| Previous Section | Home Page |
Road Accidents
Mr. Jessel : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list monthly figures for deaths from road accidents for each month from January 1987 till the latest available date.
Mr. Atkins : The requested information is as follows :
Deaths from road accidents; by month from January
1987
|1987 |1988 |1989
------------------------------------------------------
January |333 |386 |<1>n/a
February |352 |358 |<1>n/a
March |365 |360 |<1>n/a
|------- |------- |-------
1st quarter total |1,050 |1,104 |<1>1,178
April |412 |385 |<1>n/a
May |410 |403 |<1>n/a
June |421 |389 |<1>n/a
|------- |------- |-------
2nd quarter total |1,243 |1,177 |<1>1,133
July |466 |445 |<1>n/a
August |465 |412 |<1>n/a
September |478 |439 |<1>n/a
|------- |------- |-------
3rd quarter total |1,409 |1,296 |<2>1,450
October |499 |527 |-
November |441 |461 |-
December |483 |487 |-
|------- |------- |-------
4th quarter total |1,423 |1,475 |-
|------- |------- |-------
Annual total |5,125 |5,052 |<1>n/a
<1> n/a denotes figures not available.
<2> Provisional results.
These figures show the progress made towards our target of reducing road casualties by one third by the year 2000. Fatalities in 1988 were 10 per cent. down on the 1981 to 1985 average of 5,598, which has been adopted as a base figure for the target reduction. There is, however, no room for complacency. The recent move against the trend is, we hope, a temporary setback and we shall redouble our efforts to build on the earlier good progress.
Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the members of the standing advisory committee on trunk road assessment, their occupations and the period for which they have been appointed to serve.
Column 434
Mr. Atkins : The composition of the Committee at present is : Mr. Derek Wood QC, Barrister, Chairman, reappointed for two years from January 1989.
Mr. R. H. Stewart, Managing Director of the Planning and Environment Division in the Travers Morgan Group, Vice Chairman, reappointed for two years from January 1989.
Mr. J. Wooton, Chairman of Wooton Jeffreys Consultants Ltd., reappointed for two years from January 1989.
Dr. P. B. Goodwin, Director of the Transport Studies Unit, Oxford University, reappointed for two years from January 1989.
Professor P. J. Hills, Professor of Civil Engineering, Newcastle University, appointed for two years from July 1989.
Mr. P. Mackie, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Leeds University, appointed for two years from September 1989.
Miss A. M. Lees, retired, formerly Controller of Transport and Development for the old Greater London Council, appointed for two years from July 1989.
Correspondence
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many items of mail he received from the general public on 14 February ; and how many of them opposed road building in London.
Mr. Atkins : My right hon. Friend, and officials on his behalf, receive a vast amount of correspondence every day ; 14 February was no exception and included some opposing road building in London.
Foreign Airports
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which foreign airports he has visited on a fact-finding basis since his appointment as Secretary of State.
Mr. McLoughlin : None on a specifically fact-finding basis. However, my right hon. Friend has passed through, and observed, a number of foreign airports when travelling on Government business.
Liverpool Street Line (Signalling)
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns), Official Report, 12 February, column 9, how much of the proposed £19 million expenditure on resignalling on the Liverpool street line is being paid by Her Majesty's Government and how much by the resources of British Rail ; and if all phases of existing schemes are to completed.
Mr. Portillo : The resignalling schemes at Liverpool street and on the lines to Southend and Colchester will cost some £60 to £70 million and are planned for completion at the end of 1994. Costs of Network SouthEast's investment are taken into account in the calculation of PSO grant, which funds the difference between costs and revenues. Grant cannot be attributed to individual schemes.
Greenhouse Effect
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representation his Department will have at the conference on road transport and the greenhouse effect organised by the Worldwide Fund for Nature to be held in London on 30 April and 1 May ; and whether any paper from his Department will be (i) presented or (ii) circulated at the conference.
Column 435
Mr. Atkins : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be giving the opening address to the conference.ENVIRONMENT
Green Field Sites
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres currently designated as green field sites or used for agriculture are estimated as needed for housing and industrial development in the south, south-east and south-west of England by the year 2000.
Mr. Moynihan : Structure and local plans include provision for future housing, industrial and other development needs, but not in a form that allows estimates to be made of the types or areas of land likely to be needed for each purpose. My Department has estimated that in the south-east of England (excluding London) the proportion of land in urban use will increase from approximately 12.6 per cent. in 1981 to 13.7 per cent. by 2001 (compared with 42 per cent. that is designated green belt or AONB). Comparable estimates of the rates of urbanisation in other areas are not available.
In recent years over half all new housing development in the south-east (including London) has taken place on vacant or previously developed land in urban areas.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement setting out the criteria which he applies in capping the levels of community charge levied by local councils.
Mr. Chope : We have made it clear that if local authorities insist on budgeting excessively we shall not hesitate to cap them, but I cannot speculate on the detailed operation of any capping scheme that might be needed.
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secreatary of State for the Environment whether community charge payers have the right of appeal to the valuation and community charge tribunal over the level of the poll tax ; what other matters may be appealed about to the tribunal ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : There is no right of appeal to a valuation and community charge tribunal about the level of an authority's community charge. Local authorities decide the level of their charges, and are accountable directly to their residents for their decisions at the ballot box. The community charge matters on which an appeal may be made to a tribunal are set out in section 23 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. We shall shortly be laying regulations prescribing the circumstances under which appeals on matters relating to non-domestic rating may be made to a tribunal.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which local authorities have indicated to him that they will not be able to accept his estimate of the poll tax figures in their area.
Mr. Chope : No estimates of community charges have been published by the Department. We have, however, published exemplifications showing what the charge would
Column 436
be in each area if authorities continue with the current pattern of raising revenue and spend in aggregate £32.8 billion. A number of authorities have indicated that they will raise more income than is consistent with that figure, and that charges will therefore be higher than our exemplifications.Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Moss : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sites of special scientific interest have been designated since the passing of the Wildlife and Countryside Act in 1981.
Mr. Trippier : I am advised by the Nature Conservancy Council that, by 31 December 1989, it had notified under the 1981 Act 1,853 new SSSIs and 3,251 SSSIs previously notified to local authorities under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.
Private Landlords
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to prevent landlords making windfall profits when the rates are replaced by the poll tax.
Mr. Chope : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 8 February, Official Report, Vol. 166, column 756.
Street Numbers
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to require homes, business premises and shops to display their street or road number upon the front facia of their premises.
Mr. Moynihan : No ; I do not believe this warrants statutory control.
Planning Applications
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he is issuing to local councils to encourage more planning applications to be decided locally with fewer appeals to him.
Mr. Moynihan : We advised in planning policy guidance note 12 on local plans (issued in November 1988) that where decisions are supported by clear, up-to-date local plans, consistent with national and regional policies and with the relevant provisions of the structure plan, together with specific and relevant reasons for particular decisions, local planning authorities should find those decisions far less susceptible to successful appeal. The guidance note urges them to extend their coverage of local plans and confirms that the Secretary of State and his inspectors will be guided by relevant local plan policies when making their decisions on appeals. This advice has been welcomed as building greater confidence in the planning system and helping to reduce the volume of appeals. This message was repeated in the draft planning policy guidance note on structure plans and regional guidance which was issued for consultation in November. We are currently considering responses and will be issuing final guidance shortly.
Column 437
Warrington
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to pay an official visit to Warrington to discuss the community charge.
Mr. Chope : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has no plans to visit Warrington.
Nature Conservancy
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received from hon. Members concerning his proposals to reorganise the Nature Conservancy Council and the Countryside Commission.
Mr. Tripper : I have received a range of representations from hon. Members, reflecting many shades of opinion about these proposals. These representations include more than 450 letters from hon. Members enclosing correspondence which they have received from their constituents.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the likely budgetary requirements of the Nature Conservancy Council's proposed joint committee in its first year of operation.
Mr. Trippier : The cost of undertaking these functions of the new conservation bodies which are to be discharged through the proposed joint committee will be taken into account when the Government allocate grants for the new bodies in the forthcoming public expenditure round. Discussions about the structure of the joint committee are currently taking place with the NCC and other interested parties and it is too early to estimate the precise costs which will be incurred in the committee's full first year of operation (1991-92).
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken to introduce custodial sentences for summary offences under part I of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : None. When the Act was originally debated all parties agreed that custodial sentences would be inappropriate for offences under its provisions.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what action his Department has taken in response to each of the legislative changes to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 recommended to him by the Nature Conservancy Council since 1986 ; and if he will make a statement.
(2) what assessment he has made of the Nature Conservancy Council report concerning changes and improvements to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, submitted to him on 30 July 1987.
Mr. Trippier : My officials have had several discussions with officials of the Nature Conservancy Council and it has been agreed that a number of suggested improvements in the operation of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 could be achieved by administrative means, which are being introduced as and when necessary. A Nature Conservancy Council statement reflecting these discussions was published in its "Topical Issues --March 1988".
The Nature Conservancy Council has agreed with the Government's view that the Act has been a significant
Column 438
advance and does not require fundamental change. It would like to see some reinforcement. The Government are not convinced that further legislation is necessary to achieve the Nature Conservancy Council's stated aims.The question of the conservation of the marine environment raises complex legal and scientific issues which are being examined.
Homelessness
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what requirements are placed on local authorities to provide bed-and- breakfast accommodation for the homeless unemployed ; if he has any plans to introduce specific grants for the provision of night shelter hostels ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Local authorities' duties to secure accommodation for homeless people (whether employed, or unemployed) are set out in part III of the Housing Act 1985 and described in my right hon. Friend's statement last November (copies of which are in the Library) of the conclusions of our review of the legislation. We have no powers to give councils specific grants for the provision of night shelters.
Dean Street Hostel
Sir George Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to respond to the applications of Centrepoint (Soho) for revenue funding for the Dean Street hostel, Soho.
Mr. Michael Spicer : We have received a large number of applications from voluntary bodies for grant aid under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985 and will make decisions as quickly as possible.
Construction Industry
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what materials used in the construction industry the United Kingdom currently exports more than are imported.
Mr. Chope : Exports of the following materials used in construction currently exceed imports in value terms :
iron and steel tubes, pipes, angles and sections ;
ceramic sanitaryware ;
bitumen and bituminous products ;
paint, varnish, etc ; and
wallpaper, etc.
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current value of materials used in the construction industry which are now imported into the United Kingdom.
Mr. Chope : The current value of materials used in construction which were imported into the United Kingdom was approximately £4.6 billion in the 12-month period ending 30 September 1989.
Berryhill (Opencast Site)
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will visit the Berryhill area of Stoke-on-Trent to see the area of land which British Coal wishes to turn into an opencast site.
Column 439
Mr. Michael Spicer : No. I cannot give such an undertaking. To do so could prejudice the Secretary of State's position were a planning application to come before him on appeal.Paternity Leave
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what paternity leave is allowed to staff in his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chris Patten : At present paternity leave is not available to civil servants. The Treasury is, however, finalising arrangements for the introduction of an entitlement to two days' paid paternity leave.
River Pollution
Mr. Tom Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the definitions used in classifying river pollution and the name and classification of each river in the area covered by the North West river authority.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The definitions used in the current general river classification system in England and Wales are set out in detail in the report of the 1985 river quality survey, a copy of which is in the Library. The most recent information centrally available concerning the quality of individual rivers in the area until recently covered by the North West water authority (for which the north-west region of the NRA is now responsible) is also contained in that report.
Climate
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will institute a departmental study as to the causes of recent weather changes and, in particular, if they are related to damage to the ozone layer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : It is not possible to say whether the particular weather conditions the United Kingdom has recently experienced are due to permanent changes in the world's climate. Current research into climatic change in the United Kingdom and elsewhere will be drawn together in the report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change later this year. This will provide an improved understanding of the science of climate change. We have announced the establishment of a new centre for the prediction of climate change at a cost of £5.5 million, which will continue research to improve our understanding of the climate.
Development Control
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the establishment of the development control policy division ; and what is its annual budget.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The authorised staff complement of the development control policy division in my Department is nine posts. The division's budget for the financial year 1989-90, excluding accommodation costs, is some £315,000 of which about £205,000 is allocated to pay costs. A small number of staff in other headquarters divisions are also engaged in work related to development control policy.
Column 440
Caravan Sites
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications have been submitted by local authorities to designate caravan sites under the Caravan Sites Act 1968 in each of the past 10 years ; how many have (a) been approved, (b) been refused and (c) are pending decision ; and what is the Government's policy in respect of responsibilities upon local authorities to provide sites under the Act.
Mr. Chope : Government policy is for local authorities to make adequate site provision for gipsies residing in, or resorting to, their areas. Once the Secretary of State is satisfied that an authority has made adequate provision or that, in all the circumstances, it is not necessary or expedient to make such provision, the Secretary of State may designate that area. The following authorities have been designated in each of the past 10 years :
1981
Camden
Islington
Aylesbury Vale
Chiltern
South Bucks
Wandsworth
1982
West Sussex CC
High Peak
Kennet
North Wiltshire
Thamesdown
West Wiltshire
Milton Keynes
Dartford
South Bedfordshire
1983
Oswestry
Nuneaton and Bedworth
Oldham
Hyndburn
Luton
Trafford
Ashford
Salisbury
1984
Gravesham
Kingston upon Thames
Rochdale
South Derbyshire
Hillingdon
Boston
West Lindsey
Selby
1985
Huntingdonshire
Wealden
Rother
Eastbourne
Hastings
Chester
Middlesbrough
Northampton
Wellingborough
South Northamptonshire
Epsom and Ewell
Tonbridge and Malling
Babergh
Ipswich
Mid-Suffolk
Suffolk Coastal
Peterborough
Windsor and Maidenhead
| Next Section
| Home Page |