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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 15 March 1990
TRANSPORT
Network SouthEast
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of his decision to curtail public subsidy to Network SouthEast services on the quality of service offered to passengers.
Mr. Portillo : The latest objectives for British Rail are based on the board's forecasts in the 1989 corporate plan that the need for subsidy for Network SouthEast will be eliminated progressively over the next three years as a result of increased revenue and greater efficiency. The objectives also set tougher quality of service targets, which NSE will be expected to meet route by route. The investment programme of £1.2 billion over the next three years will make a major contribution to the achievement of these objectives, both through savings in energy and maintenance costs and through additional revenue from increases in capacity and improved service quality.
Roads Programme
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has made an assessment of the environmental implications of the proposed £13 billion road building programme.
Mr. Atkins : Protecting and enhancing the environment is a major feature of the Government's road building plans.
By reducing congestion, which wastes fuel, the trunk road programme will lead to lower exhaust emissions than would otherwise be the case if additional road capacity was not provided. The emphasis in the programme on increasing capacity on existing motorways and other strategic routes will help minimise the requirement for additional land and the overall impact on the countryside. Some one third of trunk road schemes are bypasses, which will considerably improve the environment of the communities concerned.
MOT Tests
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many Ministry of Transport test centres have been suspended and subsequently permitted to continue for each year since 1983 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what is the number of garages whose operation of Ministry of Transport testing has been terminated by his Department for each year since 1983 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : The information is as follows :
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Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the average time taken between suspension and the final decision on the resumption or termination of testing for Ministry of Transport test centres ; and if he will make a statement.
Railway Inspectorate
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state the extent of the remit given to the railway inspectorate in respect of reliability of equipment and systems of automatic train control as distinct from the safety of its operations.
Mr. Portillo : In his report on the Clapham junction accident investigation, Sir Anthony Hidden, QC, recommended that the railway inspectorate should monitor at six-monthly intervals British Rail's progress in implementing automatic train protection. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 7 November last that he accepted this recommendation. Safety and reliability are closely associated, and the inspectorate will take account of equipment and system reliability in its continuing oversight.
Management Consultants
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what were the total fees paid out by his Department to management consultants in 1979 -80 and in each following year ; and what is his latest estimate for the current year and budget for 1990-91.
Mr. Atkins [holding answer 12 March 1990] : The latest figures for fees paid by the Department to management consultants are as follows :
1984-85 |250,000
1985-86 |272,000
1986-87 |218,000
1987-88 |371,000
1988-89 |604,000
1989-90 |<1>270,000
1990-91 |<2>437,000
<1> Latest estimate.
<2> Budget.
This excludes fees on computing consultancies.
Information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Hospital Posts
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the permanent third anaesthetist post in the Downe group of hospitals, Downpatrick, will be filled.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Appointment to the post is a matter for the Eastern health and social services board.
It is under active consideration by the board.
ENVIRONMENT
Waste Disposal
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice is given by his Department to local authorities on how to handle redundant fridges and small quantities of solvents being disposed of by members of the public.
Mr. Trippier : My Department and the Department of Trade and Industry are currently considering the final draft of a report by Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte entitled "CFC Market Study" which, among other things, considers the methodology and economics of CFC recovery and recycling. We hope to issue advice to local authorities in the light of the final report which is expected shortly.
Litter
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish for consultation the draft code of practice relating to litter and part IV of the Environmental Protection Bill.
Mr. Trippier : The Secretary of State, together with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, for Wales and for Transport, published for public consultation a draft code of practice on litter and refuse on 20 February.
Water (Quality)
Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what amount will be invested over the next 10 years to improve the quality of Britain's rivers, seas and drinking water.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : In addition to the investment in new water treatment and disposal by industry and agriculture to meet effluent standards, the water industry in England and Wales will be carrying out the biggest programme of sustained investment in its history with total capital expenditure of over £27 billion planned over the next 10 years. This will enable the industry to renew and extend sewers and sewage treatment works, to improve our drinking water and to complete the clean-up of our coastal waters and beaches. The benefits of this investment will be seen in improved water quality, as well as in higher standards of service to the consumer.
In Scotland, where the water industry remains in the public sector, capital expenditure provision is considered over a three-year period with annual reviews. Provision for the water and sewerage programme has been substantially increased to over £500 million for the period 1990-91 to 1992-93. This will enable authorities to make good progress with improvements.
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North Sea
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of measured or estimated total airborne pollution deposited on the North sea arises from discharges from factories, power stations and farms in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Emissions by source category of the major United Kingdom air pollutants will be published in the digest of environmental protection and water statistics, volume 12, at the end of March 1990, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House. Agricultural sources account for the majority of total reduced nitrogen emissions.
Modelling studies commissioned by my Department for oxides of nitrogen suggest that around 30 per cent. of United Kingdom emissions are deposited on the North sea.
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further action he has taken on waste dumping in the North sea.
Mr. Trippier : I refer the hon. Member to the answer of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 5 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter), Official Report, Vol. 168, column 489, and to my right hon. Friend's answer on 12 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) on the outcome of the Hague conference on 7 to 8 March, Official Report, Vol. 169, column 106.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement regarding talks at, and the outcome of, the North sea conference of Ministers held earlier this month.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the North sea conference held on 8 March.
Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent initiatives he has taken to reduce pollution in the North sea.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I refer the hon. Members to the reply given by my right hon. Friend on 12 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) on the outcome of the Hague conference on 7 to 8 March, Official Report, Vol. 169, column 106.
Water Charges
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the new infrastructure charges limits on water and sewerage, being introduced by each of the water services companies as from 1 April 1990, were arrived at.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The infrastructure charges limits were determined by my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Wales following an assessment of each company's investment needs to meet the demands of new developments, so that estimated income from the new charges balances the investment required over the period from 1990-91 to 1999-2000.
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Waste Paper Recycling
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce measures to protect the economic viability of recycling of waste paper from the effects of the current market price.
Mr. Trippier : No. Direct Government intervention artifically to maintain the price of waste paper through subsidising collection costs or other means would be ineffective or damaging since paper is an internationally traded commodity and users could switch to imported supplies. Central interference in the market overseas has been shown to drive down the price of waste paper and hamper recycling. The priority must be to encourage the market for recycled paper and expand industrial capacity to process waste paper. My Department and the Department of Trade and Industry are specifically examining the waste paper market to assess the economic and environmental benefits of waste paper recycling, the means of collecting waste paper, what new uses for waste paper might be promoted and how demand for recycled paper might be stimulated. Government Departments are also considering their use of paper with a view to increasing the use of recycled products wherever feasible and economic.
Hazardous Substances
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to introduce regulations to implement the hazardous substance consent provisions contained in part IV of the Housing and Planning Act 1986.
Mr. Trippier : Later this year.
Inland Waters
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any intention of designating inland waters for the purpose of the EC bathing water directive (76/160/EEC).
Mr. Trippier : I am not aware of any inland waters which meet the criteria for inclusion within the scope of directive 76/160/EEC.
Crown Suppliers and Property Services Agency
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the latest position in relation to the privatisation of the Crown Suppliers and the Property Services Agency.
Mr. Chope : The Property Services Agency and Crown Suppliers Bill was given its Second Reading in another place on 5 March. The competition for the sale of the Crown Suppliers is proceeding.
Environmental Protection
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has made an assessment of the role of market mechanisms in protecting the environment.
Mr. Trippier : There will be such an assessment in the forthcoming White Paper on the environment.
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Sewage Sludge
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he offers to those industries seeking to dispose of sewage sludge.
Mr. Trippier : Discussions are now being arranged with sewerage undertakers to consider the implications of the policy to end dumping of sewage sludge at sea by the end of 1998. We intend that wherever possible sludge should be used beneficially. We shall need to examine carefully with the sewerage undertakers the various options for disposal which vary according to the particular circumstances of each location. The main disposal options are to agricultural land, landfill, and incineration.
Pharmaceutical Wastes
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice his Department offers to those industries seeking to dispose of pharmaceutical wastes.
Mr. Trippier : My Department has issued general guidance on the disposal of pharmaceutical waste in waste management paper No. 19--"Wastes from the Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals, Toiletries and Cosmetics." However, advice on the disposal of specific pharmaceutical wastes is best obtained from the appropriate waste disposal authority as the body statutorily responsible for regulating waste disposal in its area.
Waste Water Treatment
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Gloucester (Mr. French) of 5 March, Official Report, column 452, (1) who will be responsible for showing that coastal discharges which receive only primary treatment will not adversely affect the environment ; and how this obligation will work in practice ;
(2) what is his Department's definition of a substantial discharge of sewage ;
(3) what proportion of existing sewage discharge outlets will be affected by the requirement for (i) primary and (ii) secondary treatment ;
(4) how the investment programme of £1.5 billion for treating sewage discharges will be financed ;
(5) what is the timetable for implementation of his policy on waste water treatment.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend's answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. French) on 5 March, Official Report, column 452, noted that the investment programme should be completed as soon as practicable and that discussions would 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. Those discussions are now being held. The starting point for those discussions will be the CES report, copies of which have been placed in the Library. In this context substantial discharges are those from settlements of 10,000 or more to coastal waters. The number of sewage discharge outfalls covered by this definition is shown in tables 3.1 and 3.2 of the CES report. It will be for the water companies to determine how to
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finance their investment programmes, and for the director general to determine what adjustments to water charges will be needed.Community Charge
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has circulated to community charge registration officers on the changes to the rules governing exemptions from the poll tax established by the Local Government and Housing Act ; and if he will place copies of all relevant circulars in the Library.
Mr. David Hunt [holding answer 9 March 1990] : The Department wrote to all community charge registration officers on 16 November 1989, outlining the changes to be made to schedule 1 (personal community charge : exemptions) to the Local Government Finance Act 1988 by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. I am arranging for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Irish Sea
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what amount of pollution in the Irish sea is caused by sea dumping.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 12 March 1990] : Licences for dumping are granted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and in the Irish sea apply only to the disposal of dredged spoil and sewage sludge.
Available data on inputs to the Irish sea are contained in the quality status report by scientists from the United Kingdom and Ireland published by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, a copy of which is in the Library. As with other United Kingdom coastal waters, inputs of contaminants from dumping are generally less significant than those from rivers and estuaries.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations have been received about pollution in the Irish sea.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 12 March 1990] : A number of representations have been received recently from organisations and individuals concerned with protection of the marine environment in the Irish sea. The United Kingdom Government are committed to applying their policy to protect the marine environment generally to all their coastal waters and the Irish sea will benefit from the package of measures which were agreed at the North sea conference in the Hague on 7 to 8 March.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report recalculations of the tables in annex J of Cmnd. 9714 "Paying for Local Government" on the basis of the poll tax levels set by local authorities for 1990-91.
Mr. David Hunt : I do not yet have full information on levels of community charge set by local authorities.
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he took to inform right hon. and
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hon. Members of the availability of the Community Charge Transitional Relief Report (England) laid before the House on 15 February, and of the levels of the assumed community charges to be used in the transitional relief scheme in 1990-91 by the local authorities in their constituencies.Mr. David Hunt [holding answer 14 March 1990] : Illustrative figures of the assumed charge for the purposes of transitional relief were announced on 11 January by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in his answer that day to my hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Mr. Wilshire), Official Report, Vol. 164, columns 682-83. These were confirmed in the report laid before the House on 15 February to which reference was made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in his answer that day to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Central (Mr. Lord).
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he is considering raising levels of the assumed community charges to be used in the transitional relief scheme in 1990-91 above those set out in the Community Charge Transitional Relief Report (England) ;
(2) whether he will make the assumed community charge in 1990-91 for each charging authority to be used in the transitional relief scheme the same as the assumed average community charge of £278 per head rather than the assumed community charge set out in the Community Charge Transitional Relief Report (England) where the latter is lower.
Mr. David Hunt [holding answer 14 March 1990] : I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 8 March, Official Report, Vol. 168, column 798.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
House of Fraser
Mr. Shore : To ask the Attorney-General if he will prosecute the Al Fayed brothers under section 5(c) of the Perjury Act 1911 in view of the conclusion of the Department of Trade and Industry inspectors appointed under section 432(2) of the Companies Act 1985 that they repeatedly lied to them ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, South (Mr. Brandon-Bravo) on 1 March.
Property Law
Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Attorney-General when the Government intend to bring into force section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 and section 130 of the Companies Act 1989.
The Attorney-General : Section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 will be brought into force on 31 July 1990. Section 130 of the Companies Act 1989 will be brought into force in respect of England, Wales and Scotland on the same date.
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THE ARTS
Arts Exports
Mr. Cormack : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he is now in a position to announce decisions on the replacement for the indefinite stop and the recommendations of the reviewing committee on the export of works of art on collections.
Mr. Luce : I have today written to the chairman of the reviewing committee on the export of works of art conveying to him and his committee members the decisions which I and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry have taken on the indefinite stop. I have also conveyed in that letter my decisions on the committee's recommendations on collections, which it made to me in its annual reports for 1987-88 and 1988 -89. I have placed copies of the letter in the Libraries of both Houses.
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ENERGY
Renewable Energy
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if, pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member for Gordon in the Official Report, 21 February, column 772, he will indicate which of the countries listed include expenditure on nuclear research and development in their renewable energy budget, giving details of the relative proportions of nuclear research and development and renewable energies research and development in each of these cases, if known.
Mr. Wakeham : While some of the countries listed spend substantial sums on their nuclear R and D programmes within their total energy R and D budgets, these sums are not included within the renewables element. The effect of a nuclear energy research and development programme is generally to increase the total size of the energy research and development programme and thus reduce the proportion of the total energy research and development programme spent on renewable energy development. The table sets out the budgets of different IEA Governments in 1988 on renewables R and D, nuclear R and D and expresses these as a percentage of the total energy R and D budgets.
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Percentage of total energy R and D budgets committed to renewable energy R and D and to nuclear energy R and D and total Government energy R and D budgets in 1988 Full details may be found in "Energy Policies and Programmes of IEA Countries-1988 Review", International Energy Agency, OECD, 1989.
Flue Gas Desulphurisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Williams) of 26 February, Official Report, column 89, when he expects the first two units of the flue gas desulphurisation plant at Drax to become fully operational.
Mr. Wakeham : I am advised by the Central Electricity Generating Board that the first two 660 MW units at Drax power station are expected to be operational by the end of 1993.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what contribution he estimates the flue gas desulphurisation programme at the Drax power station will make to
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the reduction in SO emissions set out in the consultative document on implementation of the large combustion plants directive by 1993.Mr. Wakeham : I am advised by the Central Electricity Generating Board that, when fully operational, the flue gas desulphurisation installation at Drax is likely to reduce the station's emissions of sulphur dioxide by about 250,000 to 280,000 tonnes.
Central Electricity Generating Board Property
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what date he proposes to set for the making of the scheme for the division of property which the Central Electricity Generating Board must prepare under section 66 of the Electricity Act 1989.
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Mr. Wakeham : The Central Electricity Generating Board submitted on 12 March a scheme for transferring all the board's property, rights and liabilities to successor companies which subject to my approval and any modifications will come into force on 31 March 1990.Bankside Power Station
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate has been made of the asset value of the Bankside power station site.
Mr. Wakeham : The estimate of the value placed on this site is commercially confidential.
Greenhouse Gas
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the contribution of coal to the United Kingdom (a) primary and (b) final energy consumption in the years 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985 and 1989 ; and what is the projected contribution for 2005 and 2020 in the range of scenarios set out in the evaluation of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions and measures to ameliorate them prepared for the intergovernmental panel on climate change.
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