| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 278
Death in Service
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the current maximum death-in-service benefit under local government superannuation schemes ; if he has any plans to increase the maximum benefit payable ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) if he has any plans to remove the 20 years pensionable service qualification for the maximum death-in-service benefit under local government superannuation schemes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The grant payable to the personal representatives of an employee who dies in service is one year's salary or three-eightieths of his pensionable remuneration multiplied by the length of his pensionable service, whichever is the greater. We have no plans to increase these benefits without an increase in the contributions payable by employees.
Planning Decisions
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he collects statistics on the length of time taken by London borough local authorities to reach planning decisions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The Department collects and publishes quarterly statistics on development control performance of local planning authorities in England. The table shows the number of planning decisions issued by London borough councils in the first quarter of 1988 (the latest priod for which figures are available), and the percentage of those decisions issued within eight weeks and within 13 weeks of the application being received. Five authorities failed to provide the relevant information. The Government believes that local planning authorities should be able to decide 80 per cent. of all planning applications within eight weeks.
London boroughs: Planning decisions in the 1st quarter of 1988
Planning authority |Total decisions |Percentage within eight|Percentage within
|weeks |thirteen weeks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barking and Dagenham |196 |74 |90
Barnet |947 |39 |72
Bexley |568 |26 |78
Brent |641 |36 |62
Bromley |768 |75 |92
Camden |562 |17 |37
City of London |152 |35 |58
City of Westminster |1,458 |19 |35
Croydon |760 |28 |60
Ealing |648 |4 |9
Enfield |- |- |-
Greenwich |254 |57 |81
Hackney |224 |36 |58
Hammersmith and
Fulham |1,083 |33 |55
Haringey |- |- |-
Harrow |533 |46 |77
Havering |605 |33 |59
Hillingdon |599 |27 |50
Hounslow |462 |56 |82
Islington |322 |25 |39
Kensington and Chelsea |593 |51 |78
Kingston upon Thames |455 |33 |62
Lambeth |357 |30 |47
Lewisham |- |- |-
Merton |328 |54 |86
Newham |449 |39 |59
Redbridge |606 |31 |57
Richmond upon Thames |855 |67 |78
Southwark |369 |46 |69
Sutton |- |- |-
Tower Hamlets |331 |18 |53
Waltham Forest |- |- |-
Wandsworth |542 |20 |62
Conferences (EC)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the European Economic Community environment conferences held at ministerial level since the date on which he became Secretary of State ; and if he will list those Ministers who have attended each one to represent Her Majesty's Government.
Mr. Ridley : Since I became Secretary of State for the Environment, the United Kingdom has been represented at European Community meetings of Environment Ministers as follows :
1986
12 June
Environment Council
The Hon. William Waldegrave
24 November
Environment Council
The Hon. William Waldegrave
(United Kingdom Presidency)
Lord Skelmersdale
(United Kingdom delegation)
1987
19-20 March
Environment Council
The Hon. William Waldegrave
21 May
Environment Council
The Hon. William Waldegrave
21 July
Environment Council
Lord Belstead
3 December
Environment Council
Lord Belstead
1988
26-27 February
Informal Council
The Earl of Caithness
21 March
Environment Council
The Earl of Caithness
16 June
Environment Council
The Earl of Caithness
28 June
Environment Council
Mr. Colin Moynihan
1-2 October
Informal Council
The Earl of Caithness
24 November
Environment Council
The Earl of Caithness
The United Kingdom is among a small minority of member states to have been represented at Ministerial level at all these meetings.
Water Privatisation
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how his proposals for water privatisation
Column 280
will (a) reinforce, (b) amend or (c) suppress present controls for the protection of water authority lands (i) of outstanding natural beauty, (ii) serving urban or rural communities as spaces of recreation or environmental value and (iii) declared national parks.Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 5 December 1988] : Clause 7 of the Bill would carry forward the present conservation and recreation duties of the water authorities and apply them with certain amendments and extensions to water and sewerage undertakers, the National Rivers Authority and internal drainage boards. The principle change is to impose on the authority a wider duty than currently applies to water authorities, to promote conservation and the recreational use of all inland waters and associated lands.
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what financial compensation will be given to local authorities under his proposals for water privatisation in the case that the future water companies sell land which was originally owned by such local authorities which subsequent legislation gave to water authorities without any compensation.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 5 December 1988] : None, because none is due. The regional water authorities took on the debt liabilities associated with the local authority assets transferred to them in 1974.
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what specific (a) local authorities, (b) rural and urban community organisations, (c) consumer associations and (d) industry and business organisations he consulted prior to deciding that water privatisation should be carried out.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 5 December 1988] : The White Paper proposals and consultation paper on the National Rivers Authority have been widely publicised. The opportunity to comment has not been confined to a specific list of organisations.
Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the amount of financial assistance which will be lost to regions from the European regional development fund following the privatisation of the water industry.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 6 December 1988] : The EC Commission agreed last year to continue to consider applications for aid from the European regional development fund in respect of investments in infrastructure by privatised bodies in the United Kingdom.
National Rivers Authority
Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what cash amount it is assumed that the National Rivers Authority would generate itself through its income generation powers for each of the years 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92 in anticipating grant in aid payments to the National Rivers Authority of £40 million, £71 million and £65 million for each of those years, respectively.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 5 December 1988] : The assumptions about grant-in-aid for these years are based on financial projections which anticipate that the National
Column 281
Rivers Authority's income from direct charges will be £32.0 million in 1989-90, £58.0 million in 1990- 91 and £73.0 million in 1991-92. It is assumed that the increased income in 1991-92 will be generated from the provision in the Water Bill to enable the NRA to charge dischargers the costs of administering water pollution control and enforcement. The projections do not take into account income or expenditure relating to the NRA's land drainage work, which is funded by a combination of capital grants, for which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food takes public expenditure provision, and precepts on local authorities.Cumbria (Coastline)
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made towards the full implementation of the European Economic Community directive on the quality of bathing water along the coastline of Cumbria.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 5 December 1988] : There are 16 identified bathing waters in Cumbria, many of which already meet the directive's standards. The North West water authority plans to bring the remaining waters up to the EEC standard by 1995. Work on this task is in hand.
Water Meters
Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Government funding will be made available to meet the costs of the installation and provision of water meters in domestic property in full or in part.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 6 December 1988] : Whether to adopt metering for domestic water customers after privatisation will be a matter for each water undertaker to decide. Apart from the limited contributions to the present programme of metering trials, there will be no Government funding of the costs of metering.
Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether customers will be expected to pay the costs of the provision and installation of water meters in domestic households following water industry privatisation.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 6 December 1988] : The Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Act requires the cost of installing meters compulsorily to be met by the water undertaker. The cost is therefore recovered from customers as a whole, with two exceptions. Customers who opt under the present voluntary scheme to pay by measure will be expected to pay for a meter and its installation. After 1 April 1989, water undertakers will be able to require the developers of newly built or converted domestic properties to pay for, or install, a meter as a condition of connecting a supply.
Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the position with regard to the inspection provisions of water metering and weights and measures legislation following the installation of water meters in domestic property.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 6 December 1988] : Regulations made under the Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Act 1988 enable householders, on the
Column 282
payment of a fee, to ask their water undertaker to test the accuracy of the meter. The fee will be returned if the meter is found to be inaccurate. The test would be carried out in accordance with weights and measures regulations. Alternatively, householders can ask for a test by a local authority weights and measures inspector.Land Development
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what restrictions he has received during 1988 about the drawing up of covenants restricting development on open land ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 6 December 1988] : Section 52 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 permits the making of agreements between the local planning authority and any person with an interest in the land for the purpose of restricting or regulating the development or use of land. My right hon. Friend has received representations that such agreements are sometimes required where they are not necessary for the development to proceed, and the Government are considering issuing further policy guidance to curtail abuse of these powers.
Sewers
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what studies he has made of areas where urban sewers and drains are the property of private companies ; and what conclusions he reached in respect of each such study.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 7 December 1988] : None.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Rape (Sentencing)
Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against the length of sentencing in rape cases have been made since July 1988.
Mr. John Patten : Information for 1988 is not yet available, but 96 persons appealed in 1987 against the sentence given to them for a rape offence.
Prisons (Psychiatric Patients)
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) at the latest date for which statistics are available, what proportion of persons detained in Her Majesty's prisons had previously been patients in either psychiatric hospitals or pyschiatric wards ; and what were the corresponding figures for the same date in each of the past 10 years ;
(2) at the latest date for which statistics are available, what proportion of persons detained in Her Majesty's prisons had previously received psychiatric treatment ; and what were the corresponding figures for each of the past 10 years ;
(3) at the latest date for which statistics are available, what proportion of persons detained in Her Majesty's prisons were either undergoing psychiatric treatment or had undergone such treatment in the course of their sentences.
Column 283
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The number of inmates who have received or are undergoing psychiatric treatment is not recorded centrally.
Mortgage Fraud
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will make it his policy to publish separate figures for mortgage fraud in the annual criminal statistics ; (2) what statistics are currently available for the incidence of mortgage fraud in England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. I have no plans to collect and publish more detailed figures on offences of fraud in "Criminal Statistics".
Inter-city Trains (Radio Telephones)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make central funds available to British Rail to assist in resourcing the provision of radio telephones on inter-city trains as a means of crime prevention.
Mr. John Patten : I understand that British Rail is already installing telephones on inter-city trains as an extra service for passengers.
Music (Drugs)
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to obtain regular reports from the chief officers of police as to whether all public places of entertainment and night clubs in particular are being surveyed to ensure that the music played does not offend the Obscene Publications Act or other legislation aimed at reducing both the supply of and the demand for drugs.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We have no plans to do so.
Animals (Experiments)
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the current project licences permiting cosmetic and toiletry experiments upon animals were granted prior to the implementation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : None. Project licences were introduced by the 1986 Act.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many project licences have been granted for regulated procedures which involve the testing of cosmetic and toiletry preparations since the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 came into force ; and how many of these applications were placed before the Animal Procedures Committee for consideration before being granted.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Six project licences have been granted, all of which received prior consideration by the APC.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for project licences
Column 284
for cosmetic experiments have been refused on the advice of the Animal Procedures Committee since 1 January 1987.Mr. Douglas Hogg : None ; but following consideration by the APC, modifications have been made to some project licences.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many personal licences are subsisting under those project licences granted for cosmetic experiments since 1 January 1987.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : This information is not available centrally since personal licence holders are not generally restricted to working on a particular project.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider requiring the labelling of products to state whether or not they are tested on animals.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : No. The Home Secretary is responsible for the licensing of scientific procedures on living animals, but not for any requirements for substances to be tested on animals or for the labelling of substances which have been tested.
Child Care
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to make police records available to voluntary organisations dealing with children who wish to check on potential employees.
| Next Section
| Home Page |