§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abandoned vehicles there were in the UK in each year since 1992; and how many are projected for the next five years(a) in total and (b) in each region. [99226]
§ Mr. MeacherInformation on the number of abandoned vehicles in England and Wales is as follows:
Wales
In 2000–01 local authorities notified the National Assembly that there were 7,700 abandoned vehicles in Wales. This was the first year that this question was included in the National Assembly's Local Authority Municipal Waste Survey. No figures are available for earlier years.
England
Information on the numbers of abandoned vehicles was requested for the first time from local authorities as part of the Municipal Waste Management Survey 2000–01. Regional results from the survey, which include estimates for those local authorities that did not respond to the survey, are listed in the table. Results from the 2001–02 survey are currently being collected and initial estimates should be available in April.
891W
Government region Abandoned vehicles (thousands) North East 2.5 North West 9.2 Yorkshire and the Humber 7.7 East Midlands 11.9 West Midlands 20.7 East of England 28.9 London 83.6
Government region Abandoned vehicles (thousands) South East 44.7 South West 17.2 Estimated England Total 226.4 It is not possible to provide projected figures for England or Wales as there is only one year's data to work with. Although costs of disposal will increase as a result of the depollution and dismantling requirements of the end-of-life vehicles directive, the impact on the number of abandoned vehicles is difficult to predict— much will depend upon future values of scrap metal and the effectiveness of the various initiatives which are being taken to tackle the abandoned vehicle problem.
The information requested is not held centrally in either Scotland or Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps she is taking to ensure that(a) abandoned and (b) end of life vehicles are disposed of in a sustainable manner; [99335]
(2) what the cost to local authorities of (a) disposing of and (b) administering schemes to dispose of abandoned vehicles was in each of the last 10 financial years. [99336]
(3) what plans she has to ensure that abandoned vehicles are appropriately dismantled and recycled. [99357]
(4) what steps she is taking to co-ordinate the collection and disposal of abandoned vehicles. [99355]
(5) what the average cost is of disposing of abandoned vehicles, including the costs of administration. [99356]
§ Mr. MeacherWaste collection authorities are required under section 3(1) of the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 to remove a vehicle which is abandoned in their area on any land in the open air or on any other land forming part of a highway. Section 4 of the 1978 Act enables waste disposal authorities to dispose of vehicles in their custody which have been removed because they were abandoned. Such vehicles are normally disposed of through either dismantlers or scrap yards.
The dismantling and recycling of End of Life Vehicles (ELVs) must be carried out in compliance with the conditions of a waste management licence or under a registered exemption from licensing and in a manner which does not pollute the environment and harm human health.
The End-of-Life Vehicles Directive requires that all ELVs, including those abandoned vehicles which are ELVs, are depolluted and dismantled to specified environmental standards by appropriately-permitted facilities. The permits will replace registered exemptions (unless a site is only carrying out recovery operations on de-polluted vehicles). Draft regulations to transpose this aspect of the Directive will be published shortly for consultation with a view to their coming into effect later this year. The Directive also requires that 85 per cent. by weight of ELVs are recovered and recycled by 1 January 892W 2006, and 95 per cent. by 1 January 2015. The Government is currently considering its preferred approach to achieving these targets.
We estimate that disposal costs for abandoned vehicles under the 1978 Act arrangements are between £30 and £50 per vehicle. Under the ELV Directive additional costs for the takeback and treatment of ELVs are estimated to be £50 depending on the age, condition and type of the vehicle and the price of scrap metal at the time. The increase is largely due to the costs of depolluting the ELVs to the standard required by the Directive.
Information on the cost to local authorities of disposing of and administering schemes to dispose of abandoned vehicles is not held centrally.