§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to tackle discarded chewing gum. [102598]
§ Alun MichaelDefra's consultation document "Living Places— Powers, Rights, Responsibilities", includes two options relating to chewing gum: R8—to include discarded chewing gum as litter to which existing litter
Scheme Total Number of agreements approved Number of agreements approved between 2000–021,2 Scheme budget 2000–06 (£ million) Countryside Stewardship Scheme 13,858 6,290 481 Environmentally Sensitive Areas 12,300 1,677 330 Organic Farming Scheme N/a 1,085 141 Woodland Grant Scheme 32,748 7,058 139 Farm Woodland Premium Scheme/Farm Woodland Scheme 10,059 2,389 77 Energy Crops Scheme N/a 31 32 Hill Farm Allowance2 N/a 9,953 254 Note:
Figures for number of approved agreements are provisional as some agreements for 2002 remain to be processed. Agreements entered into before 2000 are excluded.
For Hill Farm Allowance, figure relates to number of payments made on claims received in 2002 rather than agreements approved over the years 2000 to 2002.
It is not possible directly to compare the value of approved agreements in a givenyear with the budget for that year, because (a) the majority of agreements under the land-based schemes are for commitments lasting ten years or more and with payments made annually; (b) first payments under individual agreements may not always be made in the same year as the agreement is approved; and (c) much of the current budget for land-
502Wduties and powers apply, and F3—restricting the availability of chewing gum in areas degraded by persistent littering. The consultation closed on 14 February 2003. We are now in the process of assessing all the comments and considering, with other Government Departments and stakeholders as necessary, how best to take matters forward, including, where appropriate, proposals for legislation.