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Estimates of adult population (thousands)
Authority |Registrar General's|Based on |Percentage
|estimate |Community Charge |difference
|30 June 1988 |Register
|1 December 1989
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alyn and Deeside |54.8 |56.3 |3
Colwyn |43.2 |44.9 |4
Delyn |49.5 |51.4 |4
Glyndwr |32.2 |33.2 |3
Rhuddlan |44.3 |45.0 |2
Wrexham Maelor |88.5 |92.3 |4
Carmarthen |43.6 |44.2 |1
Ceredigion |52.2 |51.5 |-1
Dinefwr |30.4 |30.0 |-1
Llanelli |58.1 |58.6 |1
Preseli Pembrokeshire |54.0 |53.0 |-2
South Pembrokeshire |32.1 |31.8 |-1
Blaenau Gwent |59.5 |59.7 |0
Islwyn |50.9 |50.3 |-1
Monmouth |62.7 |59.9 |-5
Newport |97.2 |103.4 |6
Torfaen |70.2 |70.5 |0
Aberconwy |42.9 |42.2 |-2
Arfon |41.9 |44.3 |6
Dwyfor |21.4 |21.3 |-1
Meirionnydd |25.0 |26.0 |4
Ynys Mon |53.4 |50.8 |-5
Cynon Valley |49.3 |50.2 |2
Merthyr Tydfil |44.3 |44.7 |1
Ogwr |105.1 |107.3 |2
Rhondda |58.6 |60.3 |3
Rhymney Valley |77.7 |78.0 |0
Taff Ely |71.5 |73.8 |3
Brecknock |32.1 |32.4 |1
Montgomeryshire |39.8 |41.0 |3
Radnorshire |17.7 |17.8 |1
Cardiff |215.9 |223.9 |4
Vale of Glamorgan |90.9 |85.2 |-6
Port Talbot |38.0 |40.0 |5
Lliw Valley |47.9 |47.5 |-1
Neath |50.2 |50.7 |1
Swansea |144.1 |141.9 |-2
|------- |------- |-------
Total Wales |2,191.1 |2,215.2 |1
Note: The difference in time between the two estimates should be borne in mind. Over the period the
adult population in Wales as a whole is projected to have grown at about 1 per cent. per annum.
Water (Charging)
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make it his policy to place limits on charges in any new system of charging for water and allied services to replace the water rates in Wales in such a way as to take account of ability to pay ; (2) if he will make it his policy to take steps to ensure that any new system of charging for water and allied services to replace the water rates in Wales shall not involve : (a) a water poll tax or (b) compulsory metering.
Mr. Grist : Initial limits on charges are specified in the instruments of appointment of water and sewerage undertakers. Future regulation of charges will fall to the Director General of Water Services. In doing so the director general will be under a duty to ensure that the interests of customers are protected and that no undue preference or discrimination is shown by the scheme of charges which is principally a matter for Welsh Water plc to determine. Their future charging policy is outlined in their prospectus, a copy of which is in the Library.
ENVIRONMENT
Environmentally Friendly Products
Mr Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many environmentally friendly products were purchased for each year since 1979, by year, and by the following categories : (a) aerosols, (b) recycled paper, (c) organic produce, (d) recycled tin cans and (e) recycled bottles/glass ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : We do not have this information.
Nature Conservancy
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the joint committee of successor bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council will have a duty to agree common standards for the selection, designation, management and monitoring of national nature reserves, sites of special scientific interest and other categories of land.
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the joint committee of successor bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council will have a duty to assemble and disseminate compatible statistics for nature conservation on a Great Britain or United Kingdom basis.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff in which disciplines he envisages will need to be allocated to support the work of the joint committee of successor bodies of the Nature Conservancy Council.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the joint committee of successor bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council will have a duty to agree common priorities and methodologies for research on nature conservation issues.
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the joint committee of successor
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bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council will have management responsibility for ensuring the operation of agreed standards and programmes.Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the joint committee of successor bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council will have a duty to agree common criteria for the provision of management agreements, land purchase grants and grants for posts and projects, including those to voluntary conservation agencies operating throughout Britain.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The main duties and responsibilities of the joint committee were set out in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment to my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) on 23 November ( Official Report, cols 17-18 ). Initial proposals for the detailed programme of work to be overseen by the Committee, and the resources required to carry it out, will be drawn up in consultation with the Nature Conservancy Council and other relevant bodies. The Government will also wish to consider any recommendations of the Select Committee on Science and Technology in another place, which is currently considering future arrangements for the NCC's science base.
Mr. Allan Roberts : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the duty of the joint committee of successor bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council to provide advice on nature conservation matters will be based on (a) nature conservation considerations, (b) recreation, (c) access and (d) landscape considerations.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells). The responsibilities which the successor bodies will be required to remit to the joint committee for consideration will relate to nature conservation.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the joint committee of successor bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council will have a duty to agree common procedures and timetables for the implementation of European Community and international agreements and conventions.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Implementation of European Community and international agreements and conventions is, and will remain, primarily a matter for Government.
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what mechanisms the proposed joint committee of successor bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council will employ to ensure that its decisions are reflected by all the individual bodies ; and whether it will have any authority over them.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells). The individual country bodies will be bound by a statutory requirement to deal with certain matters (to be specified in legislation) through the joint committee.
Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how such disagreements will be resolved and by whom, in the event of disagreement among individual bodies on the joint committee of successor bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council.
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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The successor bodies will have a statutory duty to agree the advice to be tendered or the action to be taken on the matters within the remit of the joint committee. Reserve provisions will be included in the legislation to be brought before the House shortly to enable the Secretary of State to direct that matters within the remit of the joint committee should be dealt with by one or more of the country bodies. It is expected that such directions will be needed on only very rare occasions.
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the joint committee of successor bodies to the Nature Conservancy Council will have sole responsibility for providing advice at Great Britain level on (a) ecological issues, (b) agricultural and forestry issues, (c) air and waterborne pollution, (d) marine and migratory species conservation, (e) international representation and (f) education and publicity.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The Government draw on many sources of advice on these issues and will continue to do so, but the joint committee may wish to consider the relationship between these matters and nature conservation in a Great Britain context.
Mortgage Interest Rates
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will bring up to date the information on average interest rates on building society mortgage advances given in his letter to the hon. Member for Dagenham (Mr. Gould) of 3 August 1983 in pursuance of his written reply of 29 July 1983, Official Report, column 705.
Mr. Chope : The information is as follows :
Year |Average building
|society mortgage
|interest rate
|(gross)
|per cent.
---------------------------------------------------
1982 |13.30
1983 |11.03
1984 |11.84
1985 |13.47
1986 |12.07
1987 |11.61
1988 |11.05
1989<1> |13.46
1989<2> |13.43
<1>Quarter 1.
<2>Quarter 2.
Monthly figures on average building society mortgage interest rates are published in Financial Statistics, which is available in the Library.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to allow for the reduction of personal community charges on environmental grounds along the lines of the present arrangements for reduction in rateable values.
Mr. Chope : The reductions in rateable values to which my hon. Friend refers are an automatic concomitant of a system which links payment for local services to the rental value of property. Most local authority services, such as
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education, public transport and social services are people-related rather than property-related, and the cost of providing those services is not affected by environmental factors. There is therefore no logical reason for varying the community charge to reflect such factors.Mrs. Peacock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether each occupant of a household's application for a rebate on the personal community charge will be assessed of their own personal income and savings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I have been asked to reply.
The assessment of community charge benefit will be based on the personal and financial circumstances (both income and capital) of the claimant and any partner. The personal and financial circumstances of adults in the household, other than any partner of the claimant, are immaterial to the assessment of the claimant's community charge benefit.
Direct Labour Organisations
Mr. Thornton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide statistics for 1987-88 showing (a) the total value of construction work carried out by direct labour organisations as a proportion of local authority expenditure on construction, (b) the 10 local authorities where the value of work carried out by direct labour organisations as a proportion of the authorities' construction expenditure was highest and (c) the 10 local authorities where the value of the work carried out by direct labour organisations as a proportion of the authorities' construction expenditure was lowest.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The 1987-88 statitics requested are as follows :
(a) In the 333 English authorites required to report to the Secretary of State the total reported expenditure on construction work carried out by direct labour organisations was £178 million, representing 23 per cent. of the total.
(b) The 10 local authorities where the value of the work carried out by the direct labour organisations as a proportion of the construction expenditure was the highest were : Walsall ; Ellesmere Port and Neston ; Durham ; Barrow-in-Furness ; Scunthorpe ; Hackney ; Waltham Forest ; Chesterfield ; Stafford and Colchester.
(c) The 10 local authorities where the value of the work carried out by the direct labour organisations as a proportion of the construction expenditure was the lowest were : Carrick ; Tameside ; Doncaster ; Kingston ; Thanet ; Westminster ; Liverpool ; Nottingham ; Bolsover ; and Mansfield.
Rates Bills, Bolton
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households in the Bolton Metropolitan borough area are currently paying rates bills of below £350.
Mr Chope : The information requested is not available centrally.
Pollution Inspectorate
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the basis on which the decision was taken to reduce the number of G4 posts in Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution from two to one.
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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : There has been no reduction in the number of grade 4 posts on the staff complement of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
Local Government Finance
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the loss of revenue if all contributions to the safety net were limited to (a) £40 and (b) £20.
Mr. Chope : Limiting the contributions to the safety net shown in the provisional figures which were placed in the Library on 6 November to £40 per adult would reduce contributions by £125 million. If contributions were limited to £20 per adult the reduction in contributions would be £316 million.
Departmental Circulars
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report 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 dates they were despatched.
Mr. Patten : I wrote to the hon. Member on 30 November enclosing the information requested, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
Gas Emissions (Domestic Properties)
Mr. Frank Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what commercially co-sponsored research into domestic property green labelling and greenhouse gas emissions from homes is being conducted by (a) the Building Research Establishment or (b) consultants to the Building Research Establishment ; and what is the total current departmental investment into this programme.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 20 December 1989] : The Building Research Establishment is not currently engaged in any commercially co- sponsored research into domestic property green labelling or greenhouse gas emissions from homes, either directly or through consultants.
BRE is engaged in the following activities which are of relevance :
(1) work on the emission of greenhouse gases from buildings, as part of the research programme of the environmental protection directorate of DOE ;
(2) the development of energy labels for housing, with commercial interests ;
(3) the management of a project for a group of companies looking into the long-term future development of housing, which is expected to cover "green" issues ;
(4) the development of "green" labels, initially for non-domestic buildings, with commercial interests.
The total current departmental investment in this general area at BRE amounts to some £400,000.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Doran : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give for each year since 1978 the spending by local authorities on heating and other energy efficiency measures consistent with the 1986 figure of £900 million given in paragraph 3.40 of the National Audit Office's "National Energy Efficiency."
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Mr. Chope : The figure given in paragraph 3.40 of the National Audit Office's report was based on analysis of the 1986 English house condition survey. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available.Departmental Guidelines
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines his Department has issued which advise local authorities on when to be ready to defend their decisions on papers which have been lodged with his Department.
Mr. Moynihan : Guidelines to local planning authorities on procedures for the conduct of planning appeals are set out in Department of the Environment circulars 18/86, 11/87 and 10/88, copies of which are in the Library.
Churston Galmpton Golf Course
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date the inspector completed hearing the evidence on the public inquiry appeal regarding the planning matter concerning Churston Galmpton golf club, Torbay ; what progress has been made since his answer to the hon. Member for South Hams of4 April, Official Report, column 144 ; what are the outstanding causes of delay ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : The appeal is being dealt with by an exchange of written representations and no public inquiry was held. An inspector visited the site on 22 August 1988 and his report was submitted to my right hon. Friend on 12 September 1988. On 6 April 1989 my right hon. Friend indicated that he was minded to allow the appeal, subject to comments from the parties about amended highway proposals, submitted by the developer. The reason for delay since then has been the need to consider and exchange further representations about the effect of the development on access to neighbouring properties and about land ownership which must be resolved before the appeal can be determined. I expect the decision to be issued early in the new year.
Housing Corporation
Dr. Twinn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will give details of the Housing Corporation's approved development programme for 1990-91.
Mr. Howard : My right hon. Friend announced on 15 November that provision for the Housing Corporation's gross capital expenditure will double over the next three years, rising from £818 million this year to £1,736 million in 1992-93, demonstrating the Government's commitment to the housing association movement as the main providers of new subsidised homes. The Housing Corporation will also receive £73 million over the next two years under our special homelessness initiative. Altogether, gross provision in 1990-91 at £1,220.5 million will be nearly 50 per cent. higher than this year's level of expenditure.
The programme that we have now approved for 1990-91 with provisional plans for the following two years should enable the Housing Corporation to approve nearly 43,000 new homes for rent and low-cost home ownership
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in 1992-93. Over 38,500 homes should be completed with Housing Corporation funds in 1992-93, well over twice last year's total. These very significant increases in housing associations' output will be archieved partly through greater use of private investment to supplement public subsidy. During the next three years we expect over 13,000 more homes to be provided than would have been possible without the use of private finance. We shall set the Housing Corporation and the housing association movement a cash target for the amount of private finance to be drawn in by schemes approved by the corporation in 1990-91. This will be based on our expectation that 75 per cent. of new schemes can be approved on a mixed funded basis, combining grant with private loans. In the light of this new target, there will be no need for a national average grant rate for mixed funded schemes of the kind that the corporation operated this year. Grant rates for schemes individually will be similar to those currently in force ; the corporation will announce details nearer the start of the new financial year.The distribution of the corporation's programme is guided by the housing needs indicator (HNI), which has been reviewed this year. I have accepted the technical recommendations of the review group, whose report I am placing in the Library. I have decided, however, to phase in the distributional pattern implied by the new HNI over two years so as to ensure that all regions see an increase in funds next year and can approve more units. I have also given a degree of protection to all regions affected by the move to the revised HNI. I have decided to increase the allocations of the 57 local authority areas with urban programme status by a total of £100 million in recognition of the special needs of inner- city areas. The funds allocated to the corporation's regions will be cost- compensated so that planned unit output is not distorted by varying costs of provision in different parts of the country.
This is an exciting and challenging time for the Housing Corporation and the housing association movement. The plans that I have set out for the corporation's programme over the next three years should enable resources to be targeted on the areas that need it most and in particular to allow the corporation to help meet the needs of the homeless. I have confidence that housing associations, through the Housing Corporation, will make the maximum impact on housing needs with the massive levels of public subsidy we are now entrusting to them.
The breakdown of the approved development programme for 1990-91 and provisional plans for the following two years is as follows :
Regional shares of the revised Housing Needs Indicator (including distribution of extra funds for inner
city areas but before cost
compensation) and the planned regional distribution of the programme are as follows:
Percentage
|Revised HNI |Unit distribution|Unit distribution
|1990-91
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London and Home Counties North East |10.8 |10.5 |10.7
London and Home Counties North West |11.5 |9.7 |11.4
London and Home Counties South |15.1 |13.3 |15.0
West |13.8 |10.6 |13.7
East Midlands |9.5 |9.2 |9.4
West Midlands |10.4 |12.5 |10.3
North East |13.9 |15.6 |13.9
North West |11.5 |12.2 |11.4
Merseyside |3.5 |6.4 |4.2
|------- |------- |-------
England |100.0 |100.0 |100.0
Regional shares of the revised Housing Needs Indicator (including distribution of extra funds for inner
city areas but before cost
compensation) and the planned regional distribution of the programme are as follows:
Percentage
|Revised HNI |Unit distribution|Unit distribution
|1990-91
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London and Home Counties North East |10.8 |10.5 |10.7
London and Home Counties North West |11.5 |9.7 |11.4
London and Home Counties South |15.1 |13.3 |15.0
West |13.8 |10.6 |13.7
East Midlands |9.5 |9.2 |9.4
West Midlands |10.4 |12.5 |10.3
North East |13.9 |15.6 |13.9
North West |11.5 |12.2 |11.4
Merseyside |3.5 |6.4 |4.2
|------- |------- |-------
England |100.0 |100.0 |100.0
Regional shares of the revised Housing Needs Indicator (including distribution of extra funds for inner
city areas but before cost
compensation) and the planned regional distribution of the programme are as follows:
Percentage
|Revised HNI |Unit distribution|Unit distribution
|1990-91
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London and Home Counties North East |10.8 |10.5 |10.7
London and Home Counties North West |11.5 |9.7 |11.4
London and Home Counties South |15.1 |13.3 |15.0
West |13.8 |10.6 |13.7
East Midlands |9.5 |9.2 |9.4
West Midlands |10.4 |12.5 |10.3
North East |13.9 |15.6 |13.9
North West |11.5 |12.2 |11.4
Merseyside |3.5 |6.4 |4.2
|------- |------- |-------
England |100.0 |100.0 |100.0
Planning Permission
Mr. Leigh : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy with regard to the use of his powers under section 276 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 to revoke planning permission granted by local planning authories ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : Section 276 is a default power. Among other things, it enables the Secretary of State to take action to revoke a planning permission, after following specified procedures. There is provision for compensation to be paid.
My right hon. Friend's practice has been to use this power only rarely. He has taken the view that the power should be used only if the original decision is judged to be grossly wrong, so that damage is likely to be done to the wider public interest.
Recently, however, a particular kind of case has come to the attention of my right hon. Friend in which he may be prepared to exercise his power to revoke a planning permission. This is where he considers that consistency is needed between a local planning authority's decisions in different cases, to ensure that similar circumstances give rise to similar decisions and that the provisions of the development plan, so far as it is material, and other material considerations have been fully taken into account.
My right hon. Friend wishes to remind planning authorities of the importance of behaving equitably as between applicants, and being seen to do so. Where applicants for similar permissions in similar circumstances have been treated differently, it can seem capricious and unfair. Although there is a place in the planning system for consideration of personal circumstances, my right hon. Friend thinks that these have to be very marked indeed to justify treating similar applications differently. He also wishes to remind all members of planning committees that their decisions should be governed by material planning considerations alone. They should be most careful to avoid even the appearance that they may have been influenced by immaterial considerations.
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My right hon. Friend will continue to consider each case on its merits bearing in mind this policy.Water Privatisation
Mr. Haselhurst : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy in relation to special shares in water public limited companies.
Mr. Chris Patten : The existing articles of association of the English water plcs seek for a period of five years to prevent the ownership or control by any one person of 15 per cent. or more of the voting rights. My consent as special shareholder is required before any change to this provision. The privatised water companies are embarking on a major capital investment programme to achieve a number of environmental objectives and it is important that there is a period of stability and ownership of management through the protection of the special share. It is not my intention, therefore, either to redeem my special share before 31 December 1994 or to consent to a change to the provision on ownership or control.
Uniform Business Rate
Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the level of the uniform business rate in England in 1990-91 ; and what will be the effect on rate bills of the uniform business rate and of the non-domestic revaluation.
Mr. Chris Patten : I intend to specify in the revenue support grant report, which will be laid before the House in the new year, a non-domestic rate of 34.8p in the pound for England for the year 1990-91. This is lower than the provisional figure which I announced in November because the results of the non-domestic revaluation indicate that, on average, rateable values will increase by eight times, slightly more than earlier forecasts. By fixing the poundage at this level we are meeting our undertaking to raise from private business and the nationalised industries in real terms broadly the same amount in rates as in 1989-90. This poundage takes account of inflation, measured by the annual rate of increase of 7.6 per cent. in the retail prices index for September 1989.
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The valuation office is sending to local authorities today drafts of the new rating lists. Authorities are required to deposit these at their principal offices as soon as practicable. Some authorities may not be able to make them available for public inspection until 2 January. The lists will also be available for inspection at local valuation offices from that date. The draft lists take effect on 1 April 1990. Some of the values which they contain may change before that date in the light of later information.I am placing in the Library an anlysis of the combined effects of the introduction of the uniform business rate and of the revaluation. In general this confirms the results of the Inland Revenue survey published in July, subject to the slight increase in the average revaluation factor which I have mentioned.
Factories and warehouses will on average see reductions in rate bills everywhere except in inner London. Shops and offices, on the other hand, will on average attract higher bills, except in the north and midlands where average rate bills for properties of this type will fall. Overall, once the transition is complete, the rate burden on businesses in the north and midlands will be reduced by about £930 million in real terms.
The analysis also shows the effects of the uniform business rate and of revaluation in Wales, where the rate will be 36.8p in 1990-91, as announced by my right hon. Friend on 18 December.
Urban Development Corporations
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the rules under which urban development corporations carry out the process of tendering or seek contracts for the disposal of land or property or the provision of services ; and how those rules differ from those applying to (a) local authorities and (b) central Government.
Mr. David Hunt [holding answer 12 December 1989] : Like local authorities and Government Departments urban development corporations are required to secure best price when disposing of assets, and value for money when letting contracts. They are advised that these objectives are normally best achieved by competitive tendering. Urban development corporations are also subject to the competition provisions of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 in respect of construction and maintenance work and of the Local Government Act 1988 in respect of certain defind services. Part II of the 1988 Act, concerning public supply and works contracts, also applies to urban development corporations.
Water Privatisation
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, further to his reply of 11 December, he will list the precise details of the numbers of those shares not yet available when they become available ; and if he will write to the hon. Member for Nottingham North.
Mr. Howard : Once precise details of the Government's residual shareholdings in the 10 water companies are available, I will write to the hon. Gentleman listing them.
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Homelessness
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest available figure for homelessness ; and what was the figure in 1979.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 4 December 1989] : In the 12 months to September 1989 English local authorities accepted responsibility for 122,280 households ; in 1979 the figure was 57,200. However, because of a change in the reporting system between 1980 and 1982, the figure for 1979 is not strictly comparable with those for later years. For Welsh figures I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Rent Officers
Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he is expecting to announce that the 1989 pay award to rent officers in England and Wales will be fully implemented.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 14 December 1989] : Rent officer pay is set by reference to a Civil Service analogue, at present HEO. Rent officers have received the 4 per cent. increase awarded to HEOs from 1 April 1989, and negotiations are still proceeding on the application of other aspects of the 1989 HEO award.
Works of Art (Restitution)
Mr. Faulds : To ask the Secretary of State for theEnvironment when the Government intend to sign the international convention for the restitution of works of art which have been stolen or removed from their country of origin ; and if he has established whether an earlier signature to this convention would have guaranteed the return of the Icklingham finds which were illegally taken to America.
Mr. Luce : I have been asked to reply.
Signature of the UNESCO convention would not have guaranteed the return of the alleged Icklingham finds. The Government are not convinced that the convention is the most suitable instrument for dealing with such issues.
Sheltered Accommodation
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest available figures for the numbers of sheltered dwellings for the elderly ; and what were the figures in 1979.
Mr. Chope : Preliminary estimates for April 1989 derived from English local authorities' housing investment programme returns (HIP1) show that the number of sheltered housing units has risen by 70 per cent. since 1979. During this same period the total stock of housing has risen by 10 per cent.
Sheltered housing for the elderly: 1979 and 1989
thousands
|1979 |1989 |increase
----------------------------------------------------------
Local authorities |209 |300 |91
Housing associations |48 |117 |69
Private |7 |34 |27
All (including other) |270 |455 |185
Column 331
Nature Conservancy Council
Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the proposed reorganisation of the Nature Conservancy Council.
Mr. Chris Patten [ pursuant to his answer, 23 November, 1989, Official Report, Vol. 162, columns 16-17 ] : The Government have re -examined their proposals for the constitution of the joint committee of the proposed country bodies which I announced on 23 November was to be established to deal with questions with a Great Britain or international dimension and certain scientific issues. In that statement I said that the Government had not been persuaded by the nature Conservancy Council's argument that the Committee should have an independent chairman appointed by the Government. That was the only major point on which the Government dissented from the advice submitted by the council.
Having considered further representations from the council and others we have reached the conclusion that an independent chairmanship would have advantages in maintaining the confidence of the wider scientific community about the standards to be set for the new country bodies, and ensuring that matters of national and international importance for nature conservation are viewed from the correct perspective. The Government will therefore bring forward the necessary amendments to the Environmental Protection Bill at Committee stage to alow for the chairman of the joint committee to be directly appointed by the Secretary of State.
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