Written Answers of 2 July 2004

  Afghanistan: Reconstruction
  Lord Astor of Hever
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What steps they are taking to ensure that the European Commission meets its commitment to provide 1.24 billion dollars for reconstruction assistance in Afghanistan; and whether they will question the European Commission as to why only 386 million dollars of that amount has been disbursed. [HL3463]

  The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos):
  According to Afghan Government figures, the European Commission has pledged 1.28 billion dollars reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan for the period January 2002 to March 2007. Although disbursement of 386 million dollars so far may be slower than anticipated, we are not yet half way through the pledging period. We anticipate the rate of spend will increase rapidly.

  DfID will use its regular contacts with the Commission, both in Brussels and in Kabul, to press for full and effective disbursement of the resources committed. DfID also funds a seconded national expert to work on the Commission's Afghanistan programme.

  Hip Protectors
  Baroness Greengross
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  Whether a person assessed as needing a hip protector to protect them from the risk of fracture is entitled to receive one free of charge from the National Health Service equipment service. [HL3388]

  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner):
  Hip protectors may be provided as part of social services community care packages, or by a local falls prevention service, or to residents of care homes. In all cases the criteria for provision should relate to the needs of the assessed individual. Such equipment is free to the user if provided by the National Health Service and, since June 2003, has also been provided without charge by councils to users that meet their fair access to care services criteria. A resident of a care home may have a hip protector provided by the home or a statutory service, depending on the type of residents for which the care home caters, the circumstances of the case, and local agreements.

  Baroness Greengross
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  Whether hip protectors are VAT exempt; and, if not, whether they have any plans to make them exempt. [HL3387]
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  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey):
  Hip protectors are subject to VAT at the standard rate and do not fall into any of the wide-ranging zero rates that the UK maintains for equipment designed for the sole use of disabled people or for medical aids.

  However, hip protectors are free when provided by the NHS and, since June 2003, without charge by councils to users that meet their fair access to care services (FACS) criteria. Protectors may similarly be provided as part of a social services community care package.

  Inland Revenue: Office Space
  Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What are the current requirements of the Inland Revenue for additional office space in London; and for what purposes. [HL3430]

  Lord McIntosh of Haringey:
  The Inland Revenue currently has no requirement for any net additional office space in London. Later this year some staff from the department's head office will move into refurbished offices at 2, Parliament Street, but a corresponding amount of office space will be vacated in the existing London estate.

  Plastic Bags
  Lord Beaumont of Whitley
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  Whether they have any plans to impose a tax on plastic bags similar to that imposed by the government of the Republic of Ireland. [HL3504]

  Lord McIntosh of Haringey:
  The Government keep all taxation policy under review but currently have no plans to introduce a tax on plastic bags.

  Illegal Meat Imports
  Lord Rotherwick
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What strategy is in place to prevent the import of illegal meats at the point of departure; and whether any analysis has been conducted into the case for such a strategy in a broader effort to reduce illegal meat imports. [HL3444]

  Lord McIntosh of Haringey:
  As a key part of the Government's broader strategy on products of animal origin (POAO), Customs are working with third countries on focused publicity campaigns to press the message not to bring illegal products of animal origin to the UK.
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  A number of airlines have agreed to make in-flight announcements, to display information leaflets at check-in and to allow advertising space in their in-flight magazines and on their websites.

  Lord Rotherwick
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What trials or research have been conducted to assess the value of expanding the use of x-ray equipment in detecting illegal meat imports. [HL3445]

  Lord McIntosh of Haringey:
  Customs make use of x-ray technology to detect illegal meat and other prohibited and restricted goods. They have undertaken a number of informal trials using their own x-ray equipment as well as external trials involving developments in x-ray technology offered by other manufacturers. The effectiveness of available equipment is continually assessed, and Customs remain committed to working with other UK and overseas agencies, as well as manufacturers, to make the most of new technology where it can provide good value for money.

  Lord Rotherwick
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What is the budget for seizures of illegal meat imports this year; and what funding is envisaged for the prosecution of illegal meat importing. [HL3397]

  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty):
  The Government have made available £10 million for the financial year 2004–05 to tackle illegal imports from outside the European Union of any meat, other animal products and plant products, of which £7 million went to Customs.

  Customs will spend this £7 million funding in order to achieve its strategic objectives which include seizure and publicity to deter passengers from travelling to the UK with illegal products of animal origin. Funding for prosecutions will depend on the number of detections that meet the criteria for prosecutions.

  Information is not held centrally on funding of local authorities for prosecutions relating to illegal imports of meat.

  Lord Rotherwick
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  Since the publication of the Annual Review o Controls on Imports of Animal Products 2002–03, what work the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has conducted with H M Customs and Excise to establish an effective strategy of prosecutions of illegal meat importers; and [HL3411]

  Whether the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will work with the Magistrates' Association to ensure that more attention is paid to illegal imports. [HL3416]

  Lord Whitty:
  Defra and H M Customs and Excise are in constant contact on all aspects concerning illegal imports in accordance with the service level agreement. Customs have to balance use of resources between detection, seizure and prosecution in order to maximise overall impact. The most effective way to
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  tackle illegal imports of meat and products of animal origin is to enhance awareness of the rules and regulations, detect breaches of those rules, seize and disrupt, with investigation and prosecution confined to the most serious cases.

  Officials from Defra, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and the Department for Constitutional Affairs are currently working to ensure magistrates are aware of the potential consequences of illegal meat imports. A joint meeting with the Magistrates' Association has been arranged in August.

  Lord Rotherwick
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What reporting system is in place to ensure that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is able to monitor and analyse all data on seizures of illegal meats by H M Customs and Excise. [HL3412]

  Lord Whitty:
  All seizures of illegal imports of products of animal origin made by H M Customs and Excise are recorded on their database. Defra receives monthly data reports from Customs.

  Lord Rotherwick
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What information-sharing strategy is in place to ensure that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, local authorities, port health authorities and H M Customs and Excise are kept up to date on illegal meat investigations. [HL3413]

  Lord Whitty:
  Steps have been taken in order to ensure that all agencies involved with enforcement measures to tackle illegal imports work closely together to ensure that the requirements are understood and intelligence is shared. There is a statutory gateway within the legislation to allow for the exchange of relevant information between enforcement authorities.

  As an example, Customs have set up an intelligence exchange with the Food Standards Agency to pass relevant information to the appropriate local authority, and the FSA will shortly issue information to local authorities and port health authorities on this liaison between the relevant departments on matters concerning illegally imported products of animal origin.

  The responsibility for inland investigations of illegal meat domestically produced and imported falls to local authorities. The FSA will provide support to local authorities if requested by offering assistance from members of the Illegal Meat Task Force, or from FSA investigators.

  Lord Rotherwick
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What feedback has been received from local authority enforcement officers on the practical results of wider powers of entry, search and inspection, provided in the 2002 regulations, in seizing and prosecuting illegal meat imports. [HL3414]
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  Lord Whitty:
  Formal feedback has not been sought by government from local authority enforcement officers on the practical results of powers relating to illegal meat imports which was contained in the Products of Animal Origin (Third Country Imports) (England) Regulations 2002.

  Climate Change
  Lord Howell of Guildford
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What effect they estimate the increase in (a) world oil consumption; (b) world natural gas consumption (outside the United States of America); and (c) world coal consumption has had on climate change within and around the United Kingdom. [HL3410]

  Lord Whitty:
  The International Energy Agency (IEA) published data showing that world consumption of oil, natural gas and coal for energy use increased substantially between 1973 and 2001, by 29, 117 and 56 per cent respectively. Over the same period, world carbon dioxide emissions increased by 51 per cent. It is not possible to identify the effects of emissions from different regions as carbon dioxide is well mixed in the atmosphere.

  Since 1958 carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere increased from 318 parts per million to 379 parts per million. Over the past century global average temperatures increased by about 0.6 Celsius and since the 1970s the temperatures have risen by 0.4 degrees Celsius.

  The third assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted in 2001 that: "most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations." Furthermore recent work by the Met Office's Hadley Centre has shown that the temperature increase over Europe, observed in the past few decades, is also attributable to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases.

  The UK climate has also changed over the past century, with central England temperature rising by almost 1 degree Celsius, consistent with global trends. The 1990s was the warmest decade in central England since records began in the 1660s. Average sea level is rising by about 1 millimetre per year and winters across the UK have been getting wetter. There is evidence that the warming which has been observed
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  has affected natural cycles such as leaf emergence dates and egg laying dates of birds but effects on human activities is much less clear. Such changes are compiled for Defra in a report of climate change indicators which can be found at the following website: http://www.nbu.ac.uk/iccuk/.

  Depleted Uranium
  Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
  asked Her Majesty's Government:

  What legislation applies to the disposal of bulk depleted uranium; and who is responsible for ensuring compliance; and [HL3449]

  Whether the national waste inventory accurately reflects the potential waste disposal commitment for depleted uranium in the United Kingdom. [HL3450]

  Lord Whitty:
  Most depleted uranium derives from spent fuel used in nuclear power stations. Most of this depleted uranium is held as a national resource for potential re-enrichment and re-use in fuel and is safely stored at nuclear licensed sites regulated by the Health and Safety Executive. Depleted uranium which has been declared as waste is included in the inventory and is among the material on which the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) has been asked to make recommendations about long-term management. Waste depleted uranium is covered by the provisions of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 and the storage or disposal of such material is regulated by the Environment Agency in England and Wales.

  Transport: Investment
  Lord Berkeley
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  What proportion of gross domestic product was spent on transport investments between 1994 and 2001 in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. [HL3378]

  Lord Davies of Oldham:
  Figures for transport investment in the UK, including public and private spending, are set out in Table 1.16 Transport Statistics Great Britain 2003 (DfT October 2003). The totals for the years 1994–95 to 2001–02 are reproduced in the table below, along with figures for total gross domestic product.

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  2001–02

  £ Million (Outturn prices)

  Total Investment

  38,147

  39,600

  42,462

  47,923

  48,662

  48,852

  48,144

  53,357

  GDP

  690,575

  729,389

  774,140

  823,599

  869,275

  919,696

  963,508

  1,005,150

  % of GDP

  5.5%

  5.4%

  5.5%

  5.8%

  5.6%

  5.3%

  5.0%

  5.3%

  We do not hold directly comparable information on transport for other countries.

  Bus Services: Quality Control Schemes
  Lord Morris of Manchester
  asked Her Majesty's Government:
  Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 17 May (WA 68), when, following consultation, they will change the implementation period of a quality contract; whether this change will be implemented by order of primary legislation; and whether further guidance will be issued. [HL3516]

  Lord Davies of Oldham:
  The Government are considering the responses they received to their consultation on the proposal to reduce the
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  implementation period for bus quality contracts, and will be announcing the outcome shortly.

  The Transport Act 2000 provides that the implementation period for quality contracts, which currently stands at 21 months, may be varied by means of an order made under that Act.

  The Department for Transport issued draft guidance on quality contracts to all stakeholder representative organisations on 29 June. The draft guidance covers the procedure to be followed in applying for a quality contracts scheme, the supporting evidence required and the matters that would be taken into account in deciding whether to approve an application, including appraisal of the public interest. Recipients have until 1 October to comment on the draft guidance.