower than in 1990.

The UK climate change programme published in 2000 sets out the Government's approach to tackling climate change. It contains a framework of policies and measures intended to achieve the emissions reductions necessary to deliver the UK's commitment under the Kyoto protocol and move towards the 20 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

The Government recognise that additional measures may be needed to achieve the domestic goal of a 20 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The current review of the UK climate change programme aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the progress that the Government and the devolved Administrations have made towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions since the programme was published in 2000 to see whether the UK is still on track to meet its domestic goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 2010. If not, the Government will look carefully at whether to introduce new policies and measures, and/or strengthen existing ones. The review will also consider the action that the UK will need to take to ensure it is on course to make "real progress by 2020" towards the ambitious longer-term goal of reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent. by 2050, as set out in the Energy White Paper.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she intends to take to reduce the loss of greenhouse gases from refrigerators during their lifetime; and if she will make a statement. [196075]

Most major UK manufacturers of domestic refrigeration now use hydrocarbon refrigerants. The refrigerant charge in domestic refrigerators is also hermetically sealed and therefore designed not to leak.

The EC proposal for a Regulation on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases includes a range of measures for the containment and recovery of these gases from commercial refrigeration. Political agreement was reached in October 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government have to offer a payment to those affected by a ban on hunting; and whether this would apply if the individual were to emigrate. [193448]

The Government have no plans to pay compensation to anyone affected by a ban on hunting.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what controls regulate the disposal of waste in landfill sites. [195972]

The disposal of waste to landfill is controlled by the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 as amended by the Landfill (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004. This legislation is regulated by the Environment Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of waste in England was (a) sent to landfill sites for disposal and (b) recycled in 2003–04. [195973]

The Municipal Waste Management Survey of English local authorities, conducted annually by Defra, shows that 75 per cent. of municipal waste was sent to landfill in 2002–03 and 16 per cent. was recycled. Audited data for 2003–04 are not yet available.

Figures for the amount of commercial and industrial and construction and demolition waste are not collected annually. However, the Environment Agency's National Waste Production Survey of a sample of 20,000 businesses, conducted in 1998–99, estimated that 50 per cent. of commercial and industrial waste was sent to landfill and 30 per cent. was recycled, while 35 per cent. of construction and demolition waste was recycled and 24 per cent. sent to landfill. A further estimated 41 per cent. of construction and demolition waste was used on landfill sites as day cover.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the environmental impact of privately-owned leisure boats; and if she will make a statement. [195579]

Privately-owned leisure boats are subject to a range of general environmental legislation, specific statutory controls and good practice guidance designed to mitigate any harmful effects on the environment. These measures are developed through regular contact with relevant associations such as the Royal Yachting Association and the British Marine Federation.

Formal consultation is carried out with stakeholders to gauge environmental impacts and to ensure measures adopted take into consideration the studies carried out by agencies, navigation authorities, environmental groups and private bodies into specific aspects of leisure boat use.

In addition, work is carried out within Government Departments and through external consultants to gauge the impact of the leisure sector on the environment, for example the generation of marine litter washed up on the UK shoreline.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost of dealing with litter (a) dropped and (b) wrongly disposed of during each of the last five years. [195965]

It is not possible to separate costs for litter cleansing. These costs are included within the overall street cleansing figures. ODPM has provided the total expenditure figures on street cleaning not chargeable to highways, as follows:

It is estimated that 2002–03 will be £492.45million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if her Department will increase penalties for people who drop litter on the streets. [195966]

Yes. We have already made that intention clear and consulted on our proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's strategy is over the next five years for dealing with litter on the streets. [195969]

The recent Clean Neighbourhoods consultation set out a number of practical proposals for dealing with litter and improving the local environment everywhere in the country. We hope to take forward several of the measures contained therein through the earliest suitable legislative opportunity.

Recent pilots have resulted in a significant reduction in fast food litter and as a result we are currently finalising the Voluntary Code of Practice for "Food on the Go".

We have recently published the segmentation research into chewing gum droppers, at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/litter/index.htm. The research will inform a national campaign to target gum users to change the behaviour of gum droppers. The campaign will be launched in the summer.

All this work is underpinned by the annual Local Environmental Quality Survey of England, developed on the Government's behalf by ENCAMS. The survey provides the most precise picture we have ever had of the state of the local environment throughout the country. The survey also enables us to accurately assess how successful the above measures are working on the ground.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the running costs of Ministers' private offices in her Department have been in each year since 1997. [191385]

The running costs of Ministers' private offices since Defra was formed in June 2001 are:

These figures incorporate the staff and administration costs incurred, by financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether back-up grazing land belonging to commoners of the New Forest is defined as land used for horses for the purposes of the single farm payment scheme; and if she will make a statement. [194672]

Any land held by commoners outside the area of the common, whether grazing horses or not, is potentially eligible for the single payment, subject to the conditions that generally apply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of new sales of domestic refrigerators did not rely on hydrofluorocarbon technology in the last year for which figures are available; and what plans she has to phase out the use of this technology in domestic refrigeration. [194118]

Hydrofluorocarbon technology in domestic refrigerators has already largely been phased out in the EU.

All major UK manufacturers of domestic refrigerators now use hydrocarbon based refrigerants. A small amount of imported domestic refrigeration equipment uses hydrofluorocarbons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

(1) what the purpose is of the study on commercial refrigeration commissioned by her Department; [194125]

(2) whether her Department's study on commercial refrigeration is related to her objective of ensuring that the UK reduces its emissions of global warming gases. [194126]

This study is part of a larger piece of work intended to update data relevant to projections of emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases. The study will review the relevant section of an earlier Defra commissioned report by AEA Technology.

The work will review the calculation methodology used in the emissions model, the activity and emission factors used, and the baseline assumptions concerning future market trends and developments (e.g. uptake of alternative fluids). The assumptions required for the emissions model will be clearly defined, and an estimate of uncertainties provided where possible. Industry and other stakeholders will be contacted during this task, and their views reported.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the aggregate cost of compliance with her Department's regulations was in the last year for which figures are available. [196559]

All proposals which impact on business, charities or the voluntary sector require a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) which includes details of the costs, benefits and risks of the proposal. RIAs are subject to public consultation and copies of final RIAs are available from the House Libraries and on departmental websites.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will break down by programme the budget set by her Department for public expenditure on land management and rural development, including the Entry Level Scheme, other England rural development programme schemes and other schemes for financial years (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06. [196652]

The budget profile and breakdown for the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) in 2004–05 are shown in the following table. This is the full resource-based budget and relates specifically to the anticipated value of payments to be made to beneficiaries.

The agri-environment schemes are the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS), the Environmentally Sensitive Areas scheme (ESA) and the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS). The Entry Level Stewardship budget of £2.0 million shown below relates to the ongoing pilot agreements only.

Defra has not yet concluded its formal business planning process for the 2005–06 financial year. Figures will be provided as soon as that process is complete. Subject to European Commission approval, a new agri-environment scheme called Environmental Stewardship (ES) will be launched in England in 2005 to replace the three existing schemes (CSS, ESA, OFS). Environmental Stewardship will consist of three separate elements: Entry Level Stewardship (ELS), Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS) and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS).

Agri-environment schemes are budgeted a year in arrears, which means that the expenditure reflects agreements signed in the previous year. Current planning assumptions about the expected rate of uptake to the Entry Level element of Environmental Stewardship suggest that by 2006–07 expenditure will be in the region of £132 million and will rise further thereafter.

In addition to the England Rural Development Programme budgets shown, Rural Development funding of £21.2 million in 2004–05 and £19.3 million in 2005–06 is also available under the Objective 1 Programme. This funding stream is directed to beneficiaries in the three, geographically defined Objective 1 areas in England: Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Merseyside and South Yorkshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been paid out under set aside in each county in England in 2003–04; and if she will make a statement. [194815]

The amounts paid out under set aside in each county in England for Arable Area Aid claims submitted in 2003 are set out in the following table. The figures for Arable Area Aid claims submitted in 2004 are not yet available as the payment window has not yet closed.

£

Note:

All values are before Modulation

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid out under (a) the Sheep Annual Premium and (b) the Sheep National Envelope in each county in England in 2003–04; and if she will make a statement. [194415]

The amounts paid out under 16 October 2003 to 31 March 2004. Over 97 per cent. of applicants received their Premium and Sheep National Envelope payments within the first two weeks of the opening of the payment window. The figures for claims submitted in 2004 are not yet available, as the payment window has not yet closed. However over 98 per cent. of qualifying applicants received their premium during the first few days of the payment window opening.(a) the Sheep Annual Premium and (b) the Sheep National Envelope in each county in England submitted in 2003 are set out in the following table. Payments were made during the payment window of

£

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how payments under the single farm payment between 1 December 2005 and 30 June 2006 will be made; and when they will be made. [193775R]

The European Regulations require payments for 2005 to be made between 1 December 2005 and 30 June 2006 and our objective is to make payments as promptly as possible within that period. Payments will be made by bank transfer in line with the way IACS payments are made at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many agency temporary staff have been working for the Department or its predecessors in each of the last five years, excluding those working for agencies for which no data is kept centrally. [196053]

The information requested is not held centrally. I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 22 April 2004, Official Report, columns 583–85 and column 588; and on 23 June 2004, Official Report, column 1427. Defra came into being in June 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of London's waste was disposed of in Essex in the last year for which figures are available; and at which sites. [194915]

This information is not held centrally by Defra.

Information on the destination of waste for disposal is being gathered for the first time by Defra through WasteDataFlow, an online comprehensive waste data reporting system for local authorities introduced in April 2004, and will not be available until mid 2005.

The Greater London Authority and the Environment Agency may be able to provide an answer based on data held by them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much waste in Somerset by (a) tonnage and (b) percentage was disposed of by (i) landfill, (ii) recycling and (iii) incineration since 1997–98. [195147]

Results from the Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey show the following municipal waste disposal routes for Somerset Waste Disposal Authority and North Somerset Unitary Authority. Both authorities reported no incineration over the period. Full results for Somerset are not available for 1997–98.

Somerset county

Results from the 2003–04 Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey will be available in early 2005.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the Department plans to develop the strategy for managing waste over the next 10 years. [195970]

The Government's strategy on waste is set out in "Waste Strategy 2000", published in May 2000. The Government outlined further plans in May 2003 in response to the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit Report "Waste Not, Want Not". The Government is committed to reviewing its strategy on waste in 2005. A small team has been established in the Department to take forward the review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress in implementing the water framework directive. [196022]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 13 September 2004, Official Report, column 1582W.