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Council House Sales
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide the latest available figures for the number of houses or flats sold to tenants under section 164 of the Local Government and Housing Act for every local authority.
Mr. Chope : Section 164 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 brings within the right to buy housing, other than sheltered housing, which is particularly suitable for elderly people and was first let on or after 1 January 1990. The change in the law applies only where the tenant claimed the right to buy on or after 1 March, so sales are unlikely to be completed for some time. An existing non-sheltered property, first let before 1 January, may still be excluded from the right to buy, but only if the Secretary of State determines on the application of the landlord that it is particularly suitable for elderly people and was let for occupation by a person of pensionable age. No application for a determination has yet been received.
Waste Imports
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what regulations are currently in force to control and prevent the importation of waste for direct landfill ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : The import of hazardous waste for any kind of disposal is controlled through the Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste Regulations 1988. Under these regulations, shipments of hazardous waste must be pre-notified to the disposal authority who have certain powers of objection. But, the import of waste for direct landfill cannot be prevented where the waste presents no danger to animal or plant health.
However, the Government have made clear their view that the transfrontier shipment of waste for direct landfill is generally not justified. We are seeking powers in the Environmental Protection Bill which would allow the prohibition of imported wastes where this is necessary either to prevent risk of pollution or harm to human health, or in order to conserve facilities or resources for dealing with waste.
Palace of Westminster Rifle Range
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 28 February, whether any work other than safety work has been carried out on the Palace of Westminster rifle range ; and what is the annual cost of providing this facility for hon. Members and others.
Mr. Chope : Safety work, and the consequent making good, was carried out to allow the range to continue to be used for rifle shooting and to extend its use to pistol shooting. Apart from heating and lighting, which is not separately monitored, the only other costs borne on the parliamentary works subhead (class XX, vote 18) is for occasional minor maintenance.
Waste Management
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the reply made in Standing Committee H considering the Environmental Protection
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Bill, by the Minister for the Environment and Countryside, 22 February, Official Report, column 688, which organisations and institutions will be consulted on the regulations governing the criteria to be adopted for accrediting potential persons fit and proper to manage wastes.Mr. Trippier : As is customary, a wide range of organisations representing local authorities, industry--including the waste management industry--and environmental interests will be consulted on both the draft regulations and on the guidance to local authorities. Together these will set the framework for the authorities to determine whether persons are fit and proper to hold waste management licences.
Homelessness
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effects of part VI of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 on levels of homelessness.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Part VI of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 will encourage greater efficiency in the management and utilisation of council housing, and should therefore make a positive contribution to reducing levels of homelessness.
Council House Rents
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations were received on the possible effect of part VI of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 on council house rents during its passage through the House.
Mr. Chope : Various representations were received, principally that council rents should be set at levels which the tenants can afford and should not be subject to unreasonable sudden increases. Both these objectives will be met if councils follow the guidelines set for them within the new system. The level of council rents remains a matter for individual councils.
Storm Damage
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of financial assistance offered to local authorities along the north Devon coast in respect of capital costs incurred in relation to recent storm damage.
Mr. Chope : We wrote to local authorities on 6 February indicating that the Department would be prepared to consider issuing in appropriate circumstances additional capital allocations or borrowing approvals in respect of expenditure in 1989-90 and supplementary credit approvals in respect of expenditure in 1990-91 incurred as a result of the storms of 16 and 17 December or 25 January of floods in the Severn valley following 29 January. Applications should be submitted by 30 June 1990. None have yet been received from authorities in Devon.
Water Privatisation
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what customer service committees covering which geographical areas in England had been brought into being under the Water Act 1989 by 31 January.
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Mr. Trippier : It is for the Director General of Water Services to establish customer service committees under the Water Act 1989. He announced on 27 February the appointment of a chairman for each of the 10 committees which between them will cover the whole of England and Wales.Water Charges
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he made appropriate adjustments as described in the final sentence of the then Minister responsible for water's reply to the hon. Member for Bedfordshire, South-West (Mr. Madel) on 14 March 1989, Official Report, column 213, before he announced his proposals for the K factor of the West Kent water company on 7 February.
Garden Festival Site, Liverpool
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been spent to date on the reclamation of land at the international garden festival site, Liverpool ; what is the annual maintenance cost ; and what consideration he has given to the designation of the site as a royal park.
Mr. Moynihan : The garden festival site was reclaimed as part of a wider land reclamation scheme in the Liverpool south docks area, the total cost of which was £10.6 million. The current annual maintenance cost of the festival park is £200,000. Royal parks are of special origin and significance and there is no intention to add to their number.
Local Authorities (Economic Development)
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has yet prepared the regulations under section 33 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
Mr. David Hunt : The Department has now sent copies of draft regulations to the local authority associations and others for comment. I have arranged for a copy of the draft to be placed in the library of the House.
The regulations cover those restrictions which will apply to the use of the new power for local authorities to promote economic development. They follow the proposals contained in the Government's consultation paper of August 1989, with some changes.
The requirement for non-local education authorities to agree individual education and training proposals with their education authority, is replaced by a requirement for agreement to a broad programme of activities. There will be a period during which such programmes can be agreed.
The requirement to get agreement of the authority in whose area another local authority may be planning an activity is replaced by a requirement to consult.
Instead of prohibition on "soft loans", their true cost is to be identified in a special memorandum account.
The cities of Exeter, Hereford, Worcester and York and the London borough of Ealing are to be added to the list of authorities allowed to give financial assistance above the value of £10,000 to businesses conducted with a view to a profit.
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Annual average levels of unemployment have been used instead of a single month's figures as one of the qualifications for designating authorities as able to give such assistance.Procedures for the notification of local authority aid to the European Commission will be contained in further regulations, which will not come into effect before 1 July 1990.
The draft regulations provide for the restrictions to apply from 1 April 1990 to the new power. They will extend from 1 July 1990 to activities for the promotion of economic development carried on under any other enactment.
Waste Water Treatment
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive the study into the environment and financial implications of the draft directive on municipal waste water treatment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chris Patten : I have now received the report commissioned from Consultants in Environmental Sciences Limited which assesses the environmental effects and the costs of treating all sewage before discharge to estuaries and coastal waters. On the environmental side the report does not identify any firm evidence that present policies have a detrimental effect on the marine environment but it nonetheless identifies environmental benefits that should accrue if sewage discharges were treated. On costs the report shows a wide range depending on the degree of treatment provided. The central option of secondary treatment for discharges to estuarial waters, and primary treatment for discharges to coastal waters has associated capital costs estimated at around £1.5 billion, and an associated increase in running costs of around £45 million per annum. A key recommendation in the report is that a decision on future policy should be taken as soon as possible in order to maximise the return on the £1.4 billion investments already planned over the next 10 years to improve the quality of bathing waters.
The Government have considered the results of this study, and the views of other interested parties as summarised in the CES report. We have concluded that on the evidence provided a case can be made out for treating all substantial discharges of sewage. We have accordingly decided that in general municipal sewage should receive secondary treatment, but that primary treatment would be more appropriate for discharges to coastal waters, where it can be shown that this does not adversely affect the environment. The estimated cost of introducing this level of treatment is around £1.5 billion. We intend that this new investment programme should be fully integrated with the programme to improve bathing waters and that it should be completed as soon as practicable. Discussions will be held with the National Rivers Authority, the Office of Water Services, and the sewerage undertakers to work out the detailed arrangements for implementing this policy.
Copies of the CES report are being placed in the Library.
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Duchy of Lancaster
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the cost of providing a secure car service for the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the past 12 months.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 22 February 1990] : The cost of providing a secure car service for the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the past 12 months was £34,404.
Waste Recycling
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to provide additional resources to assist local authorities to carry out waste paper collection and recycling.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 22 February 1990] : No, it would be wrong to subsidise the collection and recycling of waste in this way. The collection and recycling of waste paper is a part of a comprehensive approach to recycling which local authorities are being encouraged to adopt under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Bill, currently before Parliament.
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department now collects information on the number of local authorities which separate their domestic waste into different categories for recycling purposes.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 22 February 1990] : I announced on 20 February during Standing Committee H consideration of clause 40 of the Environmental Protection Bill that my Department is sending out to local authorities a comprehensive questionnaire on recycling which will seek, among other things, information about the number of authorities which separate their domestic waste into different categories for recycling purposes.
Empty Properties
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the annual management and maintenance costs of empty residential properties belonging to his Department by region of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 27 February 1990] : The costs of annual management and maintenance of empty residential properties are not separately identified and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.
Shire Counties (Grants)
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total Government grant per head of population for each shire county for 1990-91.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 1 March 1990] : Revenue support grant will not be paid directly to shire counties in 1990-91. The table shows the average revenue support grant after transitional adjustments plus special grant for low rateable value areas, per adult, to be paid to district councils in the area of each shire county.
Each area will receive £292.51 per adult in business rate income. The Government will also pay specific grants to authorities in the area of each shire county, but I have no estimates of the amounts.
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Shire counties |(£/adult)
-----------------------------------------------------
Avon |163
Bedfordshire |185
Berkshire |156
Buckinghamshire |143
Cambridgeshire |156
Cheshire |164
Cleveland |381
Cornwall |191
Cumbria |236
Derbyshire |186
Devon |167
Dorset |75
Durham |261
East Sussex |97
Essex |124
Gloucestershire |135
Hampshire |130
Hereford and Worcester |117
Hertfordshire |126
Humberside |302
Isle of Wight |151
Kent |177
Lancashire |273
Leicestershire |235
Lincolnshire |176
Norfolk |129
Northamptonshire |213
Northumberland |240
North Yorkshire |166
Nottinghamshire |212
Oxfordshire |86
Shropshire |204
Somerset |149
Staffordshire |151
Suffolk |137
Surrey |60
Warwickshire |108
West Sussex |72
Wiltshire |151
Housing Allocations (Marriage Breakdowns)
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of local authority-owned flats and houses during each of the last five years have been allocated to those whose marriages have broken down.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 2 March 1990] : My Department has no information year by year on the proportion of new lettings by local authorities that are to people whose marriages have broken down. Survey evidence suggests that in the mid-1980s the number of new lettings by local authorities to successor households formed through divorce was about 40,000 a year in England, compared with about 240, 000 new lettings a year in total.
Housing Scheme (Liverpool)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the bond made between the Merseyside development corporation and the developers of the housing schemes at Riverside drive, Liverpool, and the reasons for the non-completion of building work.
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Mr. Moynihan [holding answer 2 March 1990] : No bond was made between the Merseyside development corporation and the housing developers. All the houses have been completed but I understand that certain additional works to the estate have not been finished because the developers are now in voluntary liquidation.Column 454
House of Commons (Repairs)
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the cash-limited amount for minor repairs at the House of Commons in 1989-90.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 2 March 1990] : Minor maintenance work is charged to class XX, vote 18, subhead G (Maintenance and other operating costs) for which the provision in 1989-90, following the supplementary estimate, is £6,003,000.
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HOME DEPARTMENT
Deportation Orders
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been served with the notice of the intention to make deportation orders against them in the past 12 months ; and how many of these were of Irish origin.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : During 1989, 3,196 notices of intention to deport were issued, of which four were to citizens of the Republic of Ireland.
Passports
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department following the review of the telephone systems within the passport department, what percentage of responses to callers are made within two minutes of connection.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : We are currently undertaking a survey of telephone traffic into all passport offices, in consultation with British Telecom. An analysis of the results of the survey will be made later this year.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for (a) new passports, and (b) amendments to passports were received each month in 1989.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information, which relates to passports issued rather than to applications received, is shown in the table.
Monthly totals of (a) new passports issued
and (b) endorsements
and amendments to existing passports each
month in 1989.
|(a) |(b)
---------------------------------------------
January |164,820 |25,213
February |243,344 |33,286
March |247,260 |36,248
April |234,833 |35,559
May |235,177 |40,011
June |198,793 |37,299
July |243,356 |44,473
August |233,547 |44,245
September |170,547 |28,821
October |150,805 |28,684
November |163,591 |26,140
December |106,189 |14,724
|----- |----
Total for year |2,392,262|394,703
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were employed on a casual basis, that is, not on the permanent staff, at each passport office in each month of 1989 ; and what was the cost of such staff.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The table shows the number of casual staff in post at each regional office on the last day of each month in 1989, and the annual cost of such staff.
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|London |Liverpool |Peterborough|Newport |Glasgow |Belfast |Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
January |49.5 |40 |63 |35 |5 |1 |193.5
February |54 |72 |84 |65 |22 |2 |299
March |48 |82 |79 |70 |38 |6 |323
April |50.5 |95 |91 |70 |50 |4 |360.5
May |66 |103 |90 |86 |52 |7 |404
June |60.5 |91 |82 |73 |54 |14 |374.5
July |59 |75 |75 |75 |50 |16 |350
August |59.9 |53 |61 |52 |42 |8 |275.5
September |23.5 |50 |46 |33 |8 |4 |164.5
October |13 |3 |17 |3 |7 |1 |44
November |- |2 |16 |2 |7 |1 |28
December |- |1 |4 |2 |7 |1 |15
Salary cost of casual staff in 1989: £1,605,933.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff not employed as permanent members of staff have worked for a continuous period of (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) nine months or more in 1989, showing the information for each passport office.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The table shows the number of casual staff employed continuously at each regional passport office during 1989 for (a) three months or more, (b) six months or more and (c) nine months or more.
|(a)|(b)|(c)
-----------------------------
London |20 |28 |16
Liverpool |42 |45 |2
Peterborough |32 |31 |33
Newport |43 |28 |10
Glasgow |13 |35 |4
Belfast |20 |2 |Nil
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many telephone lines are available
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for calls from the public at each passport office in 1990 ; how many were available in 1989 ; how many staff are currently allocated to answer such calls ; and how many were available to do so during June to October 1989.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The table shows the number of telephone lines available for incoming calls from the public at each passport office in (a) January 1989 and (b) January 1990.
|(a)|(b)
-------------------------
London |28 |28
Liverpool |24 |62
Peterborough |24 |37
Newport |40 |40
Glasgow |12 |30
Belfast |3 |8
Automatic answering facilities which connect callers initially to recorded information of general interest to passport applicants have been extended to all passport offices. Staff are allocated to telephone inquiry duties
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according to the overall operational needs of each office, taking into account other demands, in particular that of passport issuing. No precise information is available as to the number of staff available to answer incoming calls during a particular period.Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visitors' passports were issued in 1988 and 1989 ; and how many extensions to passports were issued in 1988 and 1989.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : A total of 2,134,209 British visitor's passports were issued in 1988. Final figures for 1989 issues are not yet available.
During 1989, a total of 39,218 passports submitted for replacement were extended for two years free of charge, under special arrangements introduced to reduce delays.
Information for 1988 is available only in respect of the London passport office, where 18,511 such extensions were issued.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to increase the number of regional passport offices, and the size of the present regional offices.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Belfast passport office is being further expanded to take on additional work from other
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offices. The optimum size, number and location of passport offices in the United Kingdom are kept under regular review.Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider a further national public compaign run over several months to encourage people to apply for new passports in the months from January to June and November and December to level out demand.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The peak period of demand for passports runs from February to August, and it would not be appropriate to encourage further applications during this period. The Passport Department's publicity, which included the distribution last autumn of 1 million leaflets through the travel trade, is directed towards encouraging applicants to apply during the months of November and December, when demand is at its lightest. We shall be considering a further publicity drive later in the year.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate the date of receipt of applications for new passports being dealt with on the first day in each month in 1989 at each passport office.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The table shows the available information as to the date of receipt of applications for new passports being dealt with by each regional passport office at the first weekend of each month in 1989.
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Date of Receipt
|London |Liverpool |Peterborough |Newport |Glasgow |Belfast
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
January | 7 December 1988 |15 December 1988 |16 December 1988 |21 December 1988 | <1> |30 December 1988
February |19 January |18 January |23 January |18 January |19 January | 3 February
March | 8 February |26 January | 8 February | 2 February | <1> | 3 March
April |13 March | 8 February |27 February |20 February |20 February |31 March
May |11 April |10 February |22 March |10 March | 2 March | 5 May
June |21 April |13 February | 6 April |29 March |23 March |31 May
July |10 May |18 February |13 April |25 April | 6 April |30 June
August |21 June | 1 March |21 April | 5 June |11 May | 3 August
September |10 August | 2 May |20 July | 3 August |26 June | 1 September
October | 8 September | 6 September |15 September |25 September |18 August |29 September
November |16 October |17 October |18 October |31 October |20 October | 3 November
December |23 November |28 November |22 November |29 November |17 November | 1 December
<1>Information not available.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what costs were incurred in refunding applicants who obtained visitors' passports due to the delay in obtaining a 10-year passport ; and what percentage of these refunds had been paid to applicants who had acknowledgement that they would receiving same.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Refunds totalling £160,716 were authorised during 1989. An acknowledgement would normally be sent before payment.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made for the likely staff costs for the passport department in the financial years (a) 1990-91 and (b) 1991-92 ; and what proportion of each of these budgets will be allocated for(i) permanent staff, (ii) casual staff and (iii) overtime ;
(2) what was the total budget for salaries and overtime in passport offices in 1989-90 ; what is the estimated expenditure ; and what is the estimated expenditure for 1990-91.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : The salaries and overtime element of the Passport Department's budget for running costs in 1989-90 amounted to £10.12 million. This is likely to be considerably exceeded due to the heavy demand for passport services during the year, but it is not yet possible to say precisely what the outturn expenditure will be. Budget estimates for 1990- 91 and 1991-92 have yet to be finally determined.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated amount of overtime expected to be worked in each passport office in 1990 ; and what is the estimated cost.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The requirements for overtime working are determined by operational needs, which are in turn determined by the level and pattern of demand for passport services. Budget estimates for 1990-91 have yet to be finally determined.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated time expected to
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be taken between receipt by application and issue of (a) new passports, (b) renewals and (c) amendments to passports at each office in 1990.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The passport department will be aiming in 1990 to process straightforward, non-urgent passport applications of all types within a maximum of 30 working days during the period between January and June, and within 20 working days at other times. Urgent cases will receive priority and should not normally be subject to delay.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been taken so far to meet projected rises in demand for passports during 1990.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : An additional 220 permanent staff have been recruited to meet the expected increase in demand for passports this year. Twenty-two of these additional staff are being employed in Belfast and it is planned that a further increase in the Belfast staff should be made when additional accommodation becomes available in April or May. Improvements have been made in the telephone systems to enable a better service to be given to customers making inquiries by telephone. Greater
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use is being made of arrangements to transfer applications between offices, to balance workloads and to improve average processing times. The computer systems in the Glasgow and Liverpool offices have been enhanced to cater for the increases in staff numbers and pilot schemes have been established at both offices to test alternative working methods recommended following a review by consultants. Computerisation of the offices in Belfast, London, Newport and Peterborough has been deferred pending evaluation of the results of these pilot schemes.
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