Flooding (Cornwall)
Caroline Spelman Excerpts(15 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
Members will be aware of the serious flooding that affected parts of Cornwall in particular on Wednesday 17 November, causing disruption and distress to many people. At its height, 10 flood warnings were in place though these have now been removed.
The flooding was caused by very heavy rainfall from Tuesday evening onwards: 38.8 mm fell in one hour at Mevagissey. This resulted in significant surface water and river flooding, causing widespread travel difficulties and damage to more than 250 properties. Affected areas include St Austell, Par, Pentewan, Bodmin, Luxulyan, Lostwithiel, St Blazey, St Blazey Gate, Polgooth, Launceston, and Mevagissey. The issues faced varied from place to place, requiring different local responses. The Environment Agency intends to hold clinics in each community to address the issues and build resilience.
Across Cornwall, around 3,000 properties in vulnerable areas were protected as a result of flood defence schemes. These included up to 100 on the river Fowey at Lostwithiel.
An extreme rainfall alert was issued by the Flood Forecasting Centre on Tuesday afternoon, highlighting the risk of very heavy rainfall overnight. This alert allowed local authorities to prepare to respond. The emergency has rightly been dealt with by responders at the local level who are best placed to make decisions and take action according to local needs.
Helicopters were on stand-by but not needed for flood rescue, though one medical evacuation was carried out. There was some fast-moving water, but no major injuries or missing persons have been reported. Many residents were, however, evacuated and spent the night away from home.
The Prime Minister has spoken to the leader of the Cornwall county council and heard first hand how local authorities are dealing with the situation. I visited the areas affected on Thursday to meet some of the people affected and see how agencies responded. The council held a series of public meetings on Wednesday evening in Lostwithiel, St Blazey and Mevagissey to provide residents and councillors with the latest information and to offer support and advice.
We have all seen on television just what an effect the flooding has had on homes, businesses and communities. It causes significant disruption and we express our sympathy to all those affected and also wish to pay tribute to all who have been involved in responding to this emergency, in particular those who worked so hard throughout Wednesday. This shows what can be done by communities working together.
The Government will continue to work with local authorities to help people rebuild their lives, although we know sadly that it takes time for homes and buildings to dry out. The Department for Communities and Local Government is ready to consider any application for Bellwin assistance from the local authorities affected. Once the damage has been assessed, CLG will be happy to discuss the best way forward with local councils.
The insurance industry has a key role to play in assisting the recovery process. The Association of British Insurers has said that insurers’ first priority will be to ensure that every claim is dealt with as quickly as possible and has put advice on its website for people who have been flooded by the heavy rain in Cornwall. At a recent flood summit on 16 September, Government, insurers and other stakeholders agreed to continue to work in partnership towards 2013 when the current agreement between insurers and Government expires.
As a Government we are committed to ensure that flood and coastal erosion risk is managed effectively. We have started the implementation of the Flood and Water Management Act, providing for greater local leadership and partnership to address local flood risks. We are also protecting forecasting and warning services, and incident response, and prioritising the risk-based maintenance of existing defences. It is clear from the response the lessons of Sir Michael Pitt’s report on the summer 2007 floods are being learnt.
DEFRA will be spending at least £2.1 billion on flood and coastal erosion risk management over the next four years. We intend that, by March 2015, 145,000 households will be better protected.
I want to assure Members that the Environment Agency, and their local emergency partners including the local authorities, are being extremely active and doing all they can to prevent flooding in areas currently at risk.
If people remain concerned about flooding they should visit the Environment Agency’s website or telephone their Floodline on 0845 988 1188.
Waste Water National Policy Statement
Caroline Spelman Excerpts(15 years, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
The Planning Act 2008 provides for national policy statements (NPSs) that set out Government policy for particular types of development. It requires the draft NPSs to be publicised, consulted on, and laid in Parliament with the intention of enabling public and parliamentary debate to take place.
Public consultation on the waste water NPS for England started today, 16 November 2010, lasting for 14 weeks. At the same time I have laid it before Parliament for a period of scrutiny (the “relevant period”) ending 17 May 2011.
The waste water NPS sets out our need for waste water infrastructure to protect public health and ensure the health of our water environment with the consequent benefits for our water supply and biodiversity. Although we intend to slow the growth in demand for new waste water infrastructure in England, through the use of sustainable drainage systems for example, we will need to continue investment in new waste water infrastructure. This will modernise outdated infrastructure, meet future demands from a growing population and the effects of climate change, and fulfil our EU obligations.
Two projects of potential national significance have been identified through this process: the new sewage treatment works at Deephams in north-east London and a sewerage collection and a transfer scheme along the Thames in London (the Thames tunnel). In line with the Planning Act 2008, the waste water national policy statement has been drafted on the basis that once the particular projects are designated, development consent will be determined by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC). The Government announced in June 2010 their intention to amend the Planning Act 2008 and abolish the IPC and replace it with a major infrastructure planning unit (MIPU) within the Planning Inspectorate. Until such time as the Planning Act 2008 is amended, the IPC will continue as set out in that Act
Publication of the draft waste water NPS follows my statement of 7 September 2010 in which I indicated that development consent for the Thames tunnel should be dealt with under the regime for nationally significant infrastructure projects. I intend to bring the tunnel within the direct scope of the Planning Act 2008 by amending the thresholds in section 14(3), Part 3 of the Act 2008. I plan to consult on the draft order in early 2011. Thames Water also commenced in September a separate consultation on the site specific issues raised by the proposed development of the Thames tunnel in September 2010.
The waste water national planning statement (NPS) is available on the DEFRA website at the following link:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/waste-water/index.htm
Oral Answers to Questions
Caroline Spelman Excerpts(15 years, 4 months ago)
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Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
1. What steps she is taking to reform Natural England; and if she will make a statement.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
First, I welcome the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh) and her new team to the Front Bench. I enjoyed cordial relations with her predecessors in the short time we were opposite each other and I hope that cordiality will continue.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been working closely with Natural England on substantial reforms to transform it into a leaner, more efficient front-line delivery body that is focused strongly on the Government’s ambitions for the environment.
Julian Smith
I thank the Secretary of State for that response. Will she give a little more detail regarding the impact of the comprehensive spending review on the two stewardship schemes that are run by Natural England and how she sees that impact progressing in coming years?
Mrs Spelman
I am delighted to tell my hon. Friend that as a result of the comprehensive spending review, both types of stewardship scheme will be maintained. There will be new entrants to both the entry-level and the higher-level stewardship schemes. We have ambitions to increase by about 80% the number of farmers in the higher-level stewardship scheme and to increase qualitatively the environmental benefits provided under the entry-level scheme.
Sir Peter Soulsby (Leicester South) (Lab)
Natural England is the nation’s principle conservation agency and our champion of biodiversity. In the name of reform, the Government are leaving it with no choice but to hand over 140 national nature reserves to anyone who will take them on, to put our network of national trails up for grabs and to cut back on the expert support that is vital to delivering the environmental stewardship schemes. We are talking about the nation’s front line in protecting our environment. The Government claim to be the greenest ever, but is not the reality that the Secretary of State is prepared to sacrifice Natural England and our precious environment in a bid to win friends and credit at the Treasury?
Mrs Spelman
I should like to countermand those suggestions. Natural England, in common with all the arm’s-length bodies in the DEFRA delivery network, is taking a pro rata reduction. It is required to make efficiency savings in the same way as the core Department has to. None the less, there will be no changes in Natural England’s statutory functions. It will cease to undertake some activities, such as lobbying and policy making, which should rightly be the domain of the Department at the centre. Consideration is being given to options for improving the management of our national nature reserves because that is consistent with a big society approach.
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
2. What plans her Department has to maintain levels of biodiversity.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
Tackling biodiversity loss is one of my Department’s top priorities. I have just returned from international negotiations in Nagoya where the UK played a pivotal role in securing agreement on the ambitious new framework to halt biodiversity loss. The challenge now is to implement this domestically. In the spring, I intend to publish a White Paper outlining the Government’s vision for the natural environment, backed up with practical action to deliver that ambition.
Annette Brooke
I thank the Secretary of State for her answer. Given the Government’s intention to sell off a substantial part of the forest estate, what measures will be in place to ensure the biodiversity potential of this land and to ensure that the commitments in the Forestry Commission’s forest design plans will be fully implemented?
Mrs Spelman
I can give the hon. Lady clear assurances on this point, but we need to start with a little myth-busting on the back of press speculation. Only 18% of forests and woodland in England are owned by the state and it is wrong to confuse ownership with any suggestion of a reduction in biodiversity. It is quite right, and in the spirit of the coalition agreement, to consider giving the community who live nearest to the forest the opportunity to own it, as that community and civil society are most likely to give it the best protection. Finally, I should like to reassure her by clarifying that not one tree can be felled without a licence being issued by my Department. In the last analysis, we are committed to forest biodiversity and to enhancing biodiversity. Our forests are among the richest of our genetic resources and we have every intention of protecting them.
Mary Creagh (Wakefield) (Lab)
May I begin by thanking the Secretary of State for welcoming me to my new role and for the briefing that she gave me on Nagoya? I am sure that the whole House will join me in welcoming the new fund that the Government have pledged in order to deliver international biodiversity benefits through international forestry.
On Government plans to maintain biodiversity at home, however, we have seen a series of deeply worrying moves from the right hon. Lady over the past three months. The Government plan to sell off or simply give away 140 national nature reserves; our national parks, which a Labour Government began in 1949, will suffer a catastrophic 30% cut to their budgets, leaving park workers unemployed, our national trails abandoned and precious habitats neglected; and her Department has announced a review of England’s forests, seeing them sold to the highest bidder—asset stripping our natural heritage. Is it not the case that she preaches environmental evangelism around the world and practices environmental vandalism at home?
Mrs Spelman
That is a disappointing opener from the hon. Lady. She appears not to understand that her own party when in government would have had to make cuts, and there will be no credibility to her accusations unless she tells the House where she would have made savings. In any event, however, there is no suggestion that we are poised to sell off nature reserves. Can she not see that it is not necessarily for the state to do everything? The Wildlife Trusts welcome the opportunity to be more involved in the management of our nature reserves.
Mrs Spelman
The hon. Lady shakes her head, but I suggest that she ask them. As for selling off the forests, she just heard my explanation that it is wrong to confuse ownership with the quality of environmental protection, and I believe that the communities and charities that would like to be more involved in protecting and enhancing our forest biodiversity welcome our suggestions.
Mary Creagh
The truth is that the Government have reserved their most vicious spending cut for a 30% cut in environmental spending. We know that in the spending review, the right hon. Lady caved in early to the Chancellor’s pressure, and that she gave away too much too quickly. Why did she sell out the country’s environment to the Chancellor?
Mrs Spelman
The hon. Lady has to answer the question about where she would have made the cuts.
Mrs Spelman
The hon. Lady shakes her head, but her Government were committed to a 50% reduction in capital. Perhaps she would like to identify in the Department’s budget what she would have done. What I can tell the House is that, going into those negotiations with the Treasury, we took a strategic approach, because it was important for us to protect as much of the capital as possible. Her party, had it been in government, would have cut the capital budget by 50%, but we succeeded in reducing that to a 34% reduction, meaning that the bulk of our flood defence capital has been protected.
Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab)
6. What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the likely effects of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review on the funding available to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
We have worked closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government to understand cost pressures on local authority waste management over the spending review period and have taken these into account in the overall local government settlement. Significantly increased financial flexibility will free local authorities to allocate resources to meet their priorities and make continued efficiency savings while continuing to deliver our overall environmental goals for waste management.
Dr Whitehead
Has the Secretary of State looked at last year’s estimate by the Waste and Resources Action Programme suggesting that there will be an additional 3 million tonnes of dried municipal recyclates circulating by 2015, while all-materials recycling facilities would be used up and 60% of local authority areas would have insufficient capacity? What has changed in this analysis since May 2010 other than her Department’s withdrawal of seven private finance initiative waste projects and the cutting of local authority budgets by 28%?
Mrs Spelman
I invite the hon. Gentleman, who has a great interest in this subject, to look at some municipal waste statistics that have just been published this morning. The more recent data show three things: first, that we are producing less waste; secondly, that we are recycling more waste; and thirdly, therefore, that we are sending less to landfill. That is what makes us confident that the 2020 targets can be met with fewer publicly funded projects.
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)
7. When she plans to respond to the recent consultation conducted by her Department on dangerous dogs; and if she will make a statement.
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)
8. What recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on reform of the common agricultural policy.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
I, along with other DEFRA Ministers, regularly meet our EU counterparts to discuss reform of the common agricultural policy. The Minister of State and I attended the Informal Agriculture Council, where CAP reform was discussed, and most recently I hosted the German Agriculture Minister to discuss a range of issues of common interest, including reform of the CAP.
Mr Cunningham
Can the Minister tell me what impact the latest increase in the EU budget will have on the common agricultural policy?
Mrs Spelman
I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that the EU budget needs to reflect the straitened economic circumstances that all European member states are experiencing. Last weekend, the Prime Minister met the German Chancellor, Frau Merkel, and earlier this week he met President Sarkozy from France, to have important discussions about the realities of the size of the EU budget. Part of those considerations will be the allocation that goes to the common agricultural policy.
Mary Creagh (Wakefield) (Lab)
We all know that a successful outcome to the common agricultural policy negotiations is vital for Britain’s rural communities. In an interview on “Farming Today”, the right hon. Lady said that the Treasury had conducted a regional impact assessment of the CSR, and that her Department had considered its rural impact. I asked her Department for a copy of that rural impact assessment, and the reply from the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Newbury (Richard Benyon), stated:
“DEFRA has not carried out a formal assessment of the impact of the spending review on rural matters.”—[Official Report, 1 November 2010; Vol. 517, c. 606W.]
Once and for all, can the Secretary of State tell the House whether the rural impact assessment exists?
Mrs Spelman
As I am sure the hon. Lady will appreciate, it is not just the decisions made at DEFRA that have implications for rural communities. As the Government’s rural champion, DEFRA is therefore undertaking an assessment of the implications of other Departments’ elements of the spending review across rural areas. For example, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has made some positive decisions arising from the spending review, including the roll-out of superfast broadband in rural areas, that will have a positive effect on rural areas. The matter needs to be regarded in the round, and that work has been undertaken since the announcement of the decisions affecting all Departments was made on 20 October.
Matthew Hancock (West Suffolk) (Con)
9. If she will discuss with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government proposals to extend the power of communities to protect local rural environments.
Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)
16. What discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on progress by the Government towards its performance objectives on environmental sustainability.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
This Government are committed to showing leadership on sustainability through our own decisions and policies. I am discussing ways to mainstream sustainable development across Government, specifically focusing on Cabinet-level working, policy making and the Government’s own operations and procurement with Cabinet colleagues. I have also spoken to the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee to discuss how Government can be held to account for our performance against our commitments.
Duncan Hames
In the Secretary of State’s role of leading mainstream sustainability across the Government, will she continue to meet the designated green Ministers from each Department to ensure that sustainability is the organising principle behind all that they do?
Mrs Spelman
I give my hon. Friend that assurance. Sustainable development cannot be delivered by one Government Department alone. In fact, the Cabinet Office has a cross-cutting role and will report on pan-Government progress against the targets for the sustainable operations of the Government estate. The latest performance data will be published by the end of the year.
Mr Jamie Reed (Copeland) (Lab)
One key performance objective on environmental sustainability is protection from flooding. The Association of British Insurers has expressed disappointment at the Government’s cuts to flood defence spending, and the Institute of Civil Engineers estimates that the cuts could cost us £4.8 billion in future. How will those cuts affect the insurance premiums and excesses of those 5.5 million British properties that are currently at risk from flooding? Can she give a guarantee that the cuts will not lead to any properties becoming either uninsurable or unmortgageable?
Mrs Spelman
I can assure the House that the Government are working very closely with the ABI on the question of insurance. Its statement of principles is up for renegotiation in 2013. My impression of the situation is different from the hon. Gentleman’s, because actually the ABI welcomed the fact that much of the capital for flood defences was protected, so the Government can spend £2.1 billion on flood defences within the spending review period. There will be an 8% reduction per annum, but a lot of that can be absorbed in efficiencies, as the Environment Agency demonstrated this year by building more than its target of flood defences notwithstanding a 5.5% reduction in its resources.
Gordon Banks (Ochil and South Perthshire) (Lab)
17. What recent discussions she has had with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority on the use of child labour in the farming and food industry sectors.
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
I am sure that Members on both sides of the House will want to welcome the agreement secured in Nagoya, not least because, as Members will know, the previous Government, and many before them, sought over a long period to secure agreement on a protocol on access to, and benefit sharing of, genetic resources, putting in place the tools to help countries halt the loss of biodiversity. It is right for us all to pay tribute to the officials in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who have worked so hard for so long to achieve this agreement.
On my way back, I represented the UK at the closing ceremony of Expo 2010 in Shanghai, and I am delighted to be able to tell the House that the UK won the top award for a pavilion part-funded by DEFRA on the theme of biodiversity, and that the Chinese premier himself recognised its excellence. I would like to thank the Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff who delivered this considerable achievement—Simon Featherstone, who rescued the project, and Carma Elliot and her team, who spent four years driving the project to its successful conclusion.
Kerry McCarthy
In June, the Secretary of State said that the Hunting Act 2004 had not been a demonstrable success and was difficult to enforce, but figures published by the Department last year showed 57 prosecutions in 2009—an average of one every week—and more convictions than any other piece of wildlife legislation. How do Ministers square that with her belief that it has not been a demonstrable success?
Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)
Investment in anaerobic digestion not only helps farmers to become more competitive, but helps small rural communities such as those in North East Derbyshire both to process waste and to make energy. What is the Department doing to ensure that farmers can diversify in this way?
Mrs Spelman
Anaerobic digestion has great potential in helping the farming industry reduce its overall carbon emissions and will be an important part of the Government’s aim, as part of being the greenest Government ever, of achieving those reductions. Anaerobic digestion is something that we welcome, but the important thing is to have constant feedstocks. Anaerobic digestion has a wider application in the communities that we all live in, but for farming it is definitely an interesting option.
Margot James (Stourbridge) (Con)
T7. Can my hon. Friend advise the House on whether he has had any discussions with independent animal welfare organisations about the prospects for intensive dairy farming of the sort proposed by a planning application in Lincolnshire?
Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)
Given the reference made to the Environmental Audit Committee, I hope we can return to the issue of resources in due course. On a constituency matter, I met the Staffordshire wildlife trust last week and it is looking to make a submission to the EU LIFE+ programme to enhance biodiversity in Stoke-on-Trent. Will the Secretary of State commit DEFRA officers to give support to any proposal that comes out of that?
Mrs Spelman
I am delighted to be able to offer that support. The wildlife trusts do an excellent job, which is why we see great scope in the concept of the big society for more work of this kind.
I might have made an error, Mr Speaker, in not responding myself to the question put by the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy). I apologise, as I should have taken it—but, of course, I agree with everything that the Minister of State had to say.
Mr Speaker
The right hon. Lady, whom I have known for 15 years, is unfailingly courteous, and I think that will be very much appreciated by the House.
Convention on Biological Diversity
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
I attended the High-Level Segment 10th Conference of Parties to the convention on biological diversity, known as the Nagoya biodiversity summit, from 27 to 30 October. A team of officials from my Department and the Department for International Development supported me, having attended throughout the conference to prepare the ground for the ministerial High-Level Segment.
The conference concluded with all three of the UK’s main objectives fully achieved:
Agreement on a new strategic plan for global biodiversity conservation to 2020 and beyond. This comprises an ambitious, realistic and deliverable international mission, underpinned by 20 sub-targets on halting species loss and habitat degradation, reducing pollution and over-exploitation, and increasing financial support to developing countries
Agreement on a resource mobilisation package to ensure that developing countries would have the capacity to implement the strategic plan; and
Agreement on a new “Nagoya Protocol” on access and benefit sharing. It has taken 18 years to achieve this agreement, which establishes a regime under which developing countries will allow access to their genetic and natural resources in return for a share of the benefits—financial and other—for their use.
In addition to the three key issues under discussion, the Nagoya meeting saw nearly 50 individual decisions relating to a wide range of biodiversity issues—such as protected areas, biofuels, and invasive alien species—approved. The agreement emphasises the value of the natural environment to human welfare and livelihoods, and reflects the links between biodiversity, climate change and development. Notably, we gained agreement for the CBD to develop advice on the application of safeguards for biodiversity under REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries). The UK played a key role in securing this agreement.
Additionally on 26 October, I represented the UK at a ministerial meeting of the REDD+ partnership, a group of some 60 countries. This was an important opportunity to generate momentum before negotiations on REDD+ recommence at the UNFCCC meeting in Cancun later this year. At this meeting, I outlined the extended commitment to international climate finance provided under the spending review.
On the first day of the High-Level Segment, 27 October, I gave a speech, which included commitments on:
new funding to deliver biodiversity benefits through international forestry;
funding for the proposed Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES); and
support for key projects on the economic value of nature, building on the landmark “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” (TEEB) report, which was published in Nagoya.
The new strategic plan will set the framework within which all 193 parties to the convention of biological diversity will be expected to operate domestically in order to play their part in the global conservation effort. Plans for implementing key elements of it in England will be included in the natural environment White Paper to be published in the spring.
Environment Council (14 October)
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
I represented the United Kingdom at the Environment Council on 14 October in Luxembourg, together with the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker).
The Council agreed conclusions on the EU’s negotiating position for the Nagoya conference on biodiversity. In support of the conclusions, I underlined the need for a united EU position to push for an ambitious but at the same time deliverable and realistic agreement. I pointed to the need to find a satisfactory agreement on a protocol on access and benefit sharing (ABS) and innovative ways of financing. I also highlighted the interconnection between biodiversity, climate change and development. Finally, I stressed the importance of the intergovernmental platform on biodiversity and ecosystems services (IPBES) work and the progress of the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity (TEEB) study.
Environment Ministers exchanged views on the Commission’s proposal on the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the EU. The discussion revealed that there are differing views among the member states on the proposal. In particular, several member states questioned how the proposal would work in practice and the compatibility of the proposal with WTO rules. I set out that the UK had yet to finalise its position but welcomed the Commission’s proposal as an attempt to find a way through the current impasse on GMO decisions. I underscored that careful reflection was needed of the wider impacts, in particular on the consistency of the proposal with the WTO and the single market as well as the impact on consumer perceptions of food and food security.
Moving on to climate change business, the Council adopted procedural conclusions on the analysis of options to move beyond 20% greenhouse gas emission reductions and assessing the risk of carbon leakage. These take note of the report prepared by the presidency to follow up the Commission communication adopted at the end of May; welcome the ongoing discussions to assess policy options; invite the Commission to conduct further analysis; and indicate that this should also be informed by the roadmap for a low-carbon economy by 2050 currently under preparation by the Commission. The Council decided to revert to these issues as soon as possible with a view to the spring 2011 European Council.
Climate Change Ministers agreed the EU’s negotiating position to take forward to COP 16 in Cancun at the end of November, adopting conclusions which set out the need to achieve a balanced outcome which paves the way for a global and comprehensive legally binding framework. The main focus of the discussion was the EU’s position on agreeing a second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol, which will be a key issue for these negotiations. The Minister insisted on the need for the EU to send a clear signal of its willingness to agree a second commitment period provided that other countries enter a parallel legally binding agreement and the environmental integrity of the Kyoto protocol is addressed.
Under any other business, Hungary informed the Council about their ongoing efforts to contain the environmental damage from the recent red sludge.
Agriculture and Fisheries Council (26 October)
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
The Under-Secretary of State responsible for natural environment and fisheries, my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Richard Benyon) will represent the United Kingdom at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 26 October.
There are three items on the agenda relating to fisheries and a joint item on agriculture. Discussion will take place on the following:
Baltic sea total allowable catches and quotas for 2011—about the level of fishing opportunities in the Baltic sea.
EU/Norway: Annual consultation for 2011—joint management of fish stocks with Norway in the North sea and Atlantic.
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting (management of Atlantic tuna stocks).
A single presentation on two agriculture items on regulations to simplify management rules in both rural development and the single common market organisation, and to provide Lisbon treaty alignment.
There are currently five items under any other business:
Presidency announcement of a “day of reflection for the pig sector”.
North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO)—Commission handling of the last negotiations.
Presidency feedback on the September Informal Agriculture Council.
African swine fever control measures—paper from the Lithuanian delegation.
Sugar—paper from the Portuguese delegation.
Environment Council (14 October)
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and I will represent the UK at the Environment Council in Luxembourg on 14 October.
The Council will hold an exchange of views on the proposal for a regulation modifying the directive concerning the possibility for member states to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of GMOs on their territory. The Belgian presidency will seek the adoption of Council conclusions on; the 10th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the convention on biological diversity; and on the preparation of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN convention on climate change and the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto protocol. The presidency will also seek the adoption of procedural Council conclusions on an analysis of possible options to go beyond the objective of a 20% reduction in greenhouse gases and evaluation of the risk of carbon leakage.
The following topics will be covered under “any other business”:
Presentation by the Commission concerning state aids to the coal industry;
Presentation by the Commission on the results of the technical committee work on a draft regulation concerning the “end of waste criteria”;
Presentation by the Commission on Stakeholder Consultation on:
Report and possible proposal of a methodology to apply to emissions from carbon stock changes caused by indirect land use changes;
Communication on a road map for a low-carbon economy by 2050, also with a view to determining the necessary scenarios for 2030;
Communication on mainstreaming climate adaptation and mitigation in EU policies and climate-proofing of EU financial instruments;
Information from the Commission on progress towards achieving the Kyoto objectives concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions for implementing the Kyoto protocol;
Information from the Commission on Aviation and Climate Change—Developments at the ICAO Assembly;
Information from the Commission on the implementation of the Commission decision on the use of 300 million allowances from the new entrants’ reserve of the emissions trading scheme for the demonstration of carbon capture and storage and innovative renewable energy technologies;
Information from the Czech delegation on the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the protection of European bats; and
Information from the presidency on the main environmental events organised by the Belgian presidency;
Presentation from the Swedish delegation on a review of the Community strategy on mercury—possible future action;
Presentation from the Finnish delegation on International environmental governance: preparation of the second meeting of the advisory group of Ministers;
Presentation from the Dutch delegation concerning a seminar on the financial perspectives and the environmental aspects of the EU budget.
Executive Agency Performance Targets (2010-11)
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
I have set Animal Health (AH) the following performance targets for 2010-11:
Value for money
Increased operational efficiency.
Produce a detailed, specific and costed road map for change to Animal Health’s delivery model going forward designed to enable savings of at least 10%.
Ensure that services are delivered in the most efficient way possible, centralising administrative functions where appropriate, capitalising on technology and using standardised processes to help ensure quality.
Work with policy customers and others to deliver changes as part of the operational efficiency programme.
Achieve a 5% (£3 million) efficiency saving by the end of the 2010-11 financial year.
Customer Impact
As part of the wider Animal Health compliance and enforcement strategy, encourage end user behavioural change through the development of more accessible, effective advice and guidance and through more direct and consistent relationships with key stakeholders.
To create a clear explanation of regulatory policies and procedures for end-user customers. To help them understand the law, its associated policies and what responsibilities they have as owners/keepers. The headline advice and guidance will be compact and written in language which is easy to read but provides links to greater detail should it be required. The advice and guidance will make use of a variety of media that will enable AH to reach the target audience.
Demonstrating the provision of clear and accessible advice and guidance is an important precursor to successful criminal prosecution of non-compliant members of the regulated community.
Work with official veterinarians to improve effectiveness and consistency of their interventions.
Engage with official veterinarians in module 6 of business reform programme.
Capability and capacity
Improve preparedness and resilience for responding to outbreaks of disease.
Roll out new tracings module through the business reform programme, enabling more efficient, faster and consistent tracing of potential transmitters of disease.
Reduce the reliance on unstable legacy IT systems through the development and implementation of SAM modules and releases.
Working with our policy customers and operational partners, plan, design and deliver a programme of local and regional exercises across Great Britain to rehearse, enhance, embed and assure readiness for outbreaks of exotic notifiable disease. The programme will include objectives that test the Animal Health operational model, multiple outbreak centres and cross-border activities. To be delivered in conjunction with operational partners.
Deliver a structured programme to assure the readiness of central and local delivery to respond to an outbreak.
Further details are given in the AH business plan for 2010-11, a copy of which has been placed on the AH website.
I have set the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) the following performance targets for 2010-11:
Customer
Meet contracted research milestones. (see footnote)1
Deliver final research reports on time. (see footnote) 1
Deliver contracted surveillance deliverables to time. (see footnote) 1
Achieve a score of 90% in the VLA customer satisfaction survey.
Maintain appropriate third party quality accreditations.
Value for Money Measures & Financial Performance Efficiency
Achieve full cost recovery.
Capacity & Capability
Conduct one table top notifiable disease simulation exercise to test current laboratory response capability, identify gaps and implement action plan.
Operations
To continue to improve the VLA’s safety record using 2007-8 as a baseline.
Sustainability/Greener Society
Prepare a plan for water usage reduction for the 2010-11 to 2016-17 7% target.
Further details are given in the VLA business plan for 2010-11, a copy of which has been placed on the VLA website.
I have set the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) the following performance targets for 2010-11:
Value for Money
Achieve cost recovery and demonstrate progress in the three elements of value for money—economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
Customers
At least 70% of customers in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry to consider the level of service provided by the VMD to be good or excellent and for the VMD to act on areas identified requiring improvement within the confines of the available resources.
Policy customers in DEFRA and OGDs consider the level of service provided by the VMD to be satisfactory.
Operations/Policy Delivery
Authorise veterinary medicines according to legislative requirements and to monitor their ongoing safety and efficacy and to take proportionate action.
Ensure that the regulatory system is effective and contributes to protecting animal, public and environmental health and encourage the responsible, safe and effective use of VMPs according to the legislative requirements through proportionate action, and act to detect and deter illegal use.
Capacity and Capability
Ensure the VMD utilises its funding streams efficiently to ensure that it maintains capability and capacity to deliver its business objectives and is fit for purpose.
Sustainability
Increase recycling by 4%.
Further details are given in the VMD business plan for 2010-11, a copy of which has been placed on the VMD website.
1 It is accepted that there may be mitigating circumstances for not meeting 100% in each case, and that such circumstances may be accepted as appropriate following discussions with the Chief Executive and the VLA Corporate Customer.
Equine Infectious Anaemia
Caroline Spelman Excerpts(15 years, 6 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
I wish to inform the House that on 11 September 2010 the chief veterinary officer for the United Kingdom confirmed equine infectious anaemia (EIA) in one horse in Devon after the owner requested a private vet to examine a sick horse.
The premises are currently under disease control restrictions and the infected horse has been humanely destroyed.
The horse had been in this country for two years and became ill only very recently. Two other horses on the premises are being tested for evidence of infection. The local authority has put in place notices at the relevant points advising horse owners not to exercise their horses in the area.
There is currently no evidence of a link between this case in Devon and the case of EIA confirmed in Northumberland on 7 September. As part of our control measures we will be undertaking a detailed epidemiological investigation.
All remaining horses on the premises in Northumberland have now tested negative for EIA, and movement restrictions remain in place. The horses are required to have two negative tests for equine infectious anaemia carried out three months apart before restrictions can be lifted.
The risk of further spread among horses is considered by experts to be very low, but this will be kept under review pending further epidemiological investigation. Expert advice from the Health Protection Agency is that EIA is not a risk to human health and that there is no evidence that this incident presents a risk to the local communities.
This is the third case of equine infectious anaemia in horses this year. Two of these cases were imported horses, and the third, most recent, case was detected by the owner. Prior to 2010 there had been no confirmed cases since 1976. This shows the success of our post-import testing regime, but also highlights the need for horse owners and keepers to remain vigilant of signs of disease and immediately notify any suspicion of EIA to their vet who should then report any signs of exotic disease to the local Animal Health Office.
Food and Environment Research Agency
Caroline Spelman Excerpts(15 years, 6 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
I have set the Food and Environment Research Agency—FERA—the following performance targets for 2010-11:
Value for Money, Financial Performance and Efficiency
To demonstrate that the year on year planned savings from the establishment of FERA continue to be achieved.
Achievement of the financial savings as defined in the agency merger cost-benefit statement.
To meet agreed efficiency targets for 2010-11 and achieve full economic cost recovery for regulatory services from April 2011.
To achieve a balanced budget and to meet the financial and efficiency targets set for the agency consistently demonstrating value for money.
Customers (Internal and External)
To support sustainable food production through the provision of internationally respected, trusted, independent and impartial advice to both Government and external customers.
Reported against measures agreed with the corporate customer, and baselined against the 2009-10 customer satisfaction survey, to achieve for Government customers, all in the “very” or “fairly satisfied” categories.
Reported against measures agreed with the corporate customer, to establish a baseline for non-Government customers against the 2009-10 customer satisfaction surveys.
Both measures will be underpinned by a continuous improvement process driven by project feedback gained through the year and reported to the Strategic Advisory Board.
Operations/Policy Delivery
Regulation, Policy and Risk
To support a strong and sustainable economy through the delivery of effective policy outcomes and reduce the regulatory burden on industry.
Delivering of contracted work with DEFRA and other Government Departments (OGD) within agreed deadlines and budgets.
Achieving delivery within the monthly RAG report of 100% in any one quarter of green/amber or better for all policy-related annexes of the DEFRA/FERA service level agreement (SLA).
Measurable improvements in achievement of inspection targets such that infraction is avoided.
Implementation of key recommended actions arising from Hampton implementation review.
Research and Development
To deliver outputs from strategic and applied research, scientific services, and environmental monitoring and surveillance work to agreed deadlines, quality standards and formats.
Meet all project milestones, deliver within agreed budgets and publish reports in accordance with agreed dates and formats.
Within the monthly RAG report, deliver all within each quarter of projects to green/amber standard or above for all evidence/research based annexes within the DEFRA/FERA SLA agreement.
To maintain (appropriate) scientific quality standards as demonstrated by independent audits for example ISO 9001 etc.
Published research reports to meet or exceed the expectations of DEFRA/OGD customer needs as supported by feedback from them
Capacity and Capability
To develop DEFRA’S and the Home Office’s incident response capability and to demonstrate the robustness of FERA business continuity and contingency plans.
Chemical Biological Radioactive Nuclear (CBRN) services to deliver projects to time, cost and agreed outcomes as specified in the DEFRA/FERA SLA annex number 5.
Developing FERA business continuity and contingency plans and moving to alignment with BS25999.
Develop and maintain a culture of ownership and accountability that is appropriately led, and that values everyone for their contribution.
Achieve a 3% increase in the staff engagement measure as compared to the baseline from the 2009-2010 Government-wide staff survey
Provide appropriate and targeted coaching and staff development programmes to maximise staff potential in the support of agency objectives
Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate
Drive value through synergies across the FERA estate that maximise the exploitation of assets.
Meet the delivery targets of the FERA sustainable development action plan.
To maximise the value of the Sand Hutton site with the aim of attracting other organisations to occupy a minimum area of 200 square metres.
To meet the Departments’ sustainability targets as applied to science/laboratory based agencies.
To produce a water usage reduction five-year action plan.
Further details are given in the FERA business plan for 2010-11, a copy of which has been placed on the FERA website.