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Mr. Gummer : Yes. The leaflet is being translated into Bengali, Cantonese, Gujerati, Hindi, Punjabi, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese. The translated versions will shortly be available free of charge. My Department will send them to councils and community associations, and will take advertisements in selected newspapers, to ensure that their availability is widely known.
Football Membership Scheme
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) of 3 May, Official Report, column 129, whether he will describe the circumstances when the police security services, Inland Revenue, or Customs and Excise will be able to obtain personal data, originally collected in relation to the football membership scheme, for purposes unconnected with the operation of the scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : I can envisage no circumstances in which the organisations mentioned would have access to
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the information collected for purposes unconnected with the national membership scheme for football supporters. Discussions with the data protection registrar have taken place and will continue as the scheme is drawn up by the Football Membership Authority.Urban Aid (Bolton)
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total amount that Bolton has received in inner urban aid funding over the last 10 years ; how much funding is being made available for next year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : Bolton borough council has received £34 million in urban programme resources since 1980. Decision on the urban programme allocations for local authorities next year will, as usual, be announced in the Autumn Statement.
Drinking Water
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list by location in the county of South Yorkshire (a) which Government and local authority buildings do not meet the European economic Community guide levels and maximum admissible concentration levels for pollutants in their drinking water supply and (b) the pollutants concerned ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : Information about supplies to individual Government and local authority buildings is not held centrally. In the county of South Yorkshire Government buildings are supplied by the Yorkshire water authority. Information on the quality of such supplies is available from the Yorkshire water authority.
West Midlands (Strategic Guidance)
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to monitor the implementation of the strategic guidance for the west midlands published by his Department in respect of (a) the pace and scale of urban regeneration and efforts to stimulate industrial and housing development and to improve the environment, (b) trends in the factors affecting housing provision in the metropolitan district,
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(c) the rate at which high technology firms are attracted to sites on the periphery, (d) the outward growth of built-up areas and development in innner city areas, and (e) the effects of shopping development outside town centres on those centres and on the shopping public.Mr. Ridley : The seven metropolitan boroughs in the west midlands, acting jointly, have recently published a monitoring report on the 1988 strategic guidance entitled "Planning Trends in the West Midlands : 1988 Annual Monitor". This covers many of the points raised by my hon. Friend. I am arranging for a copy to be sent to him.
Community Housing
Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to assist community housing and starter homes.
Mr. Trippier : The Government support a wide range of initiatives designed to provide housing for local people and those who are seeking to establish a home for the first time. these include : --the Housing Corporation's approved development programme for housing associations. Over the next three years, the number of new homes for rent approved by the Corporation is set to rise by 50 per cent. (to 24,000) while the low cost home ownership programme should nearly double in that period ;
--subsidised shared ownership schemes provided by local authorities and housing associations which allow the shared owner to buy out the remainder of the equity, thus providing a route to full home ownership ;
--assistance to tenants in the housing association and local authority sectors who wish to form housing co-operatives or other types of local management initiatives. In addition, there is a growing number of co- ownership societies constructing new homes in which members either have an equity stake or can buy outright ; and --assistance by local authorities, in their role as enablers, to other landlords in their area using powers in section 25 of the Local Government Act 1988.
Community Charge
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Ealing, North of 22 May, he will give the notional community charge for the London borough of Ealing for the year 1989-90 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) on 25 April, Official Report, column 532.
Noise
Mr. Wolfson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give consideration to providing a code of practice to local authorities on the action to be taken with regard to noise nuisance in order to establish a common standard for each action.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Secretary of State has approved a number of codes of practice on noise from various different sources which are designed to help local
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authorities to take a reasonably consistent approach to similar problems, while retaining the flexibility necessary to deal with local problems in a realistic way.Endangered Species
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish in the Official Report, the submission of the United Kingdom to this October's meeting of the CITES ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The form of the United Kingdom submission to these conferences is normally finalised at the conference itself. Proceedings of conferences are regularly and routinely published by the CITES secretariat.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representation he has made to the CITES organisation regarding its retrospective approval of ivory cargoes initially detained in the United Kingdom due to documentation discrepancies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In accordance with CITES controls on raw African ivory, the Department consults the CITES secretariat ivory unit on all import and export applications. No import of ivory is permitted without its concurrence.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what stage has been reached in his Department's consideration in conjunction with CITES of an import licence for approximately 1025 kilos of ivory exported from Zaire without a licence in June 1988 by Mr. Shivaz Virji of Ealing ; what information he has regarding the ultimate proposed destination of the ivory ; and what steps he has taken to determine whether it originated from elephants slaughtered illegally.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department has received no such application for an import licence.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure that Britain is not used as a transit route for poached ivory.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department complies fully with the controls of the convention on international trade in endangered species on trade in ivory. Import and export permits for trade in raw African ivory are granted only with the approval of the CITES secretariat ivory unit, and if all other requirements of EC regulation 3626/82 are met.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those 18 African countries where the EEC considers the elephant population is no longer capable of sustaining commercial exploitation.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There are currently 19 African countries where the EEC considers that the elephant population is incapable of sustaining commerical exploitation as follows : Benin, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Ghinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Somalia.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further restrictions on the import of ivory are due to be announced by the European Commission.
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Mrs. Bottomley : The Department has no information on further restrictions on the import of ivory to be announced by the European Commission other than those included in my answer to the hon. Member's question on 15 March 1989.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) why an import licence was granted by his Department for 1,464 kilos of raw ivory which arrived from Zaire on a British Airways flight on 21 October 1988 with false tusk numbers ; to whom in the United Kingdom the tusks were delivered ; what information he has regarding the ultimate destination of the ivory ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) why his Department allowed the 252 tusks which arrived at Gatwick airport on 21 October 1988 to be renumbered ; and what steps were taken to ensure the ivory was not from elephants slaughtered illegally.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Details of individual import and export applications are confidential and cannot be released. However, following confirmation from the CITES secretariat ivory unit that a particular consignment had been legally exported and on being satisfied that the requirements of EC regulation 3626/82 were met, the Department granted import licences for ivory from Zaire. The circumstances were that on arrival in the country it was discovered that the ivory had been incorrectly marked at its port of origin. After clarification and confirmation from the CITES secretariat that the cargo was legal, an official of the Zaire Government was authorised to re-mark the ivory. I understand that this ivory remains in Customs and Excise control.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has regarding the current number of ivory dealers in the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department has no information on the current number of ivory dealers in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has regarding the level of funding received by the CITES organisation from ivory dealers.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : According to the CITES secretariat ivory unit budget for 1989, a total of 35,000 US dollars is being contributed to the unit's funding by private concerns. Contributions from Governments including the United Kingdom, and conservation organisations, total 108,500 US dollars.
Community Charge Leaflet
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements have been made to produce versions of the leaflets "The Community Charge (the so called Poll Tax) : How It Will Work for You" in Braille and moon for the blind and deaf-blind people.
Mr. Gummer : My Department is currently discussing with the Royal National Institute for the Blind ways in which the leaflet might be adapted for the visually handicapped.
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements have been made to
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translate the leaflet "The Community Charge (the so called Poll Tax) : How It Will Work for You" into British sign language, on video, for profoundly deaf people whose only language is BSL.Mr. Gummer : I am currently considering whether such arrangements might be necessary.
Roman Baths (Huggin Hill)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made to safeguard the Roman bath complex at Huggin hill ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Hammerson Group announced last week that it had decided to redesign its building to preserve and protect the Roman remains, under the close supervision of English Heritage. In the circumstances this is a good solution to a difficult problem, and is the result of all parties working constructively together.
Greenhouse Effect
Mr. Benn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to contact the Rocky Mountain Institute in Snowmass, Colorado, in order to evaluate the policy options researched by the institute to combat the greenhouse effect in the energy sector.
Mr. Ridley : In studying the energy sector's contribution to the greenhouse effect and in participating fully in the work of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, we take account of all published work in this field including that of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
Birds
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what opinions have been put by the EEC Commission to Her Majesty's Government on the extent to which the shooting of crows, rooks, jays and magpies, as covered by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, is consistent with the EEC birds directive 79/409 ; and what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on this issue.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Commission has suggested that the provisions of the directive require that the killing of the species listed on schedule 2 part II to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 by authorised persons should be subject to a strictly controlled system of individual licensing. We consider that this would represent an unnecessary bureaucratic burden on farmers and landowners, would be costly to administer and would bring no conservation benefits. We have supplied the Commission with scientific data that shows that the population of none of the species concerned are endangered by present United Kingdom practices. We are trying to secure an amendment to the directive which would clarify the position on sensible pest control.
Wildlife Conservation
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the response of Her Majesty's Government to the resolution of the EEC Parliament entitled "Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural
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Habitats" with particular reference to the proposals for the management and control of hunting and the prohibition of the use of lead shot, document A2-179/88 ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Government have noted the European Parliament's views as expressed in the motion for a resolution calling for a ban on the use of lead shot in shooting, including clay pigeon shooting, and for controls on bag limits.
Current evidence does not provide justification for a national ban on the use of lead shot. The situation is being kept under review. The Nature Conservancy Council is consulting all interested parties to assess any potential danger to wildlife and its habitats. A working group of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation is co-ordinating research into all aspects of lead shot, with environmental issues as one of its main priorities.
Flags
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money is spent annually on putting up flags from Government buildings for visiting dignitaries from overseas.
Mr. Chope : The flying of flags on Government buildings on the ceremonial route and on Raleigh green at each ceremonial state visit, organised by the Lord Chamberlain's office on instructions from the Government, cost approximately £15,700 inclusive of labour and material for framework supports, flying of flags and hire of flagpoles.
Football Grounds
Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the weekly attendances at football grounds ; how many arrests have taken place in football grounds over the last 12 months ; and how many complaints about the proposed membership scheme for those attending football grounds he has received over the last five months.
Mr. Moynihan [holding answer, 23 May 1989] : The Football League estimates that the weekly attendance at Football League matches is of the order of 450,000.
The Association of Chief Police Officers collate the figures for the total number of arrests at Football League matches after the end of each season. Figures for 1988-89 are not yet available but in the first two months of the season there were over 1,700 arrests. The total for 1987-88 was 6,106.
I have received 2,673 representations against the proposed national membership scheme for football supporters since 1 January.
Leaflets
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many information leaflets were published by his Department in each of the past five years ; and what was the total cost each year.
Mr. Ridley [holding answer 24 May 1989] : The numbers and cost of new information leaflets and new editions of existing publications produced by my Department in each of the past five years were :
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1984-85 17 at a cost of £710,686 (approx)1985-86 28 at a cost of £252,281
1986-87 19 at a cost of £321,195
1987-88 30 at a cost of £216,147
1988-89 37 at a cost of £615,932
In addition :
1. The Royal Parks and Palaces Division produced leaflets aimed at the United Kingdom and overseas tourist market to the value of : 1985 6 at a cost of £10,605
1986 6 at a cost of £37,040
1987 7 at a cost of £11,645
1988 7 at a cost of £39,180
2. The Property Services Agency has produced the following new leaflets and new editions :
1984-85 None
1985-86 2 at a cost of £15,487
1986-87 7 at a cost of £77,641
1987-88 13 at a cost of £38,964
1988-89 18 at a cost of £148,145
Air Pollution
Mr. Buckley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what the target number of inspections and vists to be undertaken by the air pollution inspectors will be in the year 1989-90.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 12 May 1989] : A target of 6,000 visits, to or in connection with registered works, is proposed for HMIP inspectors involved in air pollution control. This is a realistic estimate taking into account the need for significant amounts of inspector-time in developing a new system for registrations that will provide more information for the public.
Water
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to his answer of 12 January, Official Report, column 742, he will state whether the chairmen and chief executives of the remaining water authorities are to receive an annual bonus giving the amount paid as a percentage of annual salary.
Mr. Ridley [holding answer 30 January 1989] : No. None of the chairmen or executive members of the Anglian, South West or Thames water authorities received bonus payments for the financial year 1987-88.
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) Calshot, (b) Milford-on-Sea, (c) Christchurch bay, (d) Colwell bay, (e) Gurnard, (f) Cowes, (g) Ryde, (h) Seagrove, (i) St. Helens, (j) Bembridge, (k) Whitecliff bay and (l) Ventnor 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 EEC bathing water directive 76/160/EEC ; and when the appropriate solutions will be in place, giving the estimated date of commencement and completion.
Mr. Howard : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him today.
Lead Water Pipes
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of households which will need to replace or will be required
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to replace lead water pipes during the next (a) five and (b) 10 years ; and what is his estimate of the average cost per household which this replacement will involve.Mr. Howard : The lead concentration in a dwelling's water supply is dependent on a variety of factors, the relevance of which varies considerably in different parts of the country. The need to replace lead pipes will depend on the concentration in water of lead derived from those pipes. In view of this, it is not possible to give an estimate of the number of dwellings where pipe replacement may be desirable. The cost of lead pipe replacement for a dwelling will vary greatly depending on circumstances.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Pensions
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the percentage increase from 1979 of (a) the state retirement pension, (b) the retail prices index and (c) the pensioner prices index.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Between November 1979 and April 1989 the level of the state retirement pension increased by 87.1 per cent. Between November 1979 and September 1988 the retail prices index increased by 79.9 per cent. Between the quarter ending September 1979 and the quarter ending September 1988 the pensioner prices index (one person household) increased by 75.5 per cent.
Notes :
Information given is for uprating dates.
The level of retirement pension payable from April 1989 is based on the RPI figure for September 1988.
Pensioner prices indices (for both one-and two-person households) are produced quarterly.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any proposals to change the present arrangements for payment of protected contributions for 1987-88 to private pension providers in respect of individuals who contracted out of the state earnings related pension scheme before 6 April ; if he will give his latest estimate of the number of such individuals who contracted out during 1988-89 and backdated their election to 1987-88 ; by what date he expects 90 per cent. of relevant payments of 1987-88 protected contributions to have been made ; if he will estimate the number and total value of such payments yet to be made ; whether he will make it his policy to offer interest on late payment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The current arrangements for payment of the contracted-out rebate to pension providers are working
satisfactorily. Personal pension applications have been processed promptly, and payments made to providers in respect of sums due for 1987-88 within a very short period of time. The very heavy volumes received in the last few weeks, however, will inevitably lead to some delay.
It is estimated that approximately 3 million pensions have been taken out by the end of 1988-89, and the expectation is that nearly all of them have elected to backdate to the 1987-88 tax year. It is hoped that the vast majority of payments of the contracted-out rebate in respect of 1987-88 will have been made by the end of August. This will involve about a further 2 million
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payments at an estimated total of £750 million in rebates. The payments will be made as quickly as possible, so the question of interest on late payments does not arise.Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many employees are contracted out in defined benefit schemes, group money purchase schemes and personal pension schemes, respectively ; and what would be the effect on the income and expenditure of the national insurance fund, in respect of each of these groups, of reducing the contracted-out rebate and the minimum contribution to personal pension schemes by 1 per cent. of relevant earnings.
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