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Surface Water
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research is being done or has been commissioned by his Department in respect of surface water quality.
Mr. Chris Patten : We have let the following research contracts since 1 November 1988 concerning surface water quality :
Estimation of contaminant loads in rivers ;
Strategic river eco-system studies ;
Aerial inputs to the Severn Estuary ;
Effects of the Kielder reservoir on the River North Tyne ; Health effects of sea bathing ;
Analysis of technazene and its breakdown products ;
Effect of sediment metals on estuarine benthic organisms ; Biological effects of contaminants workshop ;
Fish farm chemicals in sea locks ;
Diffuse pollution from land-use practices ; and Sediment water contaminant exchange.
Three Graces (Statue)
Mr. Neil Hamilton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will take enforcement action in respect of the statue of the Three Graces previously at Woburn abbey.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon Friend has considered the question of the Three Graces very carefully following a
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request from the Office of Arts and Libraries for a view as to whether the statue was included in the listing of Woburn abbey. On the basis of the information before my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and in the light of legal advice, it appears that the Three Graces should be considered as part of the listed buildings, as both the Temple--which is listed--in which the statue was originally situated, and the plinth on which the statue stood, had been specifically designed to house this statue for the purpose of permanent display. However, there is some evidence to show that the statue had previously been moved from its original position at least once, quite apart from being moved for the purposes of exhibition. My right hon. Friend notes that the local planning authority has decided against taking listed building enforcement action. He has therefore considered whether he should use his own discretion to take such action. On the evidence at present before him, he has decided not to do so.He is not satisfied that it is in general an appropriate use of listed building legislation to control what would widely be thought to be chattels. Nor is he satisfied in the present case that it would be appropriate to require the return of the statue to a sculpture gallery, of which the Temple is a part, which has effectively changed the character.
My right hon. Friend considers that the whole issue of controls over movable fixtures in listed buildings needs examination. He proposes to consult about what guidance should be given on this issue and whether there is a case for amending legislation. In this connection he welcomes the fact that the chairman of English Heritage has convened a meeting of expert and interested bodies to discuss the matter in the new year.
Air Pollution
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at how many sites air pollution levels are monitored.
Mr. Trippier [holding answer 24 November 1989] : Air pollution levels are monitored on behalf of the Department of the Environment, at 390 sites as follows :
Pollutant |Sites
----------------------------------------------
Ozone: |17
Carbon monoxide: |6
Nitrogen oxides: |12
Acid deposition: |32
Atmospheric hydrocarbons: |2
Trace gases: |1
Atmospheric chemistry: |2
Smoke/sulphur dioxide
Directive sites: |287
Sulphur dioxide: |7
Lead: |19
including lead: |5
|----
Total |390
There are also monitoring sites under the aegis of other bodies.
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Pollution
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many industrial pollution incidents of rivers have been prosecuted in each of the last five years ; and which companies have been involved ;
(2) what percentage of reported industrial pollution incidents of rivers have not led to prosecution in each of the last five years ; (3) what percentage of reported pollution incidents have not resulted in prosecutions in each of the last five years.
Mr. Howard : Information on the number of reported water pollution incidents and the prosecutions brought by former water authorities up to 1987, has been published in the annual "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Information on the number of incidents attributable to industrial causes, and the number of resulting prosecutions is available only for 1986 and 1987.
Information on the companies that have been prosecuted is not held by the Department.
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Enforcement of water pollution controls-- including the compilation of relevant data--is now the responsibility of the National Rivers Authority.Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many non-compliant sewage works there were in each of the water authority areas during 1988 ;
(2) what percentage of the total number of sewage works in England were non -compliant during each of the past five years ;
(3) what progress has been made in reducing the number of non-compliant sewage works.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 4 December 1989] : Information on non-compliant sewage treatment works was first collected by the Government for 1986. Numbers of sewage treatment works operated by each water authority with numerical discharge consent conditions, together with the numbers tested by each authority and found non-compliant in 1986, 1987 and 1988, are listed. The results show a steady reduction in the proportion of non-compliant works from 23 per cent. in 1986 to 17 per cent. in 1988.
Further improvements will result from the major capital programme to bring substandard sewage treatment works into compliance with their discharge consents.
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Water Authority Number Number tested Works in breach of consent
Number Percentage of works tested
|1986 |1987 |1988 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1986 |1987 |1988
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anglian |782 |760 |775 |774 |754 |748 |309 |260 |208 |40 |34 |28
Northumbrian |196 |182 |178 |196 |182 |178 |37 |27 |26 |19 |15 |15
North West |458 |448 |441 |458 |448 |441 |62 |55 |43 |14 |12 |10
Severn Trent |773 |753 |808 |762 |742 |751 |179 |160 |112 |23 |22 |15
Southern |282 |274 |273 |282 |274 |271 |54 |39 |41 |19 |14 |15
South West |226 |226 |232 |188 |219 |228 |55 |65 |67 |29 |30 |29
Thames |374 |382 |378 |374 |379 |378 |67 |70 |60 |18 |18 |16
Welsh |803 |764 |710 |668 |611 |650 |112 |108 |107 |17 |18 |17
Wessex |272 |272 |272 |272 |270 |272 |39 |29 |17 |14 |11 |6
Yorkshire |380 |360 |360 |380 |351 |354 |88 |74 |61 |23 |21 |17
|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
England and Wales |4,546|4,421|4,427|4,354|4,230|4,271|1,002|887 |742 |216 |195 |168
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to increase the penalties for industrial pollution of the rivers.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 4 December 1989] : The maximum penalties which may be imposed by magistrates for offences under section 107 of the Water Act 1989 are fines not exceeding £2,000 and terms of imprisonment of up to three months. However, on indictment in the Crown court there is no limit on the fine that may be imposed and terms of imprisonment can be up to two years. Penalties for pollution offences are kept under review although there are no immediate plans for increasing them.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to reform the system of deemed consents for discharges into rivers.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 4 December 1989] : The arrangement for granting deemed consents was a transitional provision introduced under earlier legislation and, most recently, under part II of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, relating to those categories of discharges, chiefly into coastal and estuarial waters, which were brought under control for the first time. This arrangement applied only to applications received by 14
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October 1987, on which basis deemed consents were granted with the expectation that they would be reviewed and substantively determined by October 1992. It now falls to the NRA to complete this process. There are no plans to reintroduce the procedure.Water Privatisation
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the accountancy firm which reported on the water privatisation prospectus has at any time since January 1979 been (a) criticised by the Department of Trade and Industry inspectors in any of the reports and (b) criticised by the disciplinary committee of the accountancy profession as lacking in professional conduct efficiency or competence ; and whether either of these two points are mentioned in the prospectus.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 30 November 1989] : One of the firms which reported on the water privatisation prospectus had been previously criticised in inspectors' reports published since 1979 and subsequently by the accountancy profession's joint disciplinary scheme. I understand that the cases related to audits conducted in the period 1972-75 ; the partners involved were not members of any of the reporting engagement teams for
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water privatisation. The Government and their advisers are satisfied that this is not material as far as the prospectus is concerned.Caravan Sites
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list those local authorities which have responded to the application to designate permanent caravan sites in Bradford ; and if he will summarise each response which has been submitted ; (2) whether he has received an application from Bradford council to designate permanent traveller sites in Bradford ; if he will give details of the grounds on which the application is based ; if he will place copies of the
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applications, including responses by local authorities to the application, in the Library ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Chope [holding answer 6 December 1989] : An application under section 12 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 for the designation of Bradford district was received from the City of Bradford metropolitan council by my Department on 27 November 1989.
The application is made on the grounds that in all the circumstances it is not necessary or expedient to make any further provision for the accommodation of gipsies residing in or resorting to the area of Bradford metropolitan district.
A list of the local authorities, and others, consulted by Bradford council about the application and the substance of their responses is as follows :
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Consultee |Response
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metropolitan borough of Calderdale |No observations.
Leeds city council |No objection.
City of Wakefield metropolitan district council |No objection.
Lancashire county council |No objection subject to assurances that Bradford will not seek to transfer gypsy families
from Bradford to Pendle.
Craven district council |Support application.
Borough of Pendle district council |No objection.
North Yorkshire county council |Object because it would increase gypsy problems particularly in Harrogate and Craven
districts.
Kirklees metropolitan council |No response.
Bradford chamber of commerce |Support application because of nuisance of unauthorised encampments on unsuitable
sites and the shortage of land available for industrial/commercial development.
Bradford Travellers' Action Support Campaign |Objects because of councils policy of evicting gypsies off unauthorised sites the poor
quality of existing sites and the perceived lack of legal grounds for granting
designation as a matter of expediency.
National Gypsy Council |Response awaited.
I will arrange for a copy of the City of Bradford metropolitan council's designation application to be placed in the Library of the House shortly.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Passes
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will give a breakdown by company of the numbers and categories of security passes giving access to the Palace of Westminster and its associated buildings which are currently allocated to the media.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : The Accommodation and Administration Sub- Committee is currently examining the number of Palace of Westminster photo- identity passes held by the media organisations accredited to the House.
In the course of its inquiry, the Sub-Committee has asked for the same information as that requested by the hon. Member. It is currently being collated, and I will ensure that the hon. Member receives a copy as soon as it is available.
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Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will give a breakdown of the numbers and categories of security passes giving access to the Palace of Westminster and its associated buildings which are currently allocated to individuals who are not in receipt of a regular monthly payment from the Fees Office ; and if he will indicate the reasons for the allocation of these passes.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : Without a detailed check of each photo-identity pass holder's name against the Fees Office salary list, which could be done only at disproportionate cost, it is not possible to provide a definitive answer to the hon. Member's question. However, it would be safe to assume that all or the vast majority of the following pass holders are not in receipt of a regular monthly payment from the Fees Office :
Category |Detail |Quantity
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 |Members and Officers; |511
|Residents' families
11 |Official Commonwealth and Overseas |3
|visitors
16 |CPA and IPU Staffs |46
17 and 17A |Government Departmental Staff |1,443
18 |Government Messengers |234
19 and 19A |PSA's staff |403
20 and 20A |Security Force (incl. RBLA) |473
21 and 21A |Post Office Staff |42
22 and 22A |British Telecom Staff |79
23 and 23A |Parliamentary Counsel and Agents |120
24 and 24A |Tannoy/Official Shorthand Writer/ |71
|Westminster Audio and Thomas Cook
25 and 25A |Central Office/PLP/Liberal Democrats/107
|SDP and SNP staffs
26 |PSA's Contractors |543
27 |Other Contractors and St. Stephens |136
|Secretarial Staff
28A |Lobby Correspondents |228
28B |Reporters |130
28C |Broadcasting Journalists |52
28D |Overseas Media Representatives |19
28E |Media Messengers and Engineers |183
28G and H |Television Experiment Staff |28
30 |Specially Authorised Holders |56
31 |Television Personnel (Norman Shaw |29
|Studios only)
31A |Gymnasium Members (Norman Shaw |126
|Buildings only)
32 |Whips' Office Staff |49
33 and 33A |HMSO and COI Staff |155
E |MEPs |33
In addition to the above, those categories of pass issued to peers, peeresses and their staffs, staff of the House of Lords, and House of Lords sponsored media passes are, of course, not paid from the Fees Office--a total of 1,427 passes.
Finally, I should mention that some staff of Members, who hold category 9 photo-identity passes, may not be in receipt of a regular monthly payment from the Fees Office.
Food Hygiene Inspections
Ms. Walley : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will arrange for food hygiene inspections by a qualified environmental health officer of all kitchens and food preparation and refreshment areas serving food to hon. Members, staff and the general public in the House equivalent to the quality and regularity of standards applying to all other workplaces.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that she received on 10 November. Environmental health officers are invited to carry out food hygiene inspections of all areas for which the Refreshment Department is responsible either as part of a regular programme, or when a need is perceived. The next such inspection has been arranged to begin on 7 December. The regularity at which these inspections are carried out and the standards applied to them are understood to be more frequent and rigorous than applied by the authorities to commercial catering establishments.
Food Handling Training
Ms. Walley : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will reconsider his decision not to provide food handling training to all catering staff in the Palace of Westminster.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : No such decision has been taken. A total of six training courses on food hygiene involving some 260 staff have taken place over the past two years. Another is planned for early 1990 as part of a continuing programme.
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Boxes and Rubbish
Ms. Walley : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will take immediate action to prevent the daily stacking in the Palace of Westminster of carton boxes and rubbish bags which block the corridors, provide a fire hazard and prevent access for people in wheelchairs.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : Recognised procedures designed to keep the corridors free of waste and obstacles already exist. These arrangements are, however, under review.
Petitions
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will state how many petitions were presented in Session 1988-89 and what was the number of occasions when the responsible Department of State declined to make any observations.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : Two hundred and twenty seven petitions were presented in Session 1988-89. The responsible Department declined to raise observations on 188 of these.
Palace of Westminster Telephone Bill
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the telephone bill for the Palace of Westminster for each year from 1979 to the present date.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : Telephone call charges for the Palace of Westminster for the financial years 1979 to 1989 were as follows :
Financial year |£ ending April --------------------------------------------- 1979 |306,300 1980 |255,650 1981 |368,400 1982 |492,500 1983 |470,302 1984 |437,249 1985 |499,497 1986 |488,435 1987 |481,989 1988 |474,101 1989 |559,397
The above charges are distributed proportionately between the House of Lords, the House of Commons and the Lord Chancellor's Department.
Party Chairmen
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will introduce legislation to provide that the chairmen of parties represented in the Commons would need to be elected either by party members or by members of an elected executive.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : No. Each party is best left to decide its own arrangements.
PRIME MINISTER
Lancashire
Q13. Dame Elaine Kellett-Bowman : To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Lancashire.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
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EEC and EFTA
Q27. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister what consideration she has given to the proposals made by President Mitterrand on Tuesday 5 December, on the future of the EEC and EFTA ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to him of 5 December. We naturally support the closest possible co-operation between the EC and EFTA.
Eastern Europe
Q55. Mr. Boswell : To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations she has received about measures to stimulate agricultural supplies in eastern Europe.
The Prime Minister : I have received representations from a number of people, including Lady Ryder of Warsaw, about agricultural supplies in Poland. We take their concerns seriously. We are active, both nationally and with our EC partners, to improve food supplies there. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced in the House on 29 November a £15 million agricultural project for Poland. In addition the EC has so far supplied some £70 million of food aid to Poland, the proceeds of which will be used to finance improvements in Poland's agricultural industry. The Community has also announced an aid budget for Poland and Hungary in 1990 of £210 million which will be used inter alia to finance agricultural restructuring.
Hungary
Q75. Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans for a meeting with the Prime Minister of Hungary.
The Prime Minister : I shall be meeting the Hungarian Prime Minister on 13 December during his forthcoming visit to the United Kingdom. I look forward to discussing with him the latest developments in Hungary's progress towards democracy and a number of trade and other issues.
Water Act
Q99. Mr. Knapman : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the implementation of the Water Act.
The Prime Minister : I am pleased to say that implementation of this Act is well advanced, and is the key to even higher standards of drinking water quality, and cleaner rivers and bathing waters.
West Yorkshire
Q108. Mr. Waller : To ask the Prime Minister if she will visit west Yorkshire.
The Prime Minister : I have no such plans at present.
United Nations
Q126. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to the United Nations.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
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European Government
Q154. Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the latest proposals of the President of the European Commission to create a European Government.
The Prime Minister : I understand that M. Delors was speculating on a personal basis about institutional arrangements if the Community were significantly expanded. These are not formal proposals.
Engagements
Mr. David Martin : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Moate : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Ashton : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Haynes : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
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