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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 15 November 1989
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
County Courts
Sir Hugh Rossi : To ask the Attorney-General what steps are being taken by the Lord Chancellor to correct the delays and errors in the county courts.
The Attorney-General : Delays are occurring in some county courts because of staffing difficulties in conjunction with an overall increase of 6.5 per cent. in workload. An additional £2 million has recently been allocated to the court service, which includes county courts, from within departmental resources to stabilise staff numbers and maintain performance at the required level. The position will be kept under review to see if further action is required.
A level of checking is required by the Department which is intended to keep errors to a minimum and is the responsibility of local supervisory staff.
Legislation
Sir Hugh Rossi : To ask the Attorney-General whether the Lord Chancellor will consider publishing a Green Paper on the subject of the drafting of legislation, its scrutiny and subsequent interpretation, following his rejection of the proposal for the scrutiny of selected Bills by High Court judges contained in the petition to this House on 17 April by George Bednar.
The Attorney-General : The drafting of legislation is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend, the Lord President of the Council. The Lord Chancellor has no plans to publish a Green Paper on this subject.
House of Fraser
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the progress of consideration by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the director of the serious fraud office of the inspector's report on the takeover of the House of Fraser and the contents of the book entitled "A Hero From Zero."
The Attorney-General : I refer the hon. Member to my reply given on 6 November 1989 to my hon. Friend the Member for Southend, East (Mr. Taylor).
ENVIRONMENT
Environmental Assessments
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what requests he has received for the issue of environmental impact assessments of planning applications for quarries of areas exceeding 50 hectares ; what action he has taken in each instance ; and if he will make a statement concerning any refusals he has made.
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Mr. Moynihan : I will write to the hon. Member.
Planning Law
Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes he proposes to existing planning law.
Mr. Moynihan : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Containers
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take to encourage the use of bottles and other returnable containers.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : We will continue to encourage the reuse and recycling of bottles and other containers through a combination of improved collection and separation facilities, raising public awareness and urging manufacturers and retailers to take account of environmental considerations in the design and production of containers. Our proposals to introduce new arrangements for waste disposal and management will, among other things, help to identify the costs of disposal to landfill and incineration and the benefits of reuse and recycling.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish (a) his latest estimates of the total numbers of people who will be exempt from the poll tax, (b) the estimates for each category of exempt persons, (c) the exact mechanism for applying these figures to the calculation of relevant population for each local authority, and (d) the procedure for reimbursing local authorities for poll tax forgone due to exemptions.
Mr. David Hunt : The table provides the figures requested. On 6 November the Secretary of State placed in the Library a draft population report which sets out his proposals for calculating relevant population. It is the Government's intention that relevant population should be based on the number of people shown in community charge registers on 1 December 1989 as being subject to a personal community charge. Our estimates of numbers exempt do not feature in this calculation, except if community charge registration officers do not return the necessary information to my Department in time, or in other circumstances as specified in the draft population report. Revenue support grant will be paid to each receiving authority to ensure that if all local authorities spend at the level of their standard spending assessment, the community charge could be set at the same level in each area regardless of the number exempt. The grant calculation assumes that the community charge is paid only by the relevant population, which excludes exempt people.
Assumed number exempt in England
(Rounded to nearest hundred)
|Number
------------------------------------------------
Residents in hospitals or homes |400,000
Persons in detention |46,800
18 and 19 year olds |155,300
Visiting forces |50,800
Severely mentally impaired |160,000
Others |9,000
|-------
Total |821,900
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report recalculations of the tables in annexe J of card 9714 "Paying for Local Government" on the basis of (a) his statement and consultation papers of 6 November, but without his scheme of transitional relief and (b) his statement and consultation papers of 6 November, including his scheme of transitional relief ; and if he will make a statement of the effect of his scheme of transitional relief on the pattern of gainers and losers under the poll tax.
Mr. David Hunt : Updated estimates of the distributional impact of the new system of local government finance will be provided shortly. These figures will include the impact of the transitional relief scheme.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the community charge liability of (a) deaf and blind adults living at home with their parents and (b) deaf and blind adults living in residential institutions.
Mr. Chope : I will write to my hon. Friend.
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Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will show for each charging authority area the difference between their actual level of expenditure in 1989-90 and the level assumed for calculating grant in the 1989-90 RSG settlement, expressed both in £ million and £ per adult, using the most recently assessed figure for relevant population.
Mr. David Hunt : I have today placed the available information in the Library.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will show for each local authority the budgeted increase or reduction in financial reserves for 1989-90, expressed both in £ million and £ per adult, using the most recently assessed figure for relevant population.
Mr. David Hunt : I have today placed the available information in the Library.
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the estimated amounts and the proportion these represent of total local government spending in England for (a) all grant towards local government spending from the Exchequer, (b) the total raised by non-domestic rates and (c) the total raised by domestic rates for each year since 1982.
Mr. Chope : The information requested is as follows :
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Year |Net domestic rate income|Per cent. |Net non-domestic rate |Per cent. |All Government grants |Per cent.
|income
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982-83 |4,548 |13 |5,685 |17 |13,697 |40
1983-84 |4,382 |12 |6,042 |17 |15,985 |44
1984-85 |4,707 |12 |6,361 |17 |16,717 |43
1985-86 |5,094 |13 |6,740 |17 |17,246 |43
1986-87 |5,912 |14 |7,566 |18 |17,773 |42
1987-88 |6,539 |14 |8,088 |18 |18,624 |41
Notes:
1. Percentages shown represent proportions of gross expenditure; that is, both current and capital expenditure. The other major sources of income are fees and charges and borrowing. 1987-88 is the
most recent year for which this data is available.
2. Domestic rate income is shown net of rate relief grant and net of rate rebate grants.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has reached conclusions on definitions on disability for community charge concessions and, in particular, with reference to blind people ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The community charge transitional relief scheme will contain special provision for disabled people who are not former ratepayers or the partners of former ratepayers. A person will be regarded as disabled for the purpose of this scheme if he or she is in receipt of attendance allowance, mobility allowance, mobility supplement, invalidity pension, or severe disablement allowance ; or is registered blind.
Arsenal-Norwich Football Match
Mr. John Carlisle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the Football Association and the Football League following the scenes of disorder on the pitch during the match between Arsenal and Norwich on Saturday 4 November.
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Mr. Moynihan : At my request, officials at my Department discussed the incident with the Football Association on 6 November, since early press reports suggested that the association was unable to take action. We were informed that those reports were misleading. During the afternoon, the Football Association charged both clubs with misconduct and with bringing the game into disrepute.
Minister for Sport (Football Matches)
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many football matches the Minister for Sport has attended since becoming Minister for Sport ; and on what date he last attended a League Division fixture.
Mr. Moynihan : I have attended 27 league, cup and international football matches since my appointment as Minister for Sport. The last Football League fixture I attended was the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers on 30 September 1989.
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River Mersey (Pollution)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the companies currently given deemed consent to pollute the River Mersey, stating what pollutants they are empowered to discharge ; and on what scale ;
(2) what fines were levied on companies and individuals responsible for polluting the River Mersey over the past 10 years.
Mr. Howard : I will write to the hon. Member.
Homelessness
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what direct consultation is taking place between his Department and organisations working with homeless people in its review of homelessness ; and when the results of the review will be published.
Mr. Chope : My right hon. Friend announced the conclusions of the review on Wednesday 15 November. In conducting the review, we have appreciated the advice and information which organisations working with homeless people were able to give us.
Mr. Maples : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has completed his review of the homelessness legislation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chris Patten : We are publishing the full conclusions of our review of the homelessness legislation today, and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
Our review has looked at the role and purpose of the homelessness legislation and at its effects. The legislation--now part III of the Housing Act 1985--was enacted in 1977 as the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act, an all-party measure. Briefly, it requires local housing authorities to find accommodation for people they judge to be homeless according to the criteria specified in the Act.
We believe that the Act remains important, as a "long stop" measure to help people in need who have become homeless through no fault of their own. The present terms of the Act strike a reasonable balance between the interests of the genuinely homeless and others in housing need. We do not intend therefore to change the law, but we have proposals to make it work better.
We have also concluded that local councils remain the right bodies to take the lead responsibility in helping homeless people ; and some of them are very good at it. However, it is clear from my Department's research and other reports that there is room for improvement. Some councils need to be much faster processing applications, for example ; some need to try harder to keep families out of temporary accommodation like bed and breakfast ; and in general all councils ought to aim for a better, more consistent service. I propose to amend the code of guidance (to which councils must have regard) and my Department will shortly put a draft out for consultation.
The pressures of homelessness vary around the country. Statistics are neither as reliable nor as sensitive as I would like. For example, those figures most quoted--the numbers of homeless acceptances--can be affected as much by local policy as by real needs. But it is apparent that the problems are concentrated in London and the south-east. I propose to designate those regions as
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"pressure areas" and to target to them additional resources and help. In particular, we are providing an extra £250 million for these areas over the next two years--£148 million next year, and £102 million in 1991-92--to help councils and housing associations provide more homes for homeless people. This £250 million is on top of the major increase in the Housing Corporation's programme which will be more than doubled from £815 million this year to £1,736 million in 1992-93. We are reviewing with the Housing Corporation and the National Federation of Housing Associations how this programme can best be distributed to make the maximum impact on housing need, including homelessness.We must also make the most of the housing we already have ; and this means effective management. Councils and housing associations have empty houses they must bring into use and the extra resources will help where necessary. Helping tenants to move, where they want to, is also important especially if this frees vacancies in the pressure areas. I will provide 100 per cent. funding and support for a new mobility organisation, formed from the three existing bodies, to provide a better targeted service.
I will continue to encourage the important contribution of the voluntary sector and greatly increased grant aid will be available from next year for homelessness projects. We also want to stop people becoming homeless, as well as helping them when they have got to crisis point. Good practical advice can be vital and I want to set up a comprehensive, national service. Urgent discussions will be held with the National Association of Citizens' Advice Bureaux and other voluntary bodies.
There is concern--which we share--about proper protection and help for young people who leave home and come to live in our inner cities. This affects the responsibilities of a number of Departments, which are reviewing at present the way their policies work together. The Government will make further announcements about this soon. We believe it is essential to make this concentrated attack on the problems of homelessness, but these must not be regarded as separate issues, outside the scope of housing policies in general. We cannot just try to treat symptoms, when causes lie deeper. The real and long-term remedies are to be found in an effective housing strategy, based on the contributions of the private and the public sectors, on the harnessing of the market to deliver opportunities and choice, on the targeting of resources to meet needs and on the efficient management of the stock. That is the strategy of the Government and we shall pursue it vigorously for the benefit of the community and those who are homeless or in need.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the annual cost of keeping a homeless family in hotel accommodation in (a) 1985, (b) 1988 and (c) 1989.
Mr. Chope : The estimate of the average annual cost of keeping a household in bed and breakfast accommodation based on figures provided by English local authorities to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy in 1985-86 is £9,500 (£7,000 net of offsetting income such as DSS allowances). For 1987-88 the estimate is £12,500 (£9,500 net of offsetting income). Figures for 1988-89 are not yet available. There is a wide range of costs for authorities in different areas.
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Dumping of Chemicals
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with member states of the European Community regarding the illegal dumping of dangerous chemicals at sea ; and whether he will propose amendments to the flag of convenience system to take into account the level of dumping.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I will write to the hon. Member.
Pollution (Prosecutions)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many companies responsible for pollution have been successfully prosecuted over the past 10 years ; and what were the total of fines imposed.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Information on prosecutions in respect of offences under legislation controlling polluting activities in the form requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Some information is published in the annual "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics", and other public sources.
Air Pollution
Ms. Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at how many sites in London are pollutant levels of air monitored ; for each of the last five years, on how may days air at each of these sites failed to meet the World Health Organisation safety level for (a) carbon monoxide ; (b) nitrogen oxides and (c) ozone.
Mr. Trippier : The Warren Spring laboratory monitors air pollution in London for my Department. The number of sites and their results are summarised as follows :
<
Pollutant |Number of sites
------------------------------------------------------------
Lead |3
Black smoke/sulphur dioxide |<1>48
|<2>24
Nitrogen dioxide |3
Carbon monoxide |2
Ozone |1
<1>1984-85.
<2>1988-89.
The World Health Organisation has published guideline values (not safety levels), which were exceeded on the numbers of occasions shown as follows :
(a) Carbon monoxide
|1 hour guideline (25 ppm)|8 hour guideline (10 ppm)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<1>1985-86 |none |none
1986-87 |none |none
1987-88 |none |none
1988-89 |none |1 at site 1
<2>1989 |none |1 at site 2
(b) Nitrogen dioxide
|1 hour guideline (210|24 hour guideline (80
|ppb) |ppb)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<3>1985 |3 at site 2 |10 at site 2
|2 at site 1
<3>1986 |none |11 at site 2
<4>1987 |1 at site 1 |6 at site 1
|1 at site 3 |4 at site 2
<4>1988 |none |5 at site 1
|7 at site 3
|3 at site 1
<2>1989 |1 at site 2 |9 at site 2
|7 at site 3 |6 at site 3
(c) Ozone
|1 hour guideline (76 ppb)|24 hour guideline (50
|ppb)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |14 |35
1986 |6 |12
1987 |0 |5
1988 |1 |1
<2>1989 |6 |17
<1>Year April to March.
<2>Results to 13 November 1989.
<3>No measurements made at site 3.
<4>No measurements made at site 2.
Ms. Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated total daily weight of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide pollutants emitted by road traffic in Greater London on a typical Friday in (a) 1984, (b) 1989, (c) 1994, and (d) 1999.
Mr. Trippier : Warren Spring laboratory has provided the following estimates assuming the London annual total emission from road transport to be 7.55 per cent. of the United Kingdom total, and assuming Friday emissions to be 0.288 per cent. of the annual total. Typical 1984 Friday emissions ; NOx, 200 tonnes ;
CO, 838 tonnes.
Corresponding data are not yet available for 1989. The Department is currently revising its projections of future vehicle emissions in the light of the recent EC agreement on tighter emission standards and other developments, and I regret that the information sought for 1994 and 1999 is therefore also not at present available.
Regional Rivers Advisory Committees
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the name of the nominating body for all of those who have so far been appointed to the regional rivers advisory committees in England and Wales.
Mr. Howard : I will write to the hon. Member.
Information Services
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will differentiate between the roles of the European Environmental Statistics Office, the Corine programme and the proposed European- environment monitoring and information network.
Mr. Trippier : The role of the Statistical Office of the European Communities is to collect, co-ordinate and disseminate statistics to assist in the formulation and monitoring of a wide range of Community policies. The office is mainly concerned with economic and social statistics ; its programme of work on environmental statistics has only just begun.
The Corine programme is an experimental project run by the European Commission to assemble information on
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environmental topics that can be mapped and tabulated using geographic information systems as a management tool.The role of the proposed European Environment Agency and the European environment monitoring and information network is to provide the Commission and member states with objective environmental information and analysis. Where necessary the agency will draw on the work of the Statistical Office to avoid duplication of effort and the Corine-related work will pass to the agency if and when it is established in due course.
Rented Housing
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement on his policy regarding the provision of low- cost rented accommodation and the measures which he has already taken in this respect.
Mr. Chope : The Government have taken a variety of measures to encourage the supply of rented housing, including the deregulation of private letting, the encouragement of private investment in housing associations and a major increase in public funding through the Housing Corporation for new rented housing development by housing associations. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Autumn Statement today gives details of our plans for further investment in low-cost rented housing over the next three years.
Liverpool (Budget Deficit)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from Liverpool city council requesting assistance in meeting its budget deficit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : I am not aware of any. It is the responsibility of the city council to take appropriate action to bring its revenue account into balance.
Correspondence
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth may expect a reply to his letter of 26 June referring to Mr. A. S. Johnson of 56 School street, Hillmorton.
Mr. Chope : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Short-life Housing
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has studied the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Family Housing Association v. Jones and its implications for the use of short-life empty dwellings by housing associations and local authorities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : It is not possible to assess the full implications of the judgment in this case until it has been fully reported.
Government Car Service
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many official cars there are in the Government car pool, by make and engine capacity ; and what is the cost of their repairs and maintenance.
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Mr. Chope : The information in respect of official cars in all Government Departments is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However in the London Government car service fleet there are currently 186 vehicles of various makes and engine capacities. The cost of maintaining this fleet over the last 12 months was £218,000.
Circulars and Consultation Papers
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the circulars and consultation papers issued to (a) county councils, (b) metropolitan district councils and (c) non-metropolitan district councils since 1 January, together with the dates they were despatched.
Mr. Chris Patten : I will write to the hon. Member.
CFCs
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the local authorities in England and Wales which are making arrangements for the recycling of CFC gases from freezers and fridges discarded at their waste sites.
Mr. Trippier : Comprehensive information on local authority facilities to recycle CFCs is not at present available, but my Department is to carry out shortly a survey on this and other aspects of recycling.
Uniform Business Rate
Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on discussions held and decisions taken concerning the uniform business rate for nationalised industries ; and if he will indicate the anticipated amount to be paid by British Rail in the first year of the uniform business rate.
Mr. David Hunt : My officials have held extensive discussions with representatives of all those industries whose rateable values are to be prescribed by orders made under paragraph 3 of schedule 6 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988, and our proposals for new assessments were contained in a consultation paper issued on 4 October, the responses to which we are now considering. I am placing copies of the consultation paper in the Library. No decisions have yet been taken on the values for these industries. But if our proposed rateable value for British Rail is adopted and assuming the provisional multiplier of 36 pence which my right hon. Friend announced on 6 November, after the application of the transitional arrangements, British Rail's rate bill for property assessed on this basis in England in 1990-91 would be about £57.5 million.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has discussed the implications of the uniform business rate with the Forum of Private Business ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The then Minister for Local Government met Mr. Mendham, the chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, on 5 May 1989 to discuss the business rate. Also officials have had several meetings with Mr. Mendham his year on the same subject.
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Council Houses, Chelmsford
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the number of council houses sold to tenants in the Chelmsford local authority area from 3 May 1979 to the latest available date ; and what proportion this is of the stock that existed on 3 May 1979.
Mr. Chope : Chelmsford district council is estimated to have sold 3,260 dwellings to its tenants in the period 1 April 1979 to 31 March 1989 (the latest date for which a return has been received). This amounts to some 26 per cent. of its April 1979 stock.
Dolphinaria Report
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if those responsible for supervising and implementing the dolphinaria steering group report for new standards for United Kingdom dolphinaria have been informed that the necessary work will be undertaken ;
(2) when the new standards for United Kingdom dolphinaria, contained in the dolphinaria steering group report, will be included in the guidance notes for his inspectors.
Mr. Trippier : New draft standards for dolphinaria and the guidance notes for inspectors have been compiled and will be circulated to the appropriate bodies for comment shortly. A number of matters relating to the new standards and the steering group recommendations have raised scientific or technical questions and specialist advice is being sought. Several other items in the dolphinaria steering group report have already been implemented and work on the remainder is in hand.
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action has been taken to implement the recommendations of the dolphinaria steering group report published in 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : One dolphinaria operator has supplied details of his plans for implementation of the new standards. The Department is awaiting replies from the remaining operators. A reminder has been sent.
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