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River Thames (Expenditure)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total amount of money spent in each of the last five years on improving the water condition of the river Thames.
Mr. Moynihan : Specific estimates for expenditure on improving the water quality of the Thames over the past five years are not available. However, total capital and operating expenditure over this period by the Thames water authority on sewage treatment and disposal, water quality regulation and pollution prevention was as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1983-84 |122
1984-85 |123
1985-86 |122
1986-87 |122
1987-88 |140
Council House Rents
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when preparing the proposals contained in his consultation paper on capital expenditure and finance, what assessment he made of their likely effect on council house rents in (a) Nottingham and (b) nationally.
Mr. Trippier : In light of my right hon. Friend's subsequent proposals for a new financial regime for local authority housing, I would not expect the proposals in the
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consultation paper on local authority capital expenditure and finance to have any significant effect on council house rents either in Nottingham or nationally.Nuclear Waste
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 12 December concerning disposing of nuclear waste, how many litres of high-level waste are awaiting permanent disposal.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I understand that the equivalent of 517, 000 litres of conditioned high-level wastes are currently in store.
UN (Emergencies)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has responded to President Gorbachev's call for a special United Nations environmental agency to give advice and help in emergency situations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My noble Friend the Minister for Housing, Environment and Countryside has announced the Government's response to Mr. Gorbachev's proposals for environmental action. A copy of his statement of 9 December will be placed in the Library.
Football (Membership Scheme)
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how overseas visitors will obtain entry to football grounds when a membership entry card is essential for entry.
Mr. Moynihan : This issue is discussed in the report of my working party on the national membership scheme, published on 9 November. The report recommends that clubs should be able to make temporary membership arrangements for overseas visitors to a Football League match and that such visitors should be required to produce proof of identity to gain entry to an international match. These are matters that will be considered further when our legislative proposals are published.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provision there will be under the football national membership scheme for football fans who do not support any one team in particular ;
(2) what measures he intends to take, under the football national membership scheme, to prevent (a) the use of stolen cards, (b) the borrowing of cards and (c) applications for cards in bogus names ;
(3) if he has made any estimate as to the proportion of those who attend football matches occasionally who will register under the national membership scheme ;
(4) when he expects to bring forward legislation for a national football membership scheme ;
(5) whether he intends to bring forward legislation which gives him the power to require that non-football sporting events should be open only to spectators who are members of a national membership scheme ; (6) whether the forthcoming Bill for a football national membership scheme will allow for the extension of the scheme to Scotland and Northern Ireland without further legislation ;
(7) what provision he intends to make in the Bill for a football national membership scheme, for Football Association cup ties between league and non -league sides ;
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(8) what redress there will be for those refused access to a football match due to incorrect information held by the football membership authority ;(9) to what extent the football membership authority will rely, in avoiding multiple membership applications and applications in false names, on cross reference of information with (a) the police computer, (b) local authorities' poll tax registers, (c) the Inland Revenue, (d) the Department of Social Security and (e) data bases held by private organisations ;
(10) whether those committing football-related offences would lose their membership of the football national membership scheme, on committing an offence, on being charged, or on conviction.
Mr. Moynihan : The Government's proposals for legislation to establish a national membership scheme for football supporters will be published shortly. It will be for the body appointed to run the scheme to consider the way in which the scheme will work in detail and submit proposals to the Secretary of State for approval. The report of the working party which I chaired made recommendations on a number of the points raised by the hon. and learned Gentleman. It also recommended that the principles of the Data Protection Act 1984 should be applied to the scheme.
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what information he has, in the light of his intention to introduce a national identity card scheme for football clubs, on the net indebtedness of division IV Football Association clubs ;
(2) what information he has in the light of his intention to introduce a national identity card scheme for football clubs, on the net indebtedness of division III Football Association clubs ; (3) what information he has, in the light of his intention to introduce a national identity card scheme for football clubs, on the losses and profits of the clubs in division III of the Football Association during each of the last three seasons ;
(4) what information he has, in the light of his intention to introduce a national identity card scheme for football clubs, of the profits and losses of the clubs in division IV of the Football Association in each of the last three seasons.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 6 December 1988] : My Department does not receive the financial accounts of Football League clubs. It might be possible to provide the information requested by my hon. Friend from the information held at Companies House, but only at disproportionate cost.
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Waterfries School
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, when he proposes to reply to the letter dated 10 October from the hon. Member for Woolwich about Waterfries school and Thamesmead town hall.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I wrote to the hon. Member on 16 December. I am sorry he has not had an earlier reply.
Public Works Departments
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has made any assessment of the extra costs and the effects on flexibility of the abolition of the free allowances in the tendering by local authority public works departments for small jobs ; if he has made any estimate of the circumstances in which the additional overheads in obtaining tenders for small jobs will exceed the value of the work ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is our firm belief that the benefits to be derived from opening up all buildings and maintenance work to free competition, whilst preserving the ability for authorities to continue to carry out work through their own staff where that can be shown to be cost- effective, will substantially outweigh any transitional costs that might be involved.
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has issued guidance on what constitutes an emergency for the purposes of local authority public works departments carrying out works without going out to tender ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Regulations made under the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 state :
" emergency work' means work of any description whose necessity could not reasonably have been foreseen by a local authority or development body and which is required to avert, alleviate or eradicate in their area, or any part, if the effects or potential effects of any emergency or disaster involving or likely to involve risk of serious damage to or destruction of property or risk of injury or danger to health or life".
My right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, announced in reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Hind) on 7 December at column 200 that we were currently examining the scope for restricting the kinds of emergency work which can be carried out by direct labour organisations without open competition. We have no intention of restricting the ability of authorities to respond to genuine emergencies.
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Competitive Tendering
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any information on the effectiveness of compulsory competitive tendering in local government ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There is no specific information available as yet on the outcome of compulsory tendering for building and maintenance work under the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, although I understand that the Audit Commission intends to publish a study on this next year. The date by which compulsory tendering for the first group of other services under the Local Government Act 1988 must be completed is 1 August 1989. It is however already clear that, to meet the challenge of competition, local authorities are radically overhauling their organisation, staffing and terms and conditions of service. The best guide we have to the effectiveness of tendering in local government comes from the voluntary exercises carried out by several authorities, including a recent Audit Commission study on ground maintenance. These show that savings of up to 30 per cent. of previous cost can be achieved for the same standard of service.
Needs Assessment
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the paper entitled "Consultation Paper on the New Method of Needs Assessment" will be available to right hon. and hon. Members. Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department has circulated a paper (LGF(G)(NG)(88)7) to officials of the local authority associations setting out preliminary proposals for the simplified needs assessment for the distribution of needs grant. These proposals will be discussed in a series of meetings under the auspices of the new systems working group. A copy of the paper has been placed in the Library.
Derelict Land Grants (Computerisation)
Mr. Allan Roberts : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when the management information system with regard to the control of the derelict land grant programme will be fully computerised ;
(2) if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delays in computerising the management information system with regard to the control of the derelict land grant programme, and the costs to the Department associated with these delays ;
(3) what is the estimated total cost to his Department of the computerisation of the management information system with regard to the control of the derelict land grant programme ;
(4) what is the total cost to date to his Department of the computerisation of the management information system with regard to the control of the derelict land grant programme ;
(5) what make and type of computers are being installed to ensure the computeristion of the management information system with regard to the control of the derelict land grant programme ;
(6) if he will outline the reasons for the withdrawing in March 1988 of the pilot system for the computerisation of the management information system with regard to the control of the derelict land grant programme.
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Mr. Trippier : It is planned to complete implementation of a computerised system for derelict land grant by the end of 1989. In addition to providing comprehensive management information, the system will lead to increased efficiency in managing the derelict land grant programme, handling derelict land grant applications and processing grant claims.
When the pilot system was initiated in 1983, the evolution of an information technology strategy within the Department was at an early stage. Management techniques now in operation are designed to ensure that projects are properly programmed and resourced, and to trigger early corrective action when necessary. Progress with the pilot system was therefore slower than it should have been had these techniques been in use.
By 1987, the scope and design of the original user requirement for the pilot project had been overtaken by a comprehensive review of derelict land grant policy, the implementation of delegated authority under the financial management initiative, and recommendations from an internal audit examination of derelict land grant procedures. A feasibility study completed in March 1988 found that the system required considerable further development to cope with new requirements brought about by those changes, and concluded that it would be more cost-effective to redesign the system using modern software. The pilot system cost £130,000, but valuable experience was gained from design work and data analysis which is being applied to the new project.
The total cost of computerisation to date is £230,000, including the cost of the pilot project. The final total cost of developing and implementing the system is estimated to be £590,000. The project is expected to achieve quantifiable benefits of the order of £250,000 per annum, together with substantial unquantifiable benefits. Existing VAX computers, manufactured by the Digital Equipment Corporation and located at the Department's bureaux sites in London and Swansea, will be utilised. The only new hardware to be purchased will be 30 DEC VT 320 computer terminals and 28 DEC LA75 desk top printers for use in the Department's regional offices and headquarters. The terminals will be linked to the bureaux via the existing departmental data communications network.
Exeter Airport
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to make a decision on the future development of Exeter airport following the recent public inquiry.
Mr. Howard : My right hon. Friend expects to announce his decision on the application for shopping, leisure, business and other uses on part of Exeter airport shortly.
Chelsea Football Ground
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce his inspector's decision on the planning application for Chelsea football ground ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The inspector's report is being considered. The decision will be issued as quickly as possible.
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River Tees (Barrage)
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last discussed the construction of a barrage on the River Tees with the chairman of the Teesside development corporation ; and what conclusions were reached.
Mr. Trippier : The Secretary of State has not discussed the proposal with the chairman of the Teesside development corporation, but there have been discussions between the Department and the corporation at official level, and the Secretary of State was content for the private Bill to be laid.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what responses have been received by the Teesside development corporation to the consultation carried out with regard to the proposal to build a barrage on the River Tees.
Mr. Trippier : Teesside development corporation has, to date, received over 140 replies to the questionnaire (and information leaflet) on the proposed barrage, which were distributed to all households in the Stockton area. The corporation has also received a substantial response to its consultation with private companies, local and public authorities, and appropriate local and national bodies. In addition, the corporation has held three public meetings and has, on request, discussed its proposals at separate meetings with various organisations and individuals.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to undertake a full environmental assessment study of the proposal by the Teesside development corporation to build a barrage on the River Tees.
Mr. Trippier : Since the Tees barrage proposal would be approved by a private Act of Parliament, the provisions of the European Community directive on environmental assessment and the regulations implementing it do not apply. However, I understand that the Teesside development corporation has commissioned the preparation of an environmental assessment.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many objections have been lodged against the proposal by the Teesside development corporation to build a barrage on the River Tees.
Mr. Trippier : No objections to the River Tees barrage and crossing private Bill have yet been lodged.
Structure Plans
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he is giving to district and parish councils following his decision to abolish structure plans as drawn by county councils ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The proposal to replace structure plans with briefer statements of county planning policies was included in the Government's consultation paper "The Future of Development Plans", issued in September 1986. We shall shortly be announcing our conclusions in the light of that consultation.
Planning policy guidance note No. 12, on local plans, was issued on 30 November. It urges district planning
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authorities to extend the coverage of statutory local plans. It also makes clear that work done on local plans would not be lost in any new system of development plans, since provision would be made to enable up-to-date local plans to be carried over into the new system.Teesside Development Corporation
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much public money is paid to Councillor Michael Carr in respect to his position on the board of the Teesside development corporation.
Mr. Trippier : As a member of the board of Teesside development corporation, Councillor Michael Carr receives £3,820 per annum.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take concerning the position of Councillor Michael Carr as a member of the board of the Teesside development corporation who is also a member of a sub-committee of Middlesbrough borough council responsible for formulating objections to the Tees barrage private Bill proposed by the development corporation.
Mr. Trippier : None. Councillor Carr has stated publicly that there is no difference between the council and the corporation on the principle of creating a Tees barrage and has expressed his strong personal support for the proposal. There are certain elements of the proposal which Middlesbrough borough council wishes to explore further and Teesside development corporation has agreed to discuss these.
Historic Churches
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he will publish tables listing (a) the churches which were offered grants and (b) the value of each grant under sections 3(a) and 5(b) of the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953, in each of the prior five years ;
(2) whether he will publish tables listing (a) the churches which applied for grants and (b) the value of these applications under sections 3(a) and 5(b) of the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953 in each of the past five years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The grant schemes for repair of historic churches are administered by the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission ( English Heritage'). Over the last five years, there have been some 2,300 applications, and some 1,850 grants offered totalling over £25 million in value. It is not possible in the time available to list all in detail. I have asked the chairman of English Heritage to write to the hon. Member with more detailed information.
Rate Limitation
Mr. William Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has reached decisions on any applications by councils in England subject to selective rate limitation in 1989-90 for their expenditure level to be redetermined ; if he will announce the proposed rate limits ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Five of the seven councils in England designated for selective rate limitation in 1989-90 applied
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for redetermination of their expenditure level. These were the London boroughs of Camden, Greenwich, Hackney, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. After careful consideration of these applications and of other relevant matters, I have decided to redetermine expenditure levels upwards in four cases : Greenwich by £2 million, Hackney by £2 million, Southwark by £6 million and Tower Hamlets by £1 million. In the case of Camden, I have decided to confirm the original expenditure level. I am also today sending notification to each of the seven designated councils of the proposed rate limit which I have determined for 1989-90. These limits are based on the original expenditure level or redetermined level as the case may be, and for Greenwich and Southwark include an allowance of £5 million for an addition to financial reserves to cover effects of the supplementary reports. The details are as follows :Column 49
|Original expenditure |Redetermined expenditure|Rate limit |Implied change in local
|level |level |rate
|£ million |£ million |pence |Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Camden |136.924 |- |114.22 |-2.4
Greenwich |95.230 |97.230 |150.85 |+10.9
Hackney |128.572 |130.572 |102.17 |-24.2
Lewisham |115.594 |- |110.76 |-15.9
Southwark |134.193 |140.193 |93.45 |-7.5
Tower Hamlets |124.033 |125.033 |65.53 |-46.8
Thamesdown |14.201 |- |47.58 |-6.9
Associated with each of the four increases to expenditure levels is a requirement as follows :
(a) Greenwich
To report at intervals to the Secretary of State on its expenditure on personal social services ;
(b) Hackney
To review and to report at intervals to the Secretary of State on its financial management in respect of its housing accommodation ; (
(c) Southwark
To review its financial management of rent collection and to report at intervals to the Secretary of State on this and on its expenditure and financial management generally ;
(d) Tower Hamlets
To review its general financial management and to report at intervals to the Secretary of State on this and on its expenditure on personal social services and homelessness.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any proposals for the reorganisation of local government involving the district and shire counties ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : None whatsoever. The Government's recent legislation, together with the proposals we are bringing forward this Session, presents local authorities with a major challenge to make themselves more efficient and accountable to their electorate. These are the priorities for the next few years. Further changes in local government structure form no part of our agenda.
Unleaded Petrol
Mr. Wray To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many petrol stations in Scotland sell unleaded petrol ; what is the average price per gallon ; and what is the average price of a gallon of leaded petrol.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : According to the most recent information supplied by the oil companies, on 28 October 1988 there were 190 petrol stations in Scotland selling unleaded petrol. The number is growing all the time. Average fuel prices are monitored by the Automobile Association. The United Kingdom average fuel prices as at 8 December 1988 for a gallon of petrol were as follows :
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|£
--------------------------
unleaded |165.9
2-star leaded |167.4
4-star leaded |170.3
Waste Imports
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what types and what quantities of waste are being imported into Britain each year since the introduction of new regulations in response to incidents involving the vessel Karin B ; and what types of quantities of waste were imported each year previous to this.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 15 December 1988] : The Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste Regulations 1988 were made on 8 September, having been delayed by our earlier attempts to secure Community agreement to a wider coverage. No figures are yet available of notifications made under these regulations.
Special waste imports since 1981-82 are estimated at :
|Quantity
---------------------------
1981-82 |3,800
1982-83 |5,000
1983-84 |14,800
1984-85 |5,000
1985-86 |24,500
1986-87 |52,000
1987-88 |80,000
These figures compare with special waste arisings in England and Wales of 1.6 million tonnes per annum.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Frank Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information has been provided by (a) British Nuclear Fuels plc, (b) the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, (c) the Central Electricity Generating Board and (d) the South of Scotland Electricity Board to the European Commission under article 37 of the Euratom Treaty since May 1979 on the subject of nuclear waste disposal ; and if he will list by date all submissions made by each of the nuclear facility
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operators to Euratom under article 37 of the Euratom Treaty since there has been a requirement to make such data available.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 15 December 1988] : There have been no submissions since 15 February 1988. Under article 37 of the Euratom treaty, responsibility for making submissions to the European Commission concerning plans for the disposal of radioactive waste rests with Her Majesty's Government, not the operators of nuclear installations.
The information, which is supplied by the Department of the Environment on behalf of the nuclear site operators to the Commission under article 37 of the Euratom treaty, conforms to the regulations laid down by the Commission in the Official Journal of the European Community dated 29 March 1982 (ref No. L83/15), a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library. The following submissions have been made to the Commission since May 1979 :
Submissions made prior
to May 1979 under
Article 37 are as
follows:
-----------------------------------------------
Central Electricity Generating Board
Hinkley Point "B" Power Station |1974
Dungeness "B" Power Station |1976
Hartlepool Power Station |1978
South of Scotland Electricity Board
Hunterston "B" Power Station |1974
Submissions made prior
to May 1979 under
Article 37 are as
follows:
-----------------------------------------------
Central Electricity Generating Board
Hinkley Point "B" Power Station |1974
Dungeness "B" Power Station |1976
Hartlepool Power Station |1978
South of Scotland Electricity Board
Hunterston "B" Power Station |1974
Exchequer Grant
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will show for each year from 1980-81 to 1988-89, at constant prices, aggregate Exchequer grant per capita in (a) shire areas, (b) metropolitan districts excluding London boroughs, (c) inner London boroughs and (d) outer London boroughs.
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