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Sums realised by the Commission for the
New Towns for the sale of
assets
Year |£ million|Corby
-----------------------------------------
1979-80 |6.43 |-
1980-81 |29.61 |.952
1981-82 |61.85 |.580
1982-83 |51.18 |5.840
1983-84 |55.25 |2.517
1984-85 |57.59 |1.506
1985-86 |78.67 |1.826
1986-87 |169.31 |4.464
1987-88 |216.66 |10.564
<1>1988-89 |334.00 |17.414
|---- |----
|1,060.55 |45.663
<1> Provisional.
Notes:
1. Figures do not include sums realised
by development corporations prior to
wind-up.
2. Figures are gross, before deduction
of selling expenses.
AIR QUALITY
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will be introducing measures to protect public health based on the World Health Organisation air quality guidelines for Europe 1987 ;
(2) whether his Department has assessed the World Health Organisation air quality guidelines for Europe 1987 ;
(3) whether the Government intend to introduce air quality standards for particulates and tropospheric ozone based on the World Health Organisation air quality guidelines for Europe 1987 ; (4) whether the Government intend to introduce air quality standards for Britain for sodium dioxide and nitrous dioxide which are more stringent than EEC standards.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Warren Spring Laboratory published a report--LR650 (AP)--in January 1988 comparing the available United Kingdom air quality data with the World Health Organisation guide values. WHO emphasises that these are not limit values but rather targets for improved air quality, to be considered in the context of prevailing exposure and environmental, social, economic and cultural conditions.
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We continue to keep air quality under review in relation to the WHO guidelines and other environmental information. At present we see no reason to set more stringent limits in the United Kingdom than are generally applicable in the EC for sulphur dioxide, particulates and nitrogen dioxide. Nor do we have plans to set a standard for tropospheric ozone.Acid Rain
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the most recent figures on the levels of acidification in rainfall (a) in Warrington, (b) the north-west and (c) the average for Britain as a whole.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The data requested are provided for 1988 in the table. The United Kingdom average has been computed from 60 stations in the Department's acid rain network, the north-west average from seven stations and the Warrington value has been interpolated from nearby stations.
Annual mean precipitation weighted acidity in rainfall Data region |u eq H+/litre|pH --------------------------------------------------------- United Kingdom |25 |4.6 North-West |31 |4.5 Warrington |33 |4.5
Simplified Planning Zones
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications for the establishment of simplified planning zones have been (a) received and (b) approved in (i) England and Wales and (ii) Greater London.
Mr. Chope : The adoption of simplified planning zones is handled locally. At present, two simplified planning zones have been adopted in England, none in Wales and none in Greater London.
Ports (Rating)
Mr. Neil Hamilton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has completed his review of rating procedure for statutory and non-statutory ports ; if he will publish the conclusions of the review ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Discussions with representatives of the ports about rating are continuing and we shall be making proposals later in the year.
Water Use
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if there are any water use restrictions currently in operation.
Mr. Howard : This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he is giving to water authorities and water users during the current dry spell.
Mr. Howard : Responsibility for action, including advising consumers, rests with the water undertakers. We are, however, monitoring water resources closely.
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Water Stocks
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in what regions of the United Kingdom impounded water stocks are below average.
Mr. Howard : Only in the Southern water authority's area are some impounded water stocks below normal.
Housing Associations
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his plans for full implementation of recommendations from the Public Accounts Committee on the control and funding of housing associations, in its 16th report of Session 1985-86, HC 108.
Mr. Trippier : Action taken and in hand on the Committee's recommendations is described in the report No. 312 by the Comptroller and Auditor General "Department of the Environment : Housing Association Grant", published on 13 April 1989.
Management and Maintenance
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the latest comparable information on the average level of spending on management and maintenance by (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations, in (i) Greater London, (ii) metropolitan districts and (iii) non-metropolitan districts in England and Wales.
Mr. Trippier : The latest available study comparing the management costs of local authorities and housing associations is in section 2 of "The Nature and Effectiveness of Housing Management in England" produced by the Centre for Housing Research at the university of Glasgow. This distinguishes metropolitan authorities including London boroughs from non- metropolitan authorities and national or regional housing associations from local housing associations. Copies of the report, which was published earlier this year, are in the Library.
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the latest estimates of the levels of expenditure on management and maintenance by local authorities that will take place in 1989-90, 1990- 91 and 1991-92.
Mr. Trippier : I assume this is a reference to management and maintenance of local authority housing. This is a matter for the councils concerned.
Listening Devices
Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether electronic surveillance listening devices are used by his Department or by any organisation or agency acting on its behalf ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ridley : The Department does not possess or use any listening equipment for surveillance of its telephone network.
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Community Charge
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all those newspapers contacted by his Department in connection with the Minister for Local Government's community charge articles.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, further to his reply of 23 May to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East, (Mr. Nellist) Official Report, column 488, he will list the newspapers to which more than 500 articles were sent.
Mr. Gummer : I will write to the hon. Members with this information.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities have indicated that they will incorporate the whole or part of the contents of the leaflet, "The Community Charge : The So- Called Poll Tax : How It Will Work For You" in material they are to distribute ; and if he will list them.
Mr. John Gummer [holding answer 15 May 1989] : The leaflet was not intended for incorporation into other information material although some local authorities have expressed an interest in using it in this way. However, it stands on its own as a concise, accurate and factual introduction to the community charge.
Nene Washes Site
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conditions were attached to the offer of a grant by the Nature Conservancy Council to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for the purchase of 16.5 acres of lowland damp grassland within the Nene Washes site of special scientific interest near Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire to extend the existing Nene Washes Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserve.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : After careful consideration the NCC decided that no offer of grant should be made in this instance.
Sewage Sludge (Dumping)
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the blockade by the Greenpeace ship Moby Dick of the tanker Mancunium, due to be loaded with sewage sludge for dumping at sea, at the Slowhill Copse sewage works at Marchwood and about Her Majesty's Government's policy on the dumping of sewage sludge at sea.
Mr. Howard : On 23 May 1989, a vessel operated by Greenpeace UK Ltd. obstructed the departure of a vessel loaded with sewage sludge from Slowhill Copse sewage works of the Southern water authority for disposal at sea. Following an application to the High Court, an injunction was granted to the Southern water authority restraining Greenpeace from this or similar action.
I deplore action of this sort which in this case could itself have caused significant environmental problems. At present the United Kingdom disposes at sea each year of about 30 per cent. of a total of 1.2 million dry tonnes of sewage sludge. The basis of our policy in this area, as for other wastes, is to select the best practicable environmental option for each waste stream.
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In the case of sea disposal, dumping operations require approval from my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and his colleagues in Scotland and Northern Ireland and a licence is granted only where it is clear that no practicable alternative on land is available and it can be shown that there is no risk to the marine environment.Community Charge (Nottingham)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment is he yet in receipt of information necessary to give the national community charge for the city of Nottingham for the year 1989-90.
Mr. Gummer : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 9 May at column 386 and to the hon. Member for Sheffield Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) on 25 April at column 532.
Severn Estuary
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for safeguarding the outstanding natural interest of the Severn estuary, in the light of current development pressures ; whether he plans further designations and safeguards in the wider Severn estuary ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Severn estuary has been notified by the Nature Conservancy Council as a site of special scientific interest under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This notification provides the site with legal protection from activities likely to harm its nature conservation interests and ensures that the views of the NCC are taken into account when development proposals affecting the site are being considered. Two parts of the estuary, Bridgewater Bay and the upper Severn have been designated as special protection areas for birds under the European Communities directive 79/409/EEC and/or as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar convention. The whole estuary has also been indentified by NCC as having the potential for designation under the directive and the convention but no formal case for further designations has yet been submitted.
Classification as an SPA imposes stringent criteria, above and beyond those related to SSSI notification, that must be applied when development proposals are being considered ; these criteria are set out in detail in DOE circular 27/87--"Nature Conservation". The circular makes it clear that, for planning purposes, potential SPAs should be treated in the same manner as formally designated sites.
Beaches
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list in the Official Report the names and locations of all United Kingdom beaches which in 1988 failed to comply with the EEC bathing water directive 76/160 for enteroviruses and salmonella ;
(2) if he will list in the Official Report , all United Kingdom beaches which were tested in 1988 for compliance with the EEC bathing water directive 76/160 for enteroviruses and salmonella.
Mr. Howard : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 18 May at column 265 .
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Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sources of pollution into the Bristol channel he can identify ; and if he will set a target date of 1 January 1993 for the adjacent beaches to meet European Community bathing water standards.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 25 May 1989] : This information is not held centrally in the Department but information on consented discharges is available on the public registers held by water authorities. We are currently discussing with water authorities, programmes for improving bathing waters ; however, individual schemes necessarily take up a number of years from initial feasibility studies to completion, and may involve major engineering work. Consequently, I am unable to set a target date of 1 January for all the waters along the Bristol channel to meet EC standards.
North West Water (Land Development Officer)
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the implications of the advertisement by North West Water for a senior management post for a land development officer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : The notice was an internal staff circular related to the making permanent of a temporary post concerned with disposal of surplus land. The disposal of surplus land by public bodies is well-established Government policy. I would expect the future water plc to pursue the disposal of surplus land. As I have recently announced, provision is being made through the Water Bill for the benefit of proceeds of land disposals to be shared between customers and shareholders.
Housing Costs
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, in the Official Report, the permitted expenditure limits for house building, repair, renovation and maintenance and the actual expenditure, for each of the Somerset district councils, in the years 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1988-89.
Mr. Trippier [holding answer 25 May 1989] : It is for each local authority to decide how its resources should be targeted ; the actual expenditure figures are as follows :
s
Table 3
Somerset-1988-89 estimated outturn £'000
|New build (including |Repair and maintenance|Renovation
|land)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mendip |1,010 |3,004 |1,239
Sedgemoor |3,621 |4,078 |2,379
Taunton Deane |2,848 |4,742 |4,085
West Somerset |1,050 |650 |770
South Somerset |1,732 |4,571 |3,834
s
Table 3
Somerset-1988-89 estimated outturn £'000
|New build (including |Repair and maintenance|Renovation
|land)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mendip |1,010 |3,004 |1,239
Sedgemoor |3,621 |4,078 |2,379
Taunton Deane |2,848 |4,742 |4,085
West Somerset |1,050 |650 |770
South Somerset |1,732 |4,571 |3,834
s
Table 3
Somerset-1988-89 estimated outturn £'000
|New build (including |Repair and maintenance|Renovation
|land)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mendip |1,010 |3,004 |1,239
Sedgemoor |3,621 |4,078 |2,379
Taunton Deane |2,848 |4,742 |4,085
West Somerset |1,050 |650 |770
South Somerset |1,732 |4,571 |3,834
Gipsies
Mr. Wolfson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide comparative figures for the number of gipsy families known to be in England and Wales at present, five years and 10 years ago.
Mr. Trippier [holding answer 25 May 1989] : Accurate information on the numbers of gipsy families is not available. The numbers of gipsy caravans in England as recorded by the twice-yearly counts carried out by the Department for the periods in question were :
|Number
---------------------------
January 1989 |11,321
January 1984 |9,929
January 1979 |8,358
The Welsh Office has its own arrangements for monitoring numbers of gipsies in Wales.
Endangered Species
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to prevent trade in endangered species in the United Kingdom ; and if he has any plans for new initiatives.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 25 May 1989] : The United Kingdom complies fully with the requirements of EC regulation 3626 which implements the convention on international trade in endangered species within the European Community. Our most recent initiative is to call for concerted European support for a total ban on trade in new ivory. We shall do this at the next Council meeting of Environment Ministers on 8 June.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what quantity of ivory from the African elephant is currently held or has recently been held at Heathrow airport awaiting retrospective import clearance ; what information he has as to whether this ivory was obtained in breach of the convention on international trade on endangered species ; and what action he proposes to take.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 25 May 1989] : I understand from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise that details of individual consignments cannot be released where Customs action is not yet completed.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why he recently allowed the delivery to the United Kingdom of several tons of African elephant tusks originally obtained in contravention of the convention on international trade on endangered species.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 25 May 1989] : The Department has allowed no such delivery.
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Under the convention on international trade in endangered species it is the Department's responsibility to issue import and export permits for ivory. We do so only with the agreement of the CITES secretariat ivory unit in Lausanne, Switzerland and when we are satisfied that the requirements of EC regulation 3226/82 have been met.Nature Reserves
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to secure the sale of nationally owned nature reserves ; which reserves may be sold during the next two years ; and what evidence he has of public support for such disposal.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 25 May 1989] : The Nature Conservancy Council is reviewing policy for NNRs. In response to the council's preliminary report published on 3 May, the Government welcomed the suggestion of increased participation by the voluntary and private sectors in reserve ownership and management. We also recognised that there would be a need for some reserves to be held in the NCC's ownership, and assurances that the ownership and management of sites could only be transferred on condition that there continued to be adequate safeguards to ensure the conservation of their wildlife or geological interest. I understand that the council is planning to submit proposals later this year.
The majority of national nature reserves are already owned and managed for conservation by private landowners or voluntary bodies.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, regarding storage of radioactive waste for which there is presently no disposal site available, whether it is Government policy that radioactive waste shall be stored at the site at which the waste is created in the case of Crown-exempt nuclear operators including the Ministry of Defence.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Waste should be safely stored in an appropriate place where it is created or elsewhere. This Department has no statutory control over the storage by Crown-exempt operators such as the Ministry of Defence. However, they have agreed to observe practices no less stringent than those subject to statutory control.
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) regarding storage of radioactive waste for which there is presently no disposal site available, whether it is Government policy that radioactive waste shall be stored at the site at which the waste is created ;
(2) regarding storage of radioactive waste for which there is presently no disposal site available, whether Government policy allows for the transfer of radioactive waste from one storage facility to another ;
(3) what is the Government's policy on the storage of radioactive nuclear waste for which there is, at present, no disposal facility available.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 25 May 1989] : The Government's policy is that wherever such waste is stored it must be safe. This may be at the site where it is created or elsewhere. The safe transport from one storage facility to another is not precluded.
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Tributyl Tin (Pollution)
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what rivers in England and Wales are known to have been polluted by the use of tributyl tin by boat owners.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 26 May 1989] : The main freshwater rivers affected have been those carrying large numbers of pleasure craft, which were treated with tributyl tin antifouling paints before the Government banned their sale and supply in 1987. We have direct evidence of contamination of the Rivers Bure, Yare, Great Ouse, Thames, Aire and Medway. It is too soon to detect the effect of the ban in reducing tributyl tin concentrations in rivers.
Drought Forecasts
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest forecasts available to him ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 26 May 1989] : On latest information, areas at risk due to low levels of water resources are confined to limited parts of the south-east and east Devon. Elsewhere, resources are in a healthy state. We are monitoring the position closely.
Rents
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 9 May, Official Report, column 386, to the hon. Member for Bow and Poplar (Ms. Gordon) what steps he proposes to take to ensure that tenants outside the protection of the Rent Acts are not charged rents inclusive of rates after the introduction of the poll tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Gummer [holding answer 26 May 1989] : The Housing Act 1988 will apply to most tenancies entered into after 15 January 1989 and any rents determined by the rent assessment committee under that Act will be exclusive of rates. Any reductions in inclusive rents arising from the introduction of community charge should be settled on the basis of individual contracts.
General Anaesthetic (Minors)
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the occasions on which a parent or guardian of a minor does not need to sign the consent form for general anaesthetic ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : I have been asked to reply.
Parental consent to examination or treatment of a minor is not required in the following circumstances :
1. Where the child has reached age 16 ;
2. Where there is a medical emergency and parental consent is not obtainable ;
3. Where a child has sufficient understanding of the treatment proposed to give consent on his or her own behalf. (It will be a matter of medical judgment as to whether any particular child has sufficient understanding).
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HEALTH
Food Poisoning
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific proposals is he preparing to tackle the problem of food poisoning in airline meals.
Mr. Freeman : It is the responsibility of the airlines and the airline caterers to ensure that their food does not cause food poisoning.
Local authorities are responsible for the enforcement of the food legislation where applicable and this is currently under review. We are shortly to issue reviewed guidelines on cook-chill preparation and airline caterers using the cook-chill system should follow the recommendations.
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of food poisoning associated with untreated milk occurred in England and Wales in each of the years from 1983 to 1987.
Mr. Freeman : The information requested is as follows :
Year |Number of cases ------------------------------------------------ 1983 |285 1984 |406 1985 |233 1986 |347 1987 |366
Dentists
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received the report of Professor Dawid's study on measurement of the work load of dentists ; if he will place a copy in the Library ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The report, "Measurement of Dentists' Workload" by Professor A. P. Dawid, of the department of statistical science, University College, London, was commissioned jointly by the Department and the British Dental Association to advise on the principles on which the measurement of work load in the general dental services should be based. Officials from the Department and the association have studied the report and agree that it is a useful starting point for a programme of further work designed to achieve an agreed position on work load measurement for the purposes of the dental rates study group and the preparation of evidence for the doctors and dentists review body. Initial discussions on how to take this programme forward are already under way. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional costs have been incurred in the change in organisation from the Dental Estimates Board to the Dental Practice Board ; and whether he will itemise the main headings of expenditure.
Mr. Freeman : There have been no costs associated with the change of name from the Dental Estimates Board to the Dental Practice Board.
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions are currently being
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undertaken with the object of improving emergency dental services ; and when he anticipates being able to report progress ;(2) what provision he intends to make to enable patients in the community dental service to have access to emergency dental services.
Mr. Freeman : Arrangements for the provision of local emergency dental services are a matter for the relevant family practitioner committee and any such services are also available to persons who have been treated by the community dental service. Discussions, with representatives of the dental profession, on the terms of a new contract for general dental practitioners will cover emergency treatment provision but we cannot say when we shall be able to report on the discussions.
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in computerising the remuneration of general dental practitioners in England and Wales ; and whether he will make a statement.
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