Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of public inquiries held into planning proposals in the last year and their cost.
Mr. Chope : In 1988, 1,799 public inquiries into planning proposals were held. Financial information is not held in a form from which the cost to the Department of holding these inquiries can be extracted.
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to introduce legislation to amend the planning law.
Mr. Chope : Legislation to implement the proposals in the paper on the future of development plans will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time permits.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he gives to domestic consumers who wish to save tin cans for them to be recycled.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Consumers are advised to contact their local authority to ascertain what facilities are available locally. In some areas, tin-plated steel cans are extracted magnetically from waste during its processing ; in others, facilities are provided for the public to deposit cans.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many recycling banks there are for tin cans in England and Wales ; and what comparable information he has for other European countries.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I am informed that Save-a-Can operates 189 skips in England and Wales which receive tin-plated steel and aluminium cans. No directly comparable information for other European countries is available as market conditions vary considerably but the greater use of incineration for domestic waste disposal in some countries permits the magnetic extraction of steel from the waste stream.
Column 422
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what resources are available to achieve the target of one bottle bank per 10,000 people by 1991.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : DOE circular 13/88 drew attention to the fact that recycling helps reduce waste disposal costs and invited all waste disposal authorities to follow the example of those which gave a rebate to collection authorities who arrange for recycling. It is for collection authorities to provide facilities to enable people to separate glass from their other waste. The glass manufacturing industry has agreed to accept all the glass that is collected. A consultation paper published on 24 January ( Official Report 25 January col. 504 ) proposed that collection authorities would become directly responsible for arranging for the disposal of their waste ; it would thus be possible for them to seek savings directly by encouraging recycling.
Sir Anthony Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contingency plans he is making for the supply of water in the event of there being in the current year a drought situation similar to 1976 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : Responsibility for taking measures to maintain essential water supplies in the event of drought rests with the water undertakers. However, we are keeping a close watch on the situation by arrangements with the water industry associations. Total rainfall over England and Wales during the last three months amounted to only half the long-term average and it has been the driest such period for over 80 years, particularly in southern areas. Reservoir and groundwater levels are generally at satisfactory levels except in parts of the south-east. Much depends upon the weather during the next two months, but overall there is no cause for concern yet.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he makes available to people who wish to learn more about recycling facilities available to them.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Those who wish to learn more about recycling activities are invited to contact Waste Watch at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. Waste Watch, which is supported by a grant from the Department, is developing a national list of post-consumer recycling activities and is able to answer specific inquiries about their locality.
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now invite water authorities in England and Wales to provide him with a forecast of the adequacy of water supplies in their areas for the coming nine months, together with an indication of their plans to limit abstraction from any rivers into which there have, within the past two years, been discharges of effluent which have consistently breached discharge consent standards.
Column 423
Mr. Howard : We do not consider it necessary to take the action suggested. Suitable arrangements to monitor the effects of low winter rainfall have been agreed with the water industry associations.
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what attempts are being made to ensure that pensioners' groups have a forum in local councils.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is for each local authority to decide in what way they wish to consult pensioners.
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to increase the amount of sheltered housing and specialised units available for the elderly.
Mr. Trippier : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike) on 14 December at column 618.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria he will use to appoint a person to consider applications for exemption from the proposed political restrictions on local government employees.
Mr. Gummer : The person to be appointed to adjudicate on applications for exemption will need to have a sound knowledge of local government, and to be able to apply an independent judgment to the questions which will arise.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has reviewed the implications of the proposed restrictions on the political activity of local government officers with regard to the European Court of Human Rights judgments.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the proposed new rules on party balance on council committees will be drawn up in order to ensure the effective working arrangements of councils are guaranteed.
Mr. Gummer : The proposed new rules on party balance on local authority committees are set out in clauses 13 to 15 of, and schedule 1 to, the Local Government and Housing Bills. In so far as regulations are required to implement these provisions, they will be drafted after consultation with representatives of local government.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he intends to proceed with the establishment of housing action trusts under part III of the Housing Act 1988 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) whether the consultancy work on housing action trusts was put out to tender ; whether the consultants were asked to report by a certain date ; and when he expects the reports to be published ;
Column 424
(3) what consultants' fees were paid for the studies of the proposed housing action trust estates ; and if he will provide a breakdown by estate.Mr. Trippier : I wrote to the hon. Member on 17 October 1988 about the consultancy studies, which we commissioned following competitive tendering, to advise on the proposed housing action trust areas. The latest position on the reports is set out in the answer I gave on 15 February to the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Mr. Soley) at column 280.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will direct the London residuary body to recover monies from Thamesmead town which can be distributed to London boroughs as capital receipts to be used for the purposes of housing.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend directed the LRB on 17 July 1987 to dispose of Thamesmead on payment of a capital sum and supplementary sums in respect of receipts from sales of dwellings by Thamesmead town up to 31 March 1999. The Local Government Reorganisation (Capital Money) (Greater London) Order, 1988 (SI No. 359) provides for the distribution of capital receipts received by the LRB to the London rating authorities.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received any representations about the London borough of Redbridge's proposals to dispose of a portion of its housing stock ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : The Department has received no such representations.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what publicity his Department will be producing on part IV of the Housing Act 1988 ; and what sums of money have been set aside for this.
Mr. Trippier : The Housing Corporation is already providing advice, information and assistance to council tenants and prospective new landlords about "Tenants' Choice". The Government have currently set aside approximately £700,000 to inform tenants of their rights and opportunities under the scheme. The precise form that this information will take is under consideration.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to use the powers in part VI of the Local Government and Housing Bill to assume different rent levels for individual local authorities.
Mr. Trippier : The calculation of entitlement to housing subsidy under the 1985 Housing Act already provides for different rent levels to be assumed for individual local authorities. My right hon. Friend intends that this feature should be carried forward into the system proposed in part VI of the Local Government and Housing Bill.
Column 425
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the paid political advisers in his private office, their salaries and the procedure for their appointment.
Mr. Ridley : Mrs. K. C. Ramsey is my special (political) adviser and Mr. P. R. J. Rock is special (political) adviser to the Minister for Local Government and the Minister for Water and Planning. It is not our practice to reveal the salaries of individual advisers as they are individually negotiated in relation to previous outside earnings and are therefore confidential.
Special advisers are appointed personally by the Minister or Ministers they advise. Appointments are approved by the Prime Minister and an appropriate salary is negotiated between the adviser and the employing department with the approval of the Treasury.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much each London borough will gain from the disposal of County hall.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This will not be known until after completion.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the nature of the pecuniary interest held by Mr. Michael Roberts, a member of the London residuary body, in the contract for the sale of County hall ; when he was informed of this interest ; and what involvement Mr. Roberts had in the London residuary body's discussion and decision making on the contract for the sale of County hall.
Mr. Trippier : Mr. Michael Roberts, on his appointment as a member of the board of the London residuary body, was and has continued to be a partner in the firm of Deloitte, Haskins and Sells. That firm are auditors and advisers on VAT to the County hall development group, the purchasers of County hall. Mr. Roberts declared to the board that the effect in financial terms of his indirect pecuniary interest was very small indeed. The board resolved that he could take part in the consideration and discussion of relevant matters but not so as to permit him to vote on any question with respect to it. My Department became aware of Mr. Robert's interest last December.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why the London residuary body has maintained separate board accommodation in Orange street over the past three years ; and what has been the cost in each year.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The continuing location and costs to the London residuary body (LRB) of its accommodation at St. Vincent house, Orange street are a matter for the LRB.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to make additional appointments to the London residuary body ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 426
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. Friend will be considering the need to make additional appointments to the London residuary body in the light of its new responsibilities under the Education Reform Act 1988.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the salaries, allowances and expenses paid to each member of the London residuary body in the current financial year ; when the salaries were last increased ; and when is the next review.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The current salaries of the chairman and board members of the LRB are as follows :
|£ per annum<1> ---------------------------------------------------------------- Chairman (full-time appointment): Sir Godfrey Taylor |57,080 Members (part-time appointments): Mr. Alan Blakemore, CBE} Mr. Jack Esling} |13,792 Mr. Jack Wolking CBE} Mr. Wallace Mackenzie, OBE |17,240 Mr. Michael Roberts |20,688 Cllr. Sir Peter Bowness, CBE |6,896 <1>From 1 October 1988.
Remuneration is subject to abatement, if applicable, in respect of public sector pension received.
The expenses and allowances paid to the chairman and board members is a matter for the residuary body.
Information on the total expenses paid to the chairman and board members during 1987-88 is contained in the residuary body's annual report and accounts for that financial year, which were laid before Parliament on 31 October 1988.
The next review of salaries is expected to take place in the context of the 1989 review of remuneration of members of public bodies.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes he proposes to make to the London residuary body when its prime duties and responsibilities will be the winding up of Inner London education authority matters ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Environment and the Secretary of State for Education and Science will be considering this.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all environmental directives from the European Commission since 1973 not entered fully into force in the United Kingdom, the dates of the directives and the reasons they have not been implemented.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is believed that the United Kingdom has implemented all European Community environmental directives, save those where the date of entry into force has not yet been reached. Detailed questions about the precise limits of required implementation of individual directives are regularly discussed with the EC Commission and other interested bodies.
Column 427
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list (a) the metropolitan authorities that have been abolished, (b) the non-departmental public bodies set up to take over the functions of the metropolitan authorities and (c) the number of people directly employed by each of these bodies.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The authorities which were abolished as a consequence of the Local Government Act 1985 were the metropolitan county councils of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
The non-departmental public bodies established to take over those functions of the abolished authorities which were not directly transferred at abolition to successor authorities were :
Greater Manchester Residuary Body
Merseyside Residuary Body
South Yorkshire Residuary Body
Tyne and Wear Residuary Body
West Midlands Residuary Body
West Yorkshire Residuary Body
Greater Manchester Museum of Science and Industry National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside
Details of the number of staff directly employed by each of the residuary bodies is provided in their annual reports and accounts for 1987-88, copies of which were laid before Parliament on 31 October 1988. The number of staff employed by the Greater Manchester museum of science and industry, and the National museums and galleries on Merseyside is detailed in the publication "Public Bodies 1988", copies of which are held in the Library.
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to relax sewage works consent standards and to advertise such relaxations.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 15 February 1989] : My hon. Friend the Minister for Water announced on 7 December 1988 at column 199, that applications for temporary variations in discharge consent conditions will be considered for those sewage works where capital improvements are programmed for completion by March 1992. Section 36 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 provides that an application need not be advertised where the discharges in question have no appreciable effect on receiving waters.
Decisions on whether to advertise applications for consent variations will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest progress in negotiations
Column 428
towards the treaty to govern international trade in hazardous industrial waste ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 15 February 1989] : Detailed provisions of the proposed global convention are under active consideration in the UNEP negotiations. There is still much to be agreed but I hope the convention will be ready for signature next month.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the present numbers of environmental health officers to provide a sufficient level of inspection of water cooling systems with respect to the presence of legionella.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 13 February 1989] : I have been asked to reply.
The staffing of environmental health departments is a matter for local authorities who take into account their statutory responsibilities for the enforcement of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Mr. Norris) of 14 February, whether the European Commissioner included in his statement on 7 February a view on the Government's proposal to reverse or prevent mergers in the water industry after privatisation which reduce the number of water companies in independent ownership.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 16 February 1989] : The statement said that the Commission had found nothing in the Government's water privatisation proposals that would raise problems in the competition field.
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the recruitment statistics for each month of employment training, specifying by region and for Great Britain as a whole, the number of (a) employment training starters, (b) employment training leavers, (c) trainees on community programme wages and (d) the cumulative total of trainees who are on benefit plus training allowances.
Mr. Nicholls : The information requested for (a) (b) and (c) is given in the following tables. The number of employment training leavers is not available by region. The information for (d) is provided as the number in training each month and not as a cumulative total.
Column 427
Table 1 |c|Employment training-starts and leavers monthly totals: September to December 1988|c| Region September October November December |ET Starts |ET Leavers<1>|ET Starts |ET Leavers<1>|ET Starts |ET Leavers<1>|ET Starts |ET Leavers<1> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South East |1,533 |- |2,050 |- |1,987 |- |1,707 |- London |2,503 |- |3,057 |- |3,110 |- |2,405 |- South West |1,075 |- |1,724 |- |2,023 |- |1,742 |- West Midands |2,470 |- |3,733 |- |3,829 |- |3,303 |- East Midlands and Eastern |1,771 |- |2,728 |- |2,860 |- |2,202 |- Yorks and Humber |2,974 |- |4,523 |- |5,509 |- |4,402 |- North West |3,029 |- |4,962 |- |5,544 |- |4,145 |- Northern |2,395 |- |3,219 |- |3,646 |- |2,895 |- Wales |1,381 |- |1,967 |- |2,649 |- |2,172 |- Scotland |2,331 |- |3,120 |- |4,045 |- |3,894 |- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- Great Britain |21,462 |1,000 |31,083 |5,000 |35,202 |7,000 |28,867 |7,000 <1> The leavers figures are estimated and relate to trainees who were not transferred from previous programmes.
Table 2 |c|Employment training; trainees on CP wages and ET allowances|c| |c|Monthly totals: September to December 1988|c| September October November December Region |CP wages |ET allowances|CP wages |ET allowances|CP wages |ET allowances|CP wages |ET allowances ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South east |4,353 |3,799 |3,367 |5,164 |2,614 |6,253 |1,924 |7,049 London |6,691 |4,602 |5,402 |6,325 |4,174 |9,220 |3,295 |10,510 South west |6,,414 |2,987 |5,031 |4,266 |3,670 |5,742 |2,859 |6,847 West midlands |15,104 |5,221 |11,992 |7,678 |9,109 |10,114 |6,706 |12,066 East midlands |9,628 |3,898 |7,646 |5,704 |5,971 |7,569 |4,639 |8,943 Yorkshire and Humberside |13,260 |9,764 |12,355 |10,182 |9,454 |14,464 |7,062 |15,999 North west |20,339 |6,668 |16,523 |9,878 |12,668 |13,413 |9,778 |15,484 Northern |19,863 |4,425 |16,212 |7,069 |12,839 |9,667 |9,676 |11,845 Wales |11,770 |2,360 |9,020 |4,437 |7,134 |5,996 |5,400 |7,394 Scotland |13,996 |4,361 |12,763 |6,608 |10,439 |9,095 |8,621 |11,660 |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- Great Britain |121,418 |48,085 |100,311 |67,311 |78,072 |91,533 |59,960 |107,797
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give up-to-date statistics showing how many unemployed people have been referred to employment training agents since the start of the scheme ; how many have had action plans completed ; and how
Column 430
many have started training and how many have not, giving the results for each month by region and for Great Britain as a whole.Mr. Nicholls : The information requested is set out in the table.
Column 429
|c|Employment training: Referrals, action plans and training manager starts|c| |c|Monthly totals 1988|c| Referrals to training Agreed action plans Starts with training agents managers Region |September |October |November |December |September |October |November |December |September |October |November |December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South East} |{3,196 |3,147 |3,585 |3,334 |1,533 |2,050 |1,987 |1,707 London} |20,725 |17,914 |16,816 |14,103 |{3,172 |4,166 |4,660 |4,388 |2,503 |3,057 |3,110 |2,405 South West |5,131 |4,380 |3,873 |3,475 |1,706 |2,257 |2,389 |1,796 |1,075 |1,724 |2,023 |1,742 West Midlands |10,347 |8,652 |9,111 |8,159 |4,345 |4,363 |4,950 |4,563 |2,470 |3,733 |3,829 |3,303 East Midlands and Eastern |7,533 |6,687 |6,278 |4,642 |3,085 |3,618 |3,639 |2,632 |1,771 |2,728 |2,860 |2,202 Yorkshire and Humberside |10,120 |9,080 |8,940 |7,552 |4,176 |5,132 |5,660 |4,452 |2,974 |4,523 |5,509 |4,402 North West |12,732 |11,402 |11,132 |9,150 |4,119 |5,830 |6,417 |5,151 |3,029 |4,962 |5,544 |4,145 Northern |12,453 |7,690 |6,434 |5,661 |4,389 |4,351 |4,467 |3,597 |2,395 |3,219 |3,646 |2,895 Wales |5,225 |5,383 |5,697 |5,092 |1,948 |2,500 |3,076 |2,433 |1,381 |1,967 |2,649 |2,172 Scotland |12,259 |11,678 |12,126 |10,472 |4,146 |4,959 |6,580 |5,485 |2,331 |3,120 |4,045 |3,894 |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |Great Britain|96,525 |82,866 |80,407 |68,306 |34,282 |40,323 |45,423 |37,831 |21,462 |31,083 |35,202 |28,867 Notes: 1. The September figures include some referrals made in the two weeks prior to the official launch date. 2. The figures for referrals to training agents are provided by the employment service. However, the regional boundaries are not always co-terminus with those of the training agency. 3. Some of those people for whom an action plan was not agreed, may have been referred to alternative opportunities.
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employment training places are contracted for each employment office area ; and of those places how many are from the new job training scheme and how many from the community programme.
Mr. Nicholls : The information is not available in the precise form requested. The following table gives the
Column 430
number of contracted employment training places by Training Agency area. Information on how many of those places moved forward from the new job training scheme, the community programme or are new places, is not available.Column 431
|c|Employment training-contracted places|c| Area office |Contracted places ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South East Region Berkshire and Oxfordshire |1,833 Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire |2,553 Essex |3,595 Hampshire and Isle of Wight |3,221 Kent |3,791 Surrey |1,155 Sussex |3,020 London Region Inner London North |7,316 Inner London South |4,745 London East |2,890 London North |4,141 London South |1,729 London West |1,467 South West Region Avon |3,873 Dorset and Somerset |2,983 Gloucester and Wiltshire |2,927 West Midlands Region Birmingham and Solihull |10,797 Coventry and Warwickshire |4,653 Dudley and Sandwell |4,936 Staffordshire |4,939 The Marches, Hereford/Worcester |4,195 Wolverhampton and Walsall |5,410 East Midlands and Eastern Region Bedfordshire and Cambrideshire |2,055 Derbyshire |4,401 Leicestershire and Northamptonshire |4.408 Lincolnshire |2,032 Norfolk and Suffolk |4,125 Nottinghamshire |5,453 Yorkshire and Humberside Region Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees |6,300 Humberside |5,787 North Yorkshire and Leeds |6,655 Sheffield and Rotherham |8,118 Wakefield, Doncaster and Barnsley |6,882 North West Region Cheshire |5,048 Cumbria |2,170 Lancashire |7,179 Central Manchester |9,257 Greater Manchester North |6,480 Greater Manchester East |3,901 Merseyside |16,551 Northern Region Cleveland |9,583 County Durham |7,120 Northumberland, North Tyneside and Newcastle |7,511 Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead |9,856 Wales Dyfed and West Glamorgan |6,329 Gwent |3,902 Gwynned, Clwyd and Powys |5,426 Mid and South Glamorgan |8,202 Scotland Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway |4,664 Central and Fife |4,856 Glasgow City |9,854 Grampian and Tayside |4,397 Highlands and Islands |1,700 Lanarkshire |4,730 Lothian and Borders |5,258 Renfrew, Dumbarton and Argyll |6,014
Column 432
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) fatal and (b) serious injury accidents have occurred in each of the last five years amongst (i) the largest 20 manufacturing companies and (ii) the largest 10 construction companies.
Mr. Nicholls : [holding answer 16 February 1989] : The Health and Safety Executive's records of fatal and major injuries relate to individual premises or sites. The information could be supplied in the form requested only at disproportionate cost.
Next Section
| Home Page |