House of Commons Hansard Debates for 21 Mar 1990

Mr. Chope : The information available to the Department suggests that good progress has been made by local authorities in implementing the community charge. Initial registration was successfully completed in December and some authorities have already issued their first bills in advance of 1 April.

55. Mr. Carrington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many recent representations he has received in favour of introducing a system of capital value rates in place of the community charge.

83. Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received to replace the community charge with a system of raising local government finance based on property values.

Mr. David Hunt : I am not aware of any representations in favour of capital value rates or roof tax, something which does not surprise me.

51. Mr. Ray Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities have been able to levy a poll tax below the Government's estimate for their area.

68. Mr. Bidwell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities have been able to levy a poll tax below the Government's estimate for their area.

103. Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities have been able to levy a poll tax below the Government's estimate for their area.

50. Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities have been able to set their spending at or below the Goverment's standard spending assesement for their area ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities have been able to set their spending at or below the Government's standard spending assessment for their area ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities have been able to set their spending at or below the Government's standard spending assessment level for their area.

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Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of councils which have levied a poll tax greater than the Government recommended level ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Chope : I intend to place a summary of the information returned in the Library of the House when information has been received from all authorities.

44. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the proportion of local government spending in 1989 -90 and 1990-91 which will be devoted to meeting statutory requirements.

Mr. Chope : All local authority spending has to be in pursuance of statutory powers. Some spending is a consequence of duties, while some reflects the exercise of discretionary powers. Even where an authority is discharging a duty, there is often a considerable discretion as to the standard of service provided and the efficiency with which it is carried out. It is, therefore, not possible to estimate what proportion of spending will be devoted to meeting statutory requirements.

45. Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what would have been the increase in domestic rates in the city of Birmingham for 1990-91 for a single householder presently paying £500 in rates, based upon a 1990-91 community charge figure of £406 per adult.

Mr. Chope : It is our intention, when community charges are finally set, to say what the increase would have been in domestic rates had they taken the place of the community charge.

35. Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the safety net charge paid by the community charge payers in the borough of Macclesfield ; and what is the safety net receipt received by the community charge payers in the London borough of Wandsworth.

Mr. Chope : Adjustments to revenue support grant to give effect to the safety net are set out in the Revenue Support Grant Transition Report (England), made on 21 December 1989 and approved by the House on 18 January. The borough of Macclesfield's charge payers collectively contribute £5,951,306 to the safety net. The London borough of Wandsworth's charge payers collectively receive £24,030, 650 from the safety net.

The safety net offsets changes in revenue from the domestic sector which are the result of changes in the system of local government finance from 1 April. The safety net limits increases to £25 an adult in real terms compared with 1989-90 rate bills per adult. This limit on increases for some areas is financed in 1990-91 only by other areas contributing about half of their gains. The contributions are for one year only as the safety net will be financed by extra grant from 1991-92.

31. Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received in favour of replacing the community charge with a tax on home improvement.

Mr. Chope : I have not yet received any representations in favour of the roof tax.

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28. Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further consideration he has given to capping local authorities' community charges ; and if he will make a statement.

39. Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which local authorities he intends to community charge-cap.

Mr. Chope : I have nothing to add to what my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities said in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedfordshire, South-West (Mr. Madel) earlier.

29. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from Lancashire county council regarding its standard spending assessment.

Mr. Chope : The chief executive of Lancashire county council has written to the Department with details of a number of resolutions passed by the county council's finance sub-committee, one of which requests an increase in Lancashire's standard spending assessment for 1990-91.

26. Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is (a) the revenue raised by all local authorities in England under the community charge in the year 1990-91 and (b) the revenue raised in rates in the year 1989-90.

Mr. David Hunt : I estimate that local authorities are planning to raise £12.5 billion next year from community charges, and £9.8 billion this year from domestic rates.

23. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average overall difference between domestic rate bills for 1988 -89 and the community charge so far declared for 1990-91 by English local authorities.

Mr. David Hunt : The average domestic rate bill for 1988-89 was £468. The average community charge for 1991 is estimated to be £363. These figures are not comparable.

18. Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next plans to visit Nottingham to discuss local government finance.

Mr. David Hunt : I plan to visit Nottingham next Wednesday.

Chlorofluorocarbons

19. Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress Britain is making towards implementing the Montreal protocol on chlorofluorocarbon reductions.

Mr. Trippier : By the end of 1989 the United Kingdom had cut its production and consumption of CFCs by over 50 per cent.--10 years ahead of current protocol requirements and five years ahead of even the strengthened provisions now being negotiated.

Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive the technical report he has commissioned concerning the problem of the existing stock of chlorofluorocarbons.

Mr. Forth : I have been asked to reply.

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This report has been commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry. It seeks to establish the prospects for recovery for recycling or destruction of chlorofluorocarbons and halons, and was received this week.

The study will include assessments of the current and future likely levels of stocks, use and emissions of those substances and of the prospects for alternative products and processes in the United Kingdom. I expect it to be published later this spring. The study complements a previous one for the Department on the impact of health and safety and environment regulatory controls on chlorinated solvents. This was published on 6 March and copies of it have been placed in the Library of the House.

Acid Water

20. Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met representatives from the acid waters review group ; and what was discussed.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : My right hon. Friend has not met the acid waters review group personally, but officials of the Department are in frequent contact with its members.

Nature Conservancy Council

21. Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received regarding the Government's proposals to reorganise the Nature Conservancy Council.

Mr. Trippier : As I told the hon. Lady in my written answer of 24 January, my Department continues to receive representations from interested parties covering a range of views.

Housing Policy

22. Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received regarding his housing policies.

Mr. Michael Spicer : My right hon. Friend receives representations from time to time from hon. Members, interest groups and members of the public.

104. Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provision is made in the Government's planning for new houses to ensure that established environment policies are maintained.

Mr. Michael Spicer : A revised planning policy guidance note on housing was issued in draft last autumn : I will send the hon. Member a copy. This makes clear that while adequate provision must be made for new housing development, it should be done with full regard to the need to protect and improve the environment, in both town and country.

93. Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice is given to planning authorities through the planning for new housing policy to ensure that green field sites are not used first.

Mr. Moynihan : Existing guidance and draft guidance contained in the proposed revision of the planning policy guidance note on housing emphasise that development plans, in making provision for new housing, should ensure

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that full and effective use is made of land within existing urban areas. This should not however be at the expense of the character of established residential areas ; policies in plans must also take account of the need for urban open space for recreation and amenity.

Housing

24. Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres currently designated as green field sites or for agricultural use are estimated as being needed for housing in the south and south-west of England over the next 10 years.

32. Mr. Irvine : 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. Michael Spicer : We estimate 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. Comparable estimates of the rates of urbanisation in other areas are not available though the absolute figures will be much lower.

57. Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provisions in the new city allocation scheme is made for low-cost houses ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Chope : Capital allocations to local authorities do not distinguish between low-cost housing and other housing capital expenditure : it is for individual local authorities to determine their priorities. The Housing Corporation's programme of investment in low-cost housing for rent and sale is set out in tables 8.4 and 8.5 of the public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 1008).

Vacant Land

25. Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much vacant land in public ownership is entered on the Land Register showing the acreage in each of the public sectors, statutory undertakings and nationalised industries.

71. Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much vacant and derelict land in public ownership is entered on the Land Register showing the acreage currently owned by central Government, local government, and nationalised industries.

Mr. Moynihan : The breakdown of unused and underused land on the register at 30 September 1989 is shown in the table :



'000 acres (rounded to 100 acres)

97. Mr. Barron : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to increase the derelict land grant for the Yorkshire and Humberside region ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. David Hunt : The national derelict land grant resources available for 1990-91 amount to £71.512 million. Of this sum, £13.450 million has been allocated to the Yorkshire and Humberside region. This represents an increase of 12 per cent. on the region's allocation for 1989-90.

84. Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much derelict land in public ownership is entered on the Land Register for each of the last five years for which records exist.

Mr. David Hunt : The acreage of unused and underused land on the register is shown in the following table :



<1> Responsibility for maintaining full registers passed to individual owners   


at that date.

36. Mr. Thorne : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has monitored the vacant, derelict and under-utilised land which was in public ownership and has now been transferred to the private sector as a result of his privatisation programme.

Mr. David Hunt : No. The efficient use of their assets is a matter for the companies concerned.

56. Sir George Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of vacant, derelict and under-utilised land which was in public ownership has now been transferred to the private sector as a result of his privatisation programme ; and how much of it is still vacant and derelict.

77. Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much land in public ownership is currently on the Land Register ; and how many acres have been removed in the last five years as a result of the privatisation of statutory undertakers.

Mr. David Hunt : Some 6,900 acres entered on the Department's register of unused and underused land have been transferred to the private sector. Information about its subsequent history is not kept, since the efficient use of their assets is a matter for the companies concerned.

Education

27. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of local government spending in 1989-90 will go towards education.

Mr. Chope : A total of 46 per cent. of local authority net current expenditure in England in 1989-90 is budgeted to be spent on education.

46. Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the provisions of the Education Reform Act in reaching decisions on local government finance in 1990-91.

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86. Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the provisions of the Education Reform Act in drawing up his plans for local government finance for 1990-91.

96. Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the provisions of the Education Reform Act in drawing up his plans for local government finance for 1990-91 ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. David Hunt : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State took all the new burdens falling to local authorities into account when setting the level of total standard spending for 1990-91. I believe that the increase of 11 per cent. to £32.8 billion over the equivalent figure for 1989-90 is reasonable.

North Sea

30. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will bring forward the dates by which he intends to end the dumping of sewage sludge, fly ash and industrial wastes in the North sea.

Mr. Trippier : No. We confirmed our intention to end the dumping of industrial waste by the end of 1992 and to end the dumping of sewage sludge by the end of 1998 at the third North sea conference in the Hague on 7 and 8 March. These wastes are not toxic and no harm has been proven in the marine environment. The setting of termination dates is in line with the precautionary approach adopted at the second North sea conference in 1987.

108. Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the condition of the United Kingdom's rivers and their contribution to pollution of the North sea.

Mr. David Trippier : The United Kingdom's rivers are amongst the cleanest in Europe. Ninety five per cent. are classified as being of good or fair quality compared with 75 per cent. in the European Community as a whole.

The combined effect of all United Kingdom rivers flowing into the North sea is to contribute about 20 per cent. of riverborne contaminants. The remaining 80 per cent. comes from continental rivers, with the Rhine and Meuse alone contributing some 40 to 50 per cent.

The United Kingdom's north sea national action plan, published on 5 March, shows the progress that has already been made in further reducing the inputs of dangerous substances to rivers and coastal waters and hence the open sea. For instance, inputs of two of the most important contaminants, mercury and cadmium, have been reduced by 31 and 22 per cent. respectively since 1985.

81. Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent North sea Environment Ministers' conference.

Mr. Chris Patten : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) on the outcome of The Hague conference on 7 and 8 March.

70. Mr. Waller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response his proposals to protect North sea wildlife received at the recent conference of North sea Environment Ministers.

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Mr. Trippier : The United Kingdom's initiative in raising wildlife as a topic for consideration by North sea Ministers was well received at last week's conference in the Hague. In addition to the United Kingdom's proposals in the package of measures agreed on research, survey and protection of marine wildlife the final declaration also reflects proposals from the Governments of the Netherlands and Sweden. The agreement on protection of small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) will be further developed by the Swedish Government in the context of the Bonn convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals.

42. Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent studies his Department has carried out regarding waste disposal in the North sea and its impact on marine life.

Mr. Trippier : Studies of effects of contaminants on marine species arising from any waste reaching the sea, via rivers, the atmosphere or dumping are a fundamental part of marine environment science programmes of the Department of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and other research agencies in the United Kingdom working on the North sea. An assessment of general effects on marine species, reflecting the results of research by the United Kingdom and other North sea states, is included in the quality status report prepared for the second North sea conference, a copy of which is in the Library.

Recent or continuing work sponsored by the Department of the Environment has included studies of seals and benthic (sea bed) communities, and the development of internationally standardised techniques for assessing the biological impact of contaminants.

40. Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of pollution entering the North sea comes from rivers ; and what proportion of that pollution comes from British rivers and those on the continent, respectively.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Pollution enters the North sea by way of rivers and direct discharges, atmospheric deposition, dumping at sea, and the operational discharges from ships and offshore platforms. Of these, reliable estimates can be made of all except atmospheric deposition, the effects of which are widely diffused over the entire sea area.

Rivers bringing heavy contaminant loads to relatively small areas of the sea, are the most important source of North sea pollution and our best estimate is that they contribute roughly 40 per cent, of the North sea contaminant load. Of that, 20 per cent. comes from British rivers and 80 per cent. from continental rivers.

33. Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to protect wildlife in the North sea.

Mr. Trippier : The third North sea conference last week in the Hague adopted an agreement to protect dolphins and porpoises and a package of other measures on wildlife, including securing better protection for the major North sea wildlife sites.

Protection for marine wildlife was a United Kingdom proposal at the conference and we will build on these initiatives at future conferences.

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Tourism

34. Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received on adapting planning guidelines to assist farmers diversifying into the tourist trade in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Michael Spicer : Rural diversification is one of the subjects covered in the revised planning policy guidance note on "The Countryside and the Rural Economy", issued in draft on 13 December. Nearly 400 responses have so far been received, some of which make specific reference to tourism. All the comments will be carefully considered.

Homelessness

37. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest figures for homeless households (a) in bed- and-breakfast accommodation and (b) in other temporary accommodation in England and Wales.

Mr. Michael Spicer : Latest estimates of households temporarily resident in bed and breakfast and other forms of temporary accommodation in England appear in tables 4 (a) , (b) and (c) of "Local authorities' action under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act : England. Results for the fourth quarter 1989. Supplementary Tables", which is in the Library.

For information about Wales I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

95. Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further proposals he has to combat homelessness.

Mr. Michael Spicer : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Miss Hoey).

48. Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the cost of

bed-and-breakfast or other emergency accommodation as a result of mortgage repossession.

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