House of Commons Hansard Debates for 8 May 1989

Roman Remains (London)

Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 18 April, Official Report, column 77, what is involved in preservation by record.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Preservation by record is a general term used to describe the process of documenting by means of photographic record, written report and where appropriate the display of the important artefacts/remains that have been uncovered in the course of an excavation.

Community Charge

Mr. Key : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make it his policy to take steps to provide protection from double charging under the community charge system for an individual, who owns his

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own home and who is required to live in accommodation provided for him by his employer ; if he will undertake consultations for this purpose ; and if he will make a statement ;

(2) what guidance he has issued to local authorities on the liability to community charge after April 1990 of a teacher in an independent boarding school who owns his own home at a distance from the school and lives in school accommodation either (a) as a condition of his employment or (b) for convenience, as to whether an exemption from either personal community charge or standard community charge will apply in any such case, and as to whether a maximum limit will be prescribed for the standard community charge in any such case ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gummer : The Government have no plans to make any special provision for individuals in the circumstances described by my hon. Friend. Domestic property which is not used as a sole or main residence will give rise to a standard community charge.

In determining the level of the standard charge for their areas, local authorities already have a discretion to set this at a multiple of 0, , 1, 1 or 2 of the personal charge.

Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the illustrative community charge levels for each local authority in England for 1989-90.

Mr. Gummer : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 25 April at column 532.

Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on (a) the means of distribution being used to distribute the household community charge leaflet and (b) the cost of this distribution.

Mr. Gummer : I have written to the hon. Member.

Longford Hall, Stretford

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what representations he has received concerning Longford hall, Stretford ;

(2) if he will investigate allegations that work has taken place at Longford hall, Stretford in contravention of regulations affecting listed buildings ; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Representations have been received on behalf of the Longford District Conservation Area Association. These concerned the proposed sale of Longford hall, its present state of repair and works alleged to have been carried out without listed building consent.

It is primarily for Trafford metropolitan borough council, both as owners of the hall and as planning authority, to take all appropriate steps to secure the building from deterioration and to ensure compliance with listed building procedures. We understand from the council that the recent work was needed to clear up debris left by vandalism, and that security will be increased to deter further unauthorised access. It hopes soon to finalise its proposals for the future of the building.

Wimbledon Common

Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the funding base for the upkeep of Wimbledon common.

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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We are considering a proposal from the conservators of the common that they become a special levying body under provisions in the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

Nuclear Waste

Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response he has made to the joint report of Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace called "Exposing the Faults : the Geological Case against Plans by Nirex to Dispose of Radioactive Waste".

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not responded to the joint Friends of the Earth/Greenpeace report. Any proposal submitted by UK Nirex for the development of a deep repository for low and intermediate-level radioactive waste will have to satisfy the authorising Departments' assessment principles.

Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many studies regarding the geological formation of places which Nirex chose for the disposal of nuclear waste were carried out prior to such decisions ; and who carried out the studies.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In seeking to identify a preferred site for a radioactive waste repository, Nirex has followed the three-stage approach recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency. This is outlined in Nirex's report to Government, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The report also lists the main contractors and consultants.

Bathing Water

Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the estimated cost for each of (a) Bispham, (b) Cleveleys, (c) Fleetwood and (d) Heysham--Half Moon bay of (i) a long sea outfall, (ii) full sewage treatment works with a short sea outfall and (iii) full sewage treatment works with a long sea outfall to enable them to comply with European Economic Community bathing water directive 76/160/EEC ; and when the appropriate solution will be put in place, giving estimated date of commencement and completion.

Mr. Howard : The North West water authority has proposed a scheme involving the construction of a long sea outfall to bring, inter alia, the five bathing waters at Blackpool including the waters at Bispham and Cleveleys into compliance with the EC bathing water directive by 1993 at a total cost of about £55 million. I understand that as a result of this scheme, the waters at Fleetwood are also expected to meet the directive's standards by the same date. The date of commencement for this scheme depends upon the Secretary of State's decision on whether to grant NWWA's applications for consent to discharge from the proposed long sea outfall.

The capital cost of providing, as an alternative, a sewage treatment works with a short sea outfall is estimated to be around £10 million higher than the proposed scheme, with additional running costs of around £1 million per annum. However, such a scheme is unlikely to enable all the identified bathing waters in the area to achieve the required EC standards.

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Full details of the option of a sewage treatment works combined with a long sea outfall are not available, but I understand that the capital cost would be some £20 million to £30 million higher than the proposed scheme.

With regard to the bathing waters at Heysham--Half Moon bay, the North West water authority has been asked to draw up detailed plans to bring this, and other bathing waters in the north-west, up to EC standards by 1995. Until these plans have been fully assessed I am unable to give details of either the costs involved or compliance dates.

Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the estimated cost for each of (a) Formby, (b) Ainsdale and (c) Southport of (i) a long sea outfall, (ii) full sewage treatment works with a short sea outfall, (iii) full sewage treatment works with a long sea outfall to enable them to comply with EEC bathing water directive 76/160/EEC ; and when the appropriate solutions will be put in place giving the estimated date of commencement and completion.

Mr. Howard [holding answer 3 May 1989] : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has asked the North West water authority to draw up detailed plans with a view to bringing their bathing waters up to EC standards by 1995. Until these plans have been fully assessed, I am unable to give details of either the costs or compliance dates involved for particular bathing waters.

Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the estimated cost for each of (a) St. Annes, (b) St. Annes north, (c) Blackpool south, (d) Blackpool central and (e) Blackpool north of (i) a long sea outfall, (ii) full sewerage treatment works with a short sea outfall and (iii) full sewerage treatment works with a long sea outfall to enable them to comply with European Economic Community bathing water directive 76/160/EEC ; and when the appropriate solution will be put in place, giving the estimated date of commencement and completion.

Mr. Howard [holding answer 4 May 1989] : The North West water authority has proposed a scheme involving the construction of a long sea outfall to bring, inter alia, the

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five bathing waters at Blackpool together with the waters at St. Annes North into compliance with the EC bathing water directive by 1993 at a total cost of about £55 million. The date of commencement for this scheme depends upon my right hon. Friend's decision on whether to grant NWWA's applications for consent to discharge from the proposed long sea outfall.

The capital cost of providing, as an alternative, a sewage treatment works with a short sea outfall is estimated to be about £10 million higher than the proposed scheme, with additional costs of about £1 million per annum. However, such a scheme is unlikely to enable all the identified bathing waters in the area to achieve the required EC standards.

North West water authority has been asked to draw up detailed plans to bring the bathing waters at St. Anne's, and other non-complying bathing waters, up to EC standards by 1995. Until these plans have been fully assessed I cannot give details of the costs or compliance dates involved.

Natural Environment Research Council

Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the research projects undertaken for his Department by the Natural Environment Research Council during the past five years.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science.

Domestic Property

Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the market value of all domestic rated property in England and Wales, the rateable value of that property and the sums which will be raised by rates on that property in the current year.

Mr. Gummer : The latest information for England and Wales is as follows :

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                                                                 |£ billion                        

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Market value of housing stock                   |31 December 1986|645.3                            

Rateable value of domestic property             |1 April 1988    |3.969                            

Rate income from domestic ratepayers in 1988-89                  |7.812

BISF Houses (Nottingham)

Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made in his discussions with building societies concerning the mortgageability of BISF houses in Nottingham ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Trippier : The Abbey National and Halifax building societies have confirmed to officials that their national lending policies make no distinction between BISF houses and those of traditional construction. They treat each house on its individual merits, lending on normal terms up to the societies' usual maximum loan, subject to condition, valuation, and status of the applicant.

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Where owners wish to carry out improvements, the societies will consider applications for re-mortgage in the normal way.

These national policies apply equally to properties in the Nottingham area. The societies have taken steps to remind surveyors, valuers and estate agents with whom they normally deal in Nottingham of those policies.

The societies have also pointed out that valuations of all kinds of property can easily be affected by misleading statements about safety and durability, and that some recent press and television coverage may not have had a helpful effect on the market.

I very much welcome the positive and public attitude taken by these two major building societies, which I believe reflects the position of other lending institutions, and I am

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sure that owners of BISF houses will welcome this, and take to heart their advice on factors which could affect the operation of the market locally.

Ozone Layer

Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Her Majesty's Government are considering new steps for the protection of the ozone layer in line with the United Nations call for immediate urgent action.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment said at the first meeting of the Montreal protocol parties in Helsinki last week it is time to "sharpen the teeth" of the protocol. During the review process which was started there, and building on the impetus provided by the London conference, we shall be pressing for a significant strengthening of the protocol. The European Community is calling for a reduction of production and consumption of CFCs by 85 per cent. as soon as possible with a view to their complete elimination by the end of the century.

Hillsborough Disaster

Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department will make provision to reimburse Liverpool city council for special expenditure arising out of the events at Hillsborough on 15 April ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gummer : Normally, local authorities make some provision in their own budgets for extraordinary and unforeseeable costs. Liverpool city council's officers have raised orally with the Department's regional office officials the possibility of the council's seeking special assistance. If the council was to seek such assistance, we should of course consider its request carefully.

English Heritage

Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many English Heritage properties which were, prior to the forming of English Heritage in 1984, open all day every day now have opening and closing times ; and if he will list these, with their current opening and closing times.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department holds no records of opening hours at the various monuments for which English Heritage assumed responsibility on 1 April 1984. Details of opening hours since then are a matter for English Heritage.

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Water Quality

Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, further to his reply of 2 May, Official Report, column 52, to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Provan, compliance with the European Community directive on water standards will be achieved within the timing given by the European Community.

Mr. Howard : We are fully committed to compliance with the EC drinking water directive as soon as practicable. However, water undertakers have recently submitted improvement programmes for supplies which occasionally fail to comply in all respects with the directive. These programmes are being assessed and it is not therefore possible at present to state how long it will take to comply fully with the directive. In due course the programmes will be presented to the European Commission.

Crown Suppliers

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Crown Suppliers continue to comply with established public procurement procedures and relevant EEC/GATT regulations.

Mr. Chope [holding answer 4 May 1989] : Yes.

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many tenders the Crown Suppliers competed for in the past year ; what was their estimated value ; and how many it won.

Mr. Chope [holding answer 4 May 1989] : Information relating to tender bids by the Crown Suppliers is commercial in confidence.

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what amount of public money has so far been paid out to the management buy-out teams in the Crown Suppliers in order to help finance their bids ; what is the specific uses for which the money has been claimed ; and what is the maximum amount of subsidy he is prepared to pay to each team.

Mr. Chope [holding answer 4 May 1989] : We have agreed to help the management buy-out teams with the fees paid to their professional advisers, so that they are not at a disadvantage when compared with outside bidders. The contribution formulae provide for repayment if a team's bid is successful, a maximum Government contribution of £132, 000 for the team which is interested in the whole business and of £36,000 for the team interested only in the transport operations. Each team is expected to make a substantial contribution to their own fees. Payment of £700 has been authorised to date.

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