HC Deb 23 January 2002 vol 378 cc925-6W
Mrs. Brooke

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress is being made to help small businesses continue to sell secondhand refrigerators, previously collected from the large retail outlets. [29524]

Mr. Meacher

The majority of old refrigerators are now being collected by local authorities. We would encourage small businesses to work with local authorities to identify those units suitable for re-use. Such arrangements are likely to be welcomed by local authorities as a means of reducing their costs.

Mr. Gordon Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of the money to help local authorities with the extra costs of storing refrigerators announced on 4 December 2001 has been made available to Blackpool borough council. [28824]

Mr. Meacher

£6 million has been added to the provisional local government finance settlement for 2002–03 for the costs of implementing the ozone depleting substances regulation relating to the period 1 January 2002 to 31 March 2002. This will be distributed to local authorities using Standard Spending Assessments (SSA). The extra money has been added to the upper tier sub-block of the Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services SSA.

Mrs. May

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from local authorities with regard to the allocation of Government resources available in order to meet the cost of implementing the refrigerator disposal regulations. [29111]

Mr. Meacher

The Department has received a number of representations from local authorities concerning the allocation of funding for the implementation of EC Regulation 2037/2000. We have received representations through letters, e-mail and telephone calls. Officials are maintaining a close dialogue with local authority representatives with a view to obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the additional costs which local authorities face.

Mrs. May

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from the Environment Agency concerning the arrangements for the storage and disposal of refrigerators in advance of the development of purpose-built infrastructure in the UK. [29096]

Mr. Meacher

The Department has worked very closely with the Environment Agency on the development of guidance on the storage and disposal of fridges. There continues to be close co-operation on the finalisation of technical standards and new fridges recycling facilities and, more generally on the implementation and enforcement of the European Ozone Depleting Substances Regulation.