Mrs Gillian Shephard: I am delighted to have the chance to raise this important issue. As can be seen by the attendance here today in the Chamber, there is strong interest from all parties. I shall make the case that the Government should seriously consider increasing their support for a sustainable biofuels policy on economic and environmental grounds, and for fuel security. In the past few months, the number of...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: My hon. Friend makes the point well. We hope that the Minister will clarify matters, but the simple fact is that neither of those targets can possibly be met with the UK biofuels industry in its current state, as our production of biodiesel is less than 10,000 tonnes per annum and we produce no bioethanol for road use. What real measures are being planned by the Government? The Government are...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: The hon. Gentleman is referring to a useful meeting that Norfolk Members had yesterday on transport issues, at which that idea was raised. It is extraordinarily brilliant. It issued from the mouth of the hon. Gentleman, so one would expect that.
Mrs Gillian Shephard: My hon. Friend says that that is enough, so we will pursue the idea at a Norfolk level. Although one could say that that is our job, there are people who are paid to do it—they are called Ministers—and we are often told that we live in an age of joined-up government. In the Economic Secretary's reply on the as yet uncorrected oral public evidence he rejected his ministerial colleague's...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: I have had an opportunity to study that evidence, and I hope that DEFRA sent a copy to the Treasury. To be fair to the Economic Secretary, he made it clear that the Government are considering a range of options. I should like this Minister to throw light on another interesting point that his colleague made. On the European biofuels directive, he said that he does not accept that "the...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: No, I am concluding my remarks. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will make his own contribution. The Government have a chance to demonstrate their commitment to the environment, to Europe, to the international community, to the development of indigenous manufacturing industry and to the maintenance of rural prosperity—all in one policy area. The Minister must tell the House this morning how...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what date under the EU Directive 2003/30/EC Article 4 he is required to set a target for biofuel use in the UK by the end of 2005.
Mrs Gillian Shephard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will quantify in pence per litre the value given to each of the main (a) environmental and (b) other benefits of road fuel gases which make up the rebate applied to such fuels.
Mrs Gillian Shephard: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Mrs Gillian Shephard: Labour Members, notably Ministers, display some reluctance to accept the facts that my hon. Friend is presenting to the House. Here is a fact: at the Old Buckenham high school in my constituency, more children are on the roll this term than last term and there are two fewer teachers. Is that factual enough for Ministers? It is an example of what is happening throughout my constituency: more...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Government will publish the Draft Disability Bill.
Mrs Gillian Shephard: I broadly welcome the restructuring of local authority services that the Secretary of State has announced this afternoon, which will result in statutorily reinforcing co-operation between education and social services. I note also that in the creation of local children's safeguarding boards the right hon. Gentleman expects to net in police authorities. Will he tell the House whether that...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: Surely the Minister agrees that in the case of Lauren Wright, and indeed in the case of Victoria Climbié and many others, ignoring and disregarding procedures proved fatal. That was my point, that is why the Green Paper is important—I hope it will emphasise the need for new procedures—and that is what we want the Government to accept this evening.
Mrs Gillian Shephard: I am really pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this extremely important debate, not least because it is clear that no hon. Member could fail to be moved by the fate of Victoria Climbié. No one could fail to be impatient for action some six months after the publication of the distinguished and comprehensive inquiry into her death. As the Secretary of State said, I also have a...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: I am grateful to be able to put the record straight. I did indeed publish a pamphlet in 1999 proposing exactly that, but I shall not bore the House with that now or, if I am called to speak, later. The right hon. Gentleman may not be here if I am called, so I should like to pay tribute to him for his support for the work of the all-party group of Norfolk MPs on integration, accountability and...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding has been allocated (a) by the Countryside Agency and (b) from other sources for new Rural Transport Partnership projects for the financial year 2003–04; and whether these allocations vary from sums previously announced.
Mrs Gillian Shephard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether (a) she, (b) Department officials and (c) the Countryside Agency gave instructions to suspend payments on the Countryside Agency's Vital Villages programme from 16 April to 1 June 2003.
Mrs Gillian Shephard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there was variation between budgeted and actual expenditure in the period from April 2002 to March 2003 in the Countryside Agency's Vital Villages programme.
Mrs Gillian Shephard: In his response to my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) about the Government Green Paper that will eventually respond to the findings of the Victoria Climbié inquiry, the Leader of the House said that the Government would not follow a timetable set by the Opposition. Of course, that is his prerogative, but may I draw his attention to a letter to me from his predecessor, saying...
Mrs Gillian Shephard: Some weeks ago, I asked the then Leader of the House when the Government would publish their Green Paper on the Victoria Climbié inquiry. I later received a letter from him telling me that it would be published before the House rises for the summer recess. Would the Leader of the House like to confirm that that is still the case? If it is not, can he explain why the publication of the Green...