Mrs Anne Campbell: I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. It is excellent news that more young people than ever are taking advantage of high quality apprenticeships, such as those offered by Marshall Aerospace of Cambridge in my constituency. However, one national problem is that many young people begin apprenticeships but do not complete them. It would be helpful if my hon. Friend could describe what action is...
Mrs Anne Campbell: Cambridge is one of the universities that has called for greater discrimination between students getting top A-level grades. Their wish will not be completely satisfied by making A-level unit results available to universities before they make their offers. Can my right hon. Friend outline some of the measures that she will take to ensure that there is greater discrimination, particularly...
Mrs Anne Campbell: I entirely agree with my hon. Friend, who makes an excellent point. Yes, let us get on and do that. I want to deal with the recycling of plastics generally, which has been a hot issue in my own constituency. I carried out a survey, based on a form that was sent to every household. I received more than 600 responses—not bad considering that people had to pay to post them back to me. What...
Mrs Anne Campbell: I do not want to add anything further to what I have said and I know that we are all interested in hearing what the Minister has to say in response.
Mrs Anne Campbell: I do not want to detain the House for very long, but I want to add a few remarks to those made by the hon. Member for Guildford (Sue Doughty), who made some very valid points about waste minimisation. The whole purpose of our recycling policy should be to reduce the amount of waste material going into landfill sites, but the hon. Lady will doubtless join me in congratulating the Government...
Mrs Anne Campbell: That was the excuse offered by the Liberal Democrats on Cambridge city council, but the Government have not accepted it. It is not sensible to start quibbling about the figures; we should look at further ways to enhance recycling and improve waste minimisation. In response to the intervention of the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker), when Cambridge city council first introduced green...
Mrs Anne Campbell: I take the hon. Gentleman's point. There is some good sense in what he says and I began by observing that I agreed with much of what had already been said in the debate. Given the importance of waste minimisation and given that the hon. Member for Guildford mentioned plastic bags a few moments ago, I am surprised that she did not mention—perhaps it is inappropriate in the context of the...
Mrs Anne Campbell: I am pleased to hear it. At the national policy forum, which I attended in July, a resolution was passed to include in our relevant policy documents the need for a review of the plastic bag tax. I am pleased that Ministers felt able to accept that proposal.
Mrs Anne Campbell: What puzzles me is that waste minimisation, along with recycling, often depends on the volume of waste. Does the hon. Lady agree that that gives authorities little incentive to deal with, for example, the recycling of batteries? I have seen it in France, but my local authority provides no facilities for it.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much and what percentage of his Department's expenditure went on research and development in each year between 2001–02 and 2003–04.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what expenditure was made by (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which his Department is responsible on research projects by private sector companies in each financial year since 2001–02; (2) what expenditure (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which his Department is responsible have made on research and development by private sector...
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) his Department and (b) each agency for which his Department is responsible spent on research and development with overseas Government laboratories or research establishments, including collaborative Government funded laboratories and research establishments, in each year between 2001–02 and 2003–04.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of opportunities for research or consulting disseminated by the Department resulted in (a) research reports and (b) physical deliverables in each year since 2001–02.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) humanitarian and (b) other aid assistance is being provided by his Department to the Palestinian Lebanese refugees.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much and what percentage of the Department's expenditure went on research and development in each year between 2001–02 and 2003–04.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many research and development procurement opportunities were disseminated by the Department to small and medium-sized enterprises registered through the Small Business Research Initiative in each year since 2001–02 to date; and what the value of such opportunities was in each case.
Mrs Anne Campbell: Does my right hon. Friend agree that the people who say that climate change is not real and is not happening can have quite a damaging effect on our ability to take effective action, by giving people an opportunity and an excuse to say that they do not need to change their lifestyles? That could have a very damaging impact on the future.
Mrs Anne Campbell: Does my right hon. Friend agree that plant diversity can play an important part in climate change? The World Conservation Monitoring Centre, which is based in Cambridge and funded by the United Nations Environment Programme, is a worthy institute that needs consistent and sustained funding to do its work properly. Will she give a commitment to try to find a stable source of funding for that...
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what expenditure (a) her Department and (b) agencies for which her Department is responsible have made on research and development by private sector companies in each financial year since 2001–02.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) her Department's expenditure and (b) the expenditure of each agency for which she is responsible on research and development relating to UK university departments andresearch centres in each year between 2001–02 and 2003–04.
