HC Deb 14 June 2004 vol 422 cc611-2W
Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of surface waters will be covered by the Environment Agency's river basin characterisation report under the EC Water Framework Directive(a) within the Ribble catchment and (b) in England and Wales. [176918]

Mr. Morley

The Agency has taken a river catchment approach to characterisation and risk assessment. All river catchments have been assessed in England and Wales, including the River Ribble. This included 433 lakes, all groundwaters in aquifers and all coastal waters and estuaries.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to refine the Environment Agency's river basin characterisation report under the EC Water Framework Directive to ensure that it includes representative samples of small water bodies in each catchment. [176919]

Mr. Morley

The Agency will follow the guidance on small waters provided by the UK Technical Advisory Group on Water Framework Directive in refining the characterisation work on small water bodies. This refinement will happen progressively during the river basin planning process from January 2005.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether mechanisms to ensure full integration between land use planning and river basin management planning under the EC Water Framework Directive will be piloted in the Ribble; [176920]

(2) how she will ensure that land use planning is sufficiently integrated with river basin management planning under the EC Water Framework Directive; and how conflicts will be resolved if the two statutory plans are at odds with each other. [176921]

Mr. Morley

Defra and the Environment Agency are currently working with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Local Government Association on the relationship between land use planning and river basin management planning, including how conflicts between the two statutory plans could arise and how such conflicts might be avoided or resolved. EC Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (usually referred to as the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive) will be an important vehicle for integration in this context.

As part of this work the Environment Agency proposes to look at a number of case studies to help understand how the systems will interrelate: these may include the Ribble.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms the Environment Agency has established to make use of data on the water environment held by non-governmental organisations as part of its characterisation and risk assessment process under the EC Water Framework Directive. [176922]

Mr. Morley

The draft outputs of initial characterisation will be published in September 2004 for public review. External stakeholders, including nongovernmental organisations, will be invited at that point to propose data for use in future refinement and validation of the characterisation work which will take place from 2004 onwards.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department plans to consult on the Environment Agency's river basin characterisation report under the EC Water Framework Directive; and what discussions she has had with the Scottish Executive about its consultation process on the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's characterisation report. [176923]

Mr. Morley

The risk assessment outputs from the Environment Agency's river basin characterisation process will be available for public review from September 2004. There will not be a formal consultation on this issue.

Defra has been in discussion with the Environment Agency, the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency with respect to the river basin characterisation report and the consultation process. The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency have decided to undertake a formal consultation, beginning in July 2004.