| Previous Section | Home Page |
|1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89
|Actual |Actual |Projected
|£ |£ |£
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Cameroon
Korup national park |80,500 |140,000 |205,000
Mount Oku mountain
forest |- |- |35,000
Liberia
Sapo park |- |- |35,000
Zambia
Wetlands |- |- |50,000
Nepal
Annapurna protected area |- |- |14,750
In addition, as my hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development told the hon. Member on 19 October 1988, at column 857, wildlife conservation has been supported under the bilateral aid programme in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Other ODA assistance includes vehicles for a game park in Tanzania and an expert for the King Mahendra Trust which promotes conservation in Nepal.
Column 500
United Nations
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many member states of the United Nations organisation are democracies.
Mr. Eggar : Under the United Nations charter membership of the United Nations, in addition to and including founder members, is open to all peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present charter and, in the judgment of the organisation, are able and willing to carry them out. The United Nations does not attempt to categorise its members as democracies or otherwise.
ENVIRONMENT
Greenhouse Effect
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has initiated any evaluation of the eight-point plan put forward to halt the global warming greenhouse effect, presented by Dr. Robert Goodlad to the major project and the environment conference at the Royal Geographical Society on 14 November.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Most of the points raised by Dr. Goodlad have already been addressed in the Government's response to the Brundtland report, "Our Common Future" and in my noble Friend's message to the Toronto conference, "The Changing Atmosphere", copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House. The Government are giving full support to the UNEP/WMO inter-government panel on climate change, including leading the science review working group, as the most important means of seeking a way forward on an issue which must be tackled internationally.
Football Clubs (Membership Schemes)
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what comments he has received from the Police Federation regarding compulsory identity cards for football supporters.
Mr. Moynihan : I met the chairman and representatives of the Police Federation on 15 December and had a helpful discussion about the proposal for a national membership scheme for football supporters. It was agreed that further meetings would be held as the detail of the scheme is worked out.
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many football supporters he estimates will apply for identity cards should the proposed legislation on identity cards for football supporters be enacted.
Mr. Moynihan : I hope that every genuine football supporter, regular or casual will recognise the benefits of the national membership scheme and apply for membership.
Pollution (Safety Standards)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what safety standards are laid down to minimise health risks to the public from polluted rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
Column 501
Mr. Moynihan : Rivers and estuaries are already subject to classification schemes which incorporate standards relating to amenity and uses for the waters concerned. These schemes are being reviewed as part of the Government's proposals to introduce a statutory framework of water quality objectives for rivers and estuaries.
Contact Pursuits
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the last national survey was carried out regarding the suitability of United Kingdom inland waters for contact pursuits ; and whether a survey is planned for the near future.
Mr. Moynihan : There has been no national survey of inland waters with respect to their suitability for contact pursuits ; nor are there plans for one. Monitoring of rivers is currently a matter for the water authorities but will, under our privatisation proposals, become one of the main functions of the National Rivers Authority.
Radon Radiation
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the national average of Radon radiation concentrations.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : A national survey carried out by the National Radiological Protection Board found an average concentration of 20.5 becquerels per cubic metre of air in dwellings.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the design level for buildings in a Radon radiation area.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Government's advisers on radiological protection matters, the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), recommended that exposure to radon daughters in the home should be limited to 5 millisieverts a year. The design level, which was recommended by the NRPB, reflects international consensus on this matter as well as the views of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.
Control of Pollution
Mr. Key : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has inspected the site used by contractors acting on behalf of Tesco Stores at Petersfinger near Salisbury.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution has not inspected the site but is aware of the situation. The matter is one for local planning and waste authorities, both of which are taking the necessary action.
The Orphanage, Watford
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the selling price and method of valuation for the sale of The Orphanage, Watford to Heron Homes.
Mr. Chope : The Orphanage, Watford is not owned by the Department of the Environment or by any Government Department. A leasehold interest held by the Department of the Environment expired on 25 December 1988.
Column 502
East Thameside (Housing)
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretry of State for the Environment what account he will take of the observations of London borough councils on the study by Messrs. Coopers and Lybrand on the east Thameside housing and of the strategic implications of any of the site schemes on transport, education and other personal services.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend is taking careful account of the comments received from the London boroughs.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the properties and housing units designated as affordable on each of the sites in the London borough of Newham considered in the east Thameside housing study, stating the approximate level of income required under current conditions to purchase two bedroom affordable accommodation.
Mr. Trippier : The study considered general price levels of houses of varying types at the lower end of the east London owner-occupier market. It was not required to designate specific properties or dwellings within the study areas as affordable.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the density in both habitable rooms per acre and persons per acre in each of the sites in the London borough of Newham reported on in the east Thameside housing study, together with comparable figures approved by him applicable to public and private housing, respectively, within the area of the modified Beckton district plan.
Mr. Trippier : The consultants were asked to consider standard densities for housing and development at Stratford rail yards, Beckton gas works and the lower Lea valley of approximately 90, 100, and 120 habitable rooms per acre net respectively--not densities on the basis of persons per acre.
My right hon. Friend is not required to approve the modified Beckton local plan.
Nature Conservation
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has yet received the report from the Nature Conservancy Council on the desirability and feasibility of privatising the 109 national nature reserves currently owned or part owned by the Nature Conservancy Council ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State received the report of the Nature Conservancy Council's review of national nature reserves at the end of December. The report is now under consideration and a further announcement will be made in due course.
Mr. Nicholas Baker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Dorset, North (Mr. Baker), Official Report, 2 December 1988, column 424, if he will list the reasons why the 117 sites of special scientific interest, reported by the Nature Conservancy Council in its 14th annual report as having been damaged, were not protected from potentially damaging operations ; and how many of these cases have resulted in legal proceedings being taken against alleged offenders.
Column 503
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I am advised by the Nature Conservancy Council that the main specific causes of damage were as follows :
D
|Number
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Third party operators (including works outside an
SSSI) |43
Resulting from, or ancillary to, planning permissions |14
Works under Channel Tunnel Act 1988 |2
Emergency electrical repairs |1
Unforeseen consequences of pre-1981 nature reserve
agreement |1
Miscellaneous operations |56
Many of the latter cases will have involved unwitting damage although in six cases the NCC has initiated legal proceedings. As the NCC's annual report makes clear, in 79 cases the damage to the SSSI was only short term, from which the site may be expected to recover. This may also apply where a site has suffered long-term damage. In only 11 cases was the damage severe enough to result in the denotification of part of the SSSI.
Unleaded Petrol
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many cars provided for the Secretary of State for Scotland and Ministers in his Department are capable of taking unleaded petrol ; and how many of them still take leaded petrol only.
Mr. Chope : The Government car service currently provides three official cars to the Scottish Office which are allocated as follows :
Secretary of State--Rover 820 SE
Ministers of State--Austin Rover Montego
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State--Austin Rover Montego The Rover 820 SE is capable of running on lead-free petrol. Both Montegos are capable of running only on leaded fuel and cannot be converted. The older of the Montegos is to be replaced this month by a Montego capable of running on unleaded petrol and I hope that the other Montego will be replaced later this year.
Bellwin Scheme
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will meet a delegation from the north east Derbyshire district council to explore the possibilities of their receiving financial assistance towards the cost of putting out the underground fire at Callywhite lane, Dronfield under the terms of the Bellwin scheme.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Bellwin scheme is intended to make available special financial assistance to local authorities to meet expenditure incurred in the immediate aftermath of an emergency to protect life or property. The underground fire in Dronfield had been burning for three years before any action was taken and it cannot be regarded as an emergency under the scheme. Furthermore the courts have established that liability for the fire rests with the landowners, from whom costs could be recovered.
Computerisation
Mr. Grylls : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those local authorities who have computerised their search facilities for home buyers.
Column 504
Mr. Trippier : This information is not collected centrally. However, I understand that Plymouth and Portsmouth city councils and Wigan metropolitan borough council have computerised their search facilities, and that a number of other authorities are currently exploring the possibility.
Palace of Westminster
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the chandeliers within the Palace of Westminster which survived the bombing in 1941 are of the same size and design as those which hung in the Chamber and which were destroyed.
Mr. Chope : I hope that it will be possible to answer this question when the investigations referred to in my reply to the hon. Member's question of 13 December, Official Report, column 523, have been completed.
Mr. Summerson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the cleaning and restoration of the Victoria Tower is to be completed.
Mr. Chope : The restoration, repair and cleaning of the stonework of the Palace of Westminster is being carried out in a number of phases. The current phase, covering the Central Lobby Tower, is scheduled for completion towards the end of the year. Work on the Victoria Tower is scheduled to start early in 1990 and will take about two and a half years to complete.
Council Housing (Sales)
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the council housing stock as at 1 January 1980 had been sold under the right to buy legislation by the latest available date in (a) each district of Somerset, (b) each district of Devon, (c) each district of Dorset, (d) each district of Wiltshire, (e) the London borough of Camden, (f) the London borough of Islington, (g) the London borough of Lambeth, (h) the London borough of Southwark, (i) Birmingham, (j) Manchester, (k) Bradford, (l) Leeds, (m) Sheffield, (n) Nottingham and (o) Bristol.
Mr. Trippier : A table giving the available figures up to June 1988, as reported by each English local authority, has been placed in the Library.
Medicinal Leech (Protection)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the sites in the United Kingdom which meet the criteria for designation as special protection areas for the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, under the draft Fauna, Flora and Habitats directive ; and if he will list the provisions which already exist for the protection of this species and its habitat.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Nature Conservancy Council has notified as sites of special scientific interest under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 eight sites at which the medicinal leech has been recorded since 1960. These are :
Dungeness
New Forest
Moccas park
Walland marsh
Column 505
Bookham (Surrey)Cors Goch
Ardmore, Kildalton and Callumkill woodlands
Clais Dhearg
Other sites may be designated in due course.
The medicinal leech as a species was afforded full protection in Great Britain from March 1988 by its inclusion in schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedules) Order 1988. International trade in the medicinal leech is regulated by inclusion in appendix 2 of the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora.
It would be premature to speculate on what criteria for habitat and species protection might eventually be included in an agreed EC directive on habitat protection.
Hayle Harbour
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether an article 10 direction under the Town and Country Planning General Development order 1977 is currently in force in respect of the future development of Hayle harbour, Cornwall.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will investigate the likely impact of the proposals contained in the Hayle Harbour Bill on (a) the Hayle estuary site of special scientific interest, (b) the hydrology of the estuary and (c) the ecology of Copperhouse creek and pools ; and if he will consider the likely impact on the environment resulting from the increase in recreational use of the area resulting from the proposed development.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I understand the promoters of this private Bill are preparing an environmental impact assessment. The Nature Conservancy Council, which is statutorily responsible for all negotiations on matters affecting sites of special scientific importance, are in consultation with the promoters on this and the hydrology of the estuary and Copperhouse pools.
Local Authorities (Economic Development)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the economic development initia-tives announced in his answer to the hon. Member for Battersea (Mr. Bowis) on 21 December will affect facilities available under the city grant initiative for deficit funding.
Mr. Trippier : No. City grant, which is paid directly by my Department to private sector developers meets the shortfall between the market value and the capital costs of appropriate private sector development projects. It does not cover a company's trading deficits or running costs.
Toxic Waste (Exports)
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received concerning the export of toxic waste from Britain by other national governments.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : None.
Scheduled Monuments (Damage)
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many scheduled monuments have been
Column 506
damaged in each of the last five years as a result of each of the following activities : (a) agriculture, (b) forestry, (c) activities given planning permission, (d) activities of statutory undertakers and other public bodies not included in (a), (b) or (c), (e) recreation activities and (f) miscellaneous activities ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I have asked the chairman of English Heritage to provide the hon. Member with such information as is readily available for England. Information on monuments in Wales and Scotland are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and Scotland respectively.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many oral parliamentary questions he has answered by written reply because the question was not reached at Question Time, for the most recent year for which figures are available.
Mr. Ridley : The total number of oral parliamentary questions answered by written reply during the last 12 months was 597.
Protection of Birds
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many seabirds have been affected by the oil pollution in the Channel caused by dumping or cleaning in early January 1989 ; who was responsible for the pollution ; and what support has been given by Her Majesty's Government to organisations involved in rescuing the birds.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is too early to assess the full impact of the oil pollution in the Channel on sea birds. Oiled birds are continuing to come ashore. It may not yet be possible properly to assess the damage caused to sea bird populations. The Department of Transport is investigating the incident, but it has not been possible to identify the cause of the oil slick.
The organisations which are most involved in rescuing the birds are the RSPCA and the RSPB. Neither body has asked for Government assistance.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many licences for the killing of dark-bellied brent geese have been issued by his Department in the past three years ; and how many birds have been slaughtered ;
(2) what efforts are made by his Department to sponsor the setting aside by farmers of special feeding grounds for geese and other crop-eating birds.
Mr. Ryder : I have been asked to reply.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food issues licences permitting the killing of limited numbers of dark-bellied brent geese as an aid to scaring operations to protect crops from serious damage. The position is reviewed each year and advice is taken from the Nature Conservancy Council.
The geese overwinter during the period October to March and details of licences issued and numbers killed during the last three seasons in England are given in the table. No licences are issued in either Scotland or Wales.
Column 507
Licences Issued
Season |Number |Maximum number of geese|Number of geese shot
|permitted to be shot
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |89 |1,095 |932
1986-87 |72 |1,200 |550
1987-88 |56 |970 |399
|------ |------ |------
Total |217 |3,265 |1,881
Family Statistics
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has of the number of (a) married couples living in households headed by another adult, and (b) single-parent families living in households headed by another adult, according to local authority housing investment programme returns, for 1979 and the latest year available.
Mr. Trippier [holding answer 22 December 1988] : The estimates requested for 1988 are given in columns B3A1 (married couple) and B3B1 (lone parent) of the "HIP1 all items print" which is available in the Library. No comparable estimates were collected in 1979.
Homelessness
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the total number of households accepted as homeless by local authorities in 1979 and in the latest year available ;
(2) what estimate he has for the number of people homeless in England other than those accepted as such by local authorities for the purposes of the Homeless Persons Act 1977 in 1979 and for the latest year available.
Mr. Trippier [holding answer 22 December 1988] : The estimated numbers of households for whom English local authorities accepted responsibility to secure accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act were 57,200 in 1979 and 112,400 in 1987. However, because of changes in the reporting system in 1980 and 1982, the figure for 1979 is not strictly comparable with those for later years.
In addition authorities reported 56,000 homeless households in 1987 to whom they gave advice and assistance but for whom they did not accept responsibility for securing accommodation. Comparable estimates are not available for 1979.
Offensive Trades
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the list of offensive trades that are registered with his Department.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 22 December 1988] : Offensive trades are not registered with this Department. Those that require local authority consent under the Public Health Act 1936 are listed in schedule 14 of the Local Government Act 1972. In addition, a local authority by an order under section 107(1)(b)(ii) of the 1936 Act, confirmed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and published in accordance with his directions, may declare any other trade, business or manufacture to be an offensive trade in the whole or part of its district.
Column 508
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many premises which carried out offensive trade operations have been closed down since 1974 ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) how many premises are used for the carrying out of offensive trades and if he will make a statement ;
(3) what informaton he has as to how many premises operating offensive trades are in breach of the consents granted to them ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 22 December 1988] : This information is not available.
| Next Section
| Home Page |