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Waste Management

Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 7 June (WA 199–200), what types of factors are relevant to the determination whether or not an offence has been committed under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. [HL6310]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Ultimately, it will be for the courts to determine whether or not an offence has been committed under Section 33 of the 1990 Act. A local authority will decide whether or not to prosecute an individual based on its local enforcement policy and the evidence and circumstances of the individual case.

I also refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 2 June (WA 62).
 
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Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, in the light of Professor Gordon McKerron's contribution to articles in the press, they will renew his chairmanship of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management. [HL6313]

Lord Rooker: The Government and devolved Administrations will decide the future of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) as part of their response to the committee's recommendation on the best means of managing the UK's higher activity radioactive waste in the long term, which is due to be delivered in July.

Water Supply: Abstraction

Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many applications to abstract or impound water have been handled by the Environment Agency; how many applications have been referred back to the applicants on the grounds of a lack of data on one occasion; and how many applications have been referred back to the applicant on the grounds of a lack of data on more than one occasion. [HL6363]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The number of applications to abstract or impound water determined by the Environment Agency is as follows:

1997–98	1,801
1998–99	1,418
1999–2000	1,752
2000–01	1,785
2001–02	1,377
2002–03	984
2003–04	1,021
2004–05	933
2005–06	754

The Environment Agency prefers to discuss a proposed licence application and the data requirements before a formal application is made. Where this has not been done, the agency may have accepted a valid application and then requested additional information where required. The number of times an applicant has been asked to provide additional data is not recorded centrally.

Water Supply: Consumption

Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the total consumption of water in cubic metres, including a breakdown of consumption per occupant, in the headquarters of HM Treasury in each of the past 10 years. [HL6230]

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Total consumption in 2005 was 18,890 cubic metres. The Treasury building accommodates staff from a number of other government departments. Taking account of these
 
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occupants, and making an allowance for visitors attending official meetings and events, suggests consumption of around 12 cubic metres per occupant. However, this does not take into account that all the facilities in the building are available to the 1,500 or so staff of HM Revenue and Customs working in the adjoining building. Information for earlier years is not available in this format.

Work Permits

Lord Pendry asked Her Majesty's Government:

What checks are carried out to ensure that proper use is made of work permits issued to individuals. [HL6293]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Work permits are issued to employers and not individuals. In some cases, compliance checks in the form of visits to the employer
 
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or other inquiries may be made to ensure that the work permit criteria continue to be met.

Zimbabwe: Asylum Seekers

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

What representations they have made to the Government of South Africa regarding their policy on asylum seekers from Zimbabwe. [HL6405]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): We have held a number of discussions with the South Africans on Zimbabwean asylum seekers and other migration issues. The most recent discussions took place as part of the UK/South Africa bilateral forum on 23 and 24 May. I raised the issue with the South African Foreign Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, during this meeting and there were subsequent detailed exchanges on the subject between UK and South African officials.

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