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Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what vacancies are current or forthcoming on the public interest panel of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee ; if meetings of the public interest panel are open to the public ; and if there is funding available to facilitate public attendance at these meetings.
Mr. Trippier : The public interest panel has no fixed membership. The chairman invites representatives of environmental organisations to attend, according to the topics on the agenda. The meetings are not open to the public.
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Global Warming
Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what approximate calculations have been made of the relative importance of car and aircraft emissions in global warming.
Mr. Trippier : The total fuel consumption of road traffic compared with aircraft gives a good approximation to their relative importance in terms of global warming. World figures for 1986 show that aviation accounted for about 12 per cent. by weight of the combined consumption of motor fuel, jet fuel and aviation gasoline.
Housing, Exeter
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what amount he has given his consent for Exeter city council to spend this year on the building of houses from its general fund capital receipt.
Mr. Chope : Under the new system of local authority capital finance local authorities are free to use all their usable capital receipts for capital expenditure on any service and no consents are required.
House Prices
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state (a) the average percentage rises in house prices, by region, annually in the last 10 years and (b) the current average house price for each region.
Mr. Chope : Dwelling price indices showing the annual change in the prices of houses and flats bought with building society mortgages, and adjusted to take account of the mix of dwellings sold, for the years 1978 to 1988 are in the latest annual volume of "Housing and Construction Statistics--Great Britain" (Table 10.8), a copy of which is in the Library. The corresponding indices for 1989 and the average dwelling prices for the same year are as follows :
|Index |Price<1>
|1985=100|£s
--------------------------------------------------------------------
North |170 |37,374
Yorkshire and Humberside |194 |41,817
East Midlands |207 |49,421
East Anglia |221 |64,610
Greater London |203 |82,383
South East (excluding Greater London)216 |81,635
South West |219 |67,004
West Midlands |219 |49,815
North West |184 |42,126
England |207 |58,458
Wales |193 |42,981
Scotland |144 |35,394
Northern Ireland |124 |30,280
United Kingdom |202 |54,846
<1> These are simple average prices of dwellings purchased with
building society mortgages, not adjusted for the mix of dwellings.
Figures for earlier years are in table 10.11 of the publication
referred to.
European Environment Agency
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the establishment of the European Environment Agency.
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Mr. Trippier : The EC regulation establishing the agency was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 7 May 1990 but will not come into force until a decision has been taken by the Council on where it is to be located. The agency will not start its work until then.Dilapidated Buildings
Mr. Gow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from (a) Eastbourne borough council or (b) any other borough or district council that the powers conferred upon local authorities by section 79 of the Building Act 1984 are inadequate ; what proposals he has to strengthen those powers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I have received no such representations. I am not aware of any general feeling that the powers available to local authorities under section 79 of the Building Act 1984 are inadequate and I have no proposals to strengthen those powers.
CITES
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 7 June, Official Report, column 689, if he will make a statement regarding his consideration of the World Wide Fund for Nature's request for a contribution towards the costs of the investigation and enforcement officer employed by the CITES secretariat.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The World Wide Fund for Nature's request is still under consideration. I will write to the hon. Member when a decision has been reached.
Local Government Finance
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to take any action to help parish and town councils with the community charge bills because of the loss of income from the business rate ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : Parish and town councils have the same access to the income from business rates as do county and district councils. I see no need for action to change this position.
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects those people who have a holiday caravan on a protected site within the meaning of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 to receive the benefits of the changes to the Local Government Finance Act 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Field) on 30 March at column 346.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett), 27 June, Official Report, columns 258-59, whether the quarterly statistical survey referred to will be published, placed in the Library and sent to all individual right hon. and hon. Members.
Mr. Chope : I am willing to place an analysis of the returns from local authorities in the Library of the House,
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once sufficient returns have been received. We would also make the analysis available to the local authority associations, but I have no plans to send them to all individual right hon. and hon. Members.Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria he used in reaching his decision to vary from his original proposal the budget reductions required of (a) the London borough of Brent, (b) the London borough of Southwark and (c) the metropolitan borough of Wigan.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 5 July 1990] : My right hon. Friend's decisions on caps for the 17 authorities, including Brent, Southwark and Wigan, which did not accept the caps which he proposed for them and which put forward alternative amounts within the statutory 28-day period, represent in each case his view of what is achievable and appropriate in the light of all the circumstances of the individual authorities concerned, on the basis of all the information available to him.
Mr. Hinchcliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's latest estimate of the additional borrowing requirement of local authorities in England and Wales arising as a direct result of late payment and non-payment of the community charge.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 2 July 1990] : No analysis is available of the separate effects of the many factors which influence the borrowing requirements of local authorities. The indications are that the vast majority of community charge payers are already making payments to their local authorities. However, the Government have paid 25 per cent. of authorities' revenue support grant in the first two months of the financial year to compensate them for any cashflow problems caused by the introduction of the new local government finance system.
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the borough or district council element of each community charge in Essex in descending order from the highest to the lowest.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 5 July 1990] : The operation of the collection fund means that the community charge is not split between the councils providing services in each Essex district.
If all authorities had provided a standard level of services the community charge could have been set at £278 throughout Essex, before safety net adjustments. Each additional £1 per community charge payer that a district council raises above the amount needed to provide a standard level of service adds £1 to the community charge in its area. The effect of district councils' 1990-91 budget decisions on community charges in Essex is shown in the table.
|Effect on
|community
|charge
|£
------------------------------------
Basildon |+154
Harlow |+113
Thurrock |+75
Brentwood |+73
Southend-on-Sea |+45
Castle Point |+38
Chelmsford |+36
Rochford |+31
Tendring |+25
Braintree |+16
Epping Forest |+15
Maldon |+5
Colchester |+2
Uttlesford |-3
Notes: The figures for each
district show the level of demands
on the collection fund minus the
standard spending assessment,
expressed as an amount per head of
relevant population. The standard
spending assessment covers services
provided by both parish and
district councils. For consistency,
the effects shown above include
parish as well as district council
spending.
Property Services Agency
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the future of the Property Services Agency office in Leeds.
Mr. Chope : PSA Services has a number of offices in Leeds, including a regional headquarters, design office, estates office and district works office.
PSA Services is reviewing all its organisation as part of its drive towards greater efficiency and in the light of future business needs.
National Rivers Authority
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the reasons for the delay in placing in the Library the letter from his officials to the National Rivers Authority referred to in his answer of 3 July, Official Report, column 504, until 5 July.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The letter was placed in the Library without undue delay and was sent direct to the hon. Member.
Acid House Parties
Mr. Andrew Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations or guidelines his Department has initiated with local authorities concerning acid house parties.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The Government are supporting a private Member's Bill which would increase the penalties for infringement by party organisers of the licensing laws. The working party on my Department's review of noise has been looking into the problems posed by acid house parties. Subject to its recommendations, my Department with the help of the Home Office will be issuing guidance to local authorities.
Dolphins and Porpoises
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to protect dolphins and porpoises in British waters and internationally.
Mr. Trippier [holding answer 5 July 1990] : All species of cetacean already receive protection through their listing in schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This means that it is an offence to kill, injure, take or sell any wild cetacean.
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At the third North sea conference at the Hague, Ministers of states bordering the North sea signed a memorandum of understanding on small cetaceans. The agreement specifies a series of measures to improve our knowledge of the health and status of these species and threats to them and gives a commitment in principle to take appropriate regulatory action where it is clear that human activities are causing damage.At the meeting of the International Whaling Commission now taking place in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom has fully supported the proposal by New Zealand to bring small whales, dolphins and porpoises within the remit of the commission.
Whales
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that investigations are carried out to establish the causes of death of whales washed up on the British coast.
Mr. Trippier [holding answer 6 July 1990] : I am pleased to announce that the Department of the Environment is commissioning three new research projects which will focus primarily on dolphins and porpoises but will extend as appropriate to other species in the cetacean or whale group. The first project establishes a co-ordinator based at London Zoo to oversee a systematic collection of samples from strandings and to arrange post mortems on appropriate animals. This project will apply to English and Welsh coasts and separate arrangements are being made to establish a similar system in Scotland.
A second contract, co-ordinated by the sea mammal research unit of the Natural Environment Research Council and also involving the British museum of natural history will cover the cost of tissue analysis, particularly for contaminants. A third project, with the United Kingdom Mammal Society, will update and improve information from sightings surveys.
The Department of the Environment is contributing £180,000 to the cost of these projects with additional contributions from the Welsh Office, the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and the Welsh region of the National Rivers Authority.
Toxic Waste
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on cases of toxic waste sites being in close proximity to underground water supplies.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 6 July 1990] : This is a matter primarily for waste disposal authorities in carrying out their disposal licensing functions under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. Prior to their assuming these responsibilities, the Department and Institute of Geological Sciences co-operated with local government and water authorities in 1973-74 on a desk survey of disposal sites which might pose risks to water. The survey results were published in 1975. More recently a list of the sites has been supplied to the National Rivers Authority to assist in its review of groundwater monitoring requirements.
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Crown Suppliers
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the terms of reference given to Deloittes, in respect of the Crown Suppliers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : Deloitte, Haskins and Sells--now known as Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte--was appointed to provide accountancy advice on the sale of the Crown Suppliers in May 1989. I have put the terms of reference for that work in the Library. In addition it has recently been given a commission based on the expansion of some of that work, but the terms of that commission are commercially confidential. DELOITTE HASKINS AND SELLS
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1. Advice on taxation matters relating to the transfer of TCS To advise on taxation issues which may require special attention in TCS legislation. To examine the tax consequences of any legislation or administrative action (such as incorporation or capital restructuring) proposed before a sale. To advise on the taxation implications of incorporating and selling TCS, having regard to the effect of taxation on direct sale proceeds and on overall Government revenue.
2. Accountants' Report
To prepare long form reports on those activities of TCS indentified by the Secretary of State as being businesses to be privatised. In addition to the long form reports, to provide abbreviated reports if required for publication in any documents related to the privatisation of TCS which are to be made available to prequalified potential purchasers. These abbreviated reports will draw upon the long form reports rather than present an audit report of prior years. The abbreviated reports will include a reconciliation between the statutory accounts and the accounts of the businesses which are being sold.
3. Other matters
To attend as required various meetings leading up to an invitation to bid. Also as required to carry out further work associated with the invitation document(s), including consideration of any accounting matters which might arise in the course of the sale, and reviewing any financial information which is to be released, together with the issue of formal comfort letters.
Rural Areas (Planning)
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to review the planning procedures for rural areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for the City of Durham (Mr. Steinberg) on 27 June, Official Report, column 273.
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent consultations he has held with the Council for the Protection of Rural England on planning issues in rural areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Doncaster, North (Mr. Welsh) on 27 June 1990, Official Report, column 272.
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Urban Development Corporations
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all those urban development corporations (a) which have elected members of the relevant local authorities on their boards and (b) which have on their boards elected members of the relevant local authorities nominated by those same local authorities.
Mr. Moynihan : The board of each English urban development corporation normally includes one or more elected members from the local authority, or authorities, in its area. These appointments are made only after consultation with the relevant local authorities. There are currently temporary vacancies for such members of the boards of Leeds, London Docklands and Sheffield development corporations.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Development Education
94. Mr. Orme : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current level of funding for development education in the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Chalker : With schools as a main focus, most of the ODA's information budget is spent on development education, raising public awareness of the interdependence between developed and developing countries. So far in the current financial year over £300,000 of this budget has been committed to specific development education activities.
Guyana
95. Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria his Department employs in deciding on the funding of aid projects in Guyana ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : Our criteria are Guyana's priority needs and Britain's ability (along with other donors) to help meet these. We have not given financial aid in project form since the capital aid programme was suspended in 1984. The new capital aid programme (begun in 1989) is being used to finance essential imports in connection with Guyana's IMF and World Bank supported macroeconomic reform programme. Our technical co-operation is concentrated on the key areas of training in the United Kingdom and local training for both public administration and the private sector.
Population Growth
96. Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution Her Majesty's Government make to international programmes aimed at slowing population growth.
Mrs. Chalker : We are major contributors to the three multilateral population programmes. We also support bilateral projects and programmes and research and teaching at United Kingdom institutions aimed at reducing population growth. Aid programme spending on activities directly related to population concerns has increased from £6.5 million in 1981 to £17.3 million in
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1989. We intend to increase the level and quality of this assistance and help promote awareness of population issues within developing and developed countries.106. Sir Charles Morrison : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action his Department is taking to reduce the growth of the world's population ; and whether he will make a statement.
113. Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution is made through the overseas aid programmes to international efforts to slow population growth.
Mrs. Chalker : We are major contributors to the three multilateral population programmes. We also support bilateral projects and programmes and research and teaching at United Kingdom institutions aimed at reducing population growth. Aid programme spending on activities directly related to population concerns has increased from £6.5 million in 1981 to £17.3 million in 1989. We intend to increase the level and quality of this assistance and help promote awareness of population issues within developing and developed countries.
109. Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response Her Majesty's Government have made, and what action they propose to take, with regard to the United Nations report on estimated world population growth.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Newport West (Mr. Flynn) on 22 June at column 718 .
Third World Debt
97. Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives Her Majesty's Government will be proposing at the G7 summit in July to promote debt relief for developing countries.
Mrs. Chalker : The Government keep the debt strategy under continuous review, and we are hoping to discuss its achievements and prospects at the summit, with particular attention to the needs of the poorest debtors.
98. Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the sufficiency for developing countries of the Toronto plan for the poorest indebted countries.
Mrs. Chalker : The impact of concessional rescheduling on the financing needs of the poorest countries is kept under close review ; 17 countries have already benefited, and other creditor Governments have joined us in writing off old aid loans to the poorest.
Southern Africa
99. Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the level of aid to the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference's programme by (a) the United Kingdom and (b) other donor countries.
Mrs. Chalker : United Kingdom pledges to the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference's programme total £70 million : information
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on pledges from other donors is not readily available. In 1988 net bilateral aid to the Southern Africa Development Co- ordination Conference member states from DAC donor countries totalled $2,668.46 million (nearly £1,500 million) of which the United Kingdom provided $247.62 million (£139 million).124. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Overseas Development Administration has to introduce new initiatives to help black people in South Africa.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Hughes) on 19 March at column 431.
101. Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's support to SADCC programmes.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) on 24 May at column 368.
128. Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has recently had discussions with non- governmental organisations on the subject of aid for people in Southern Africa ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan) on 18 June at column 391.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the current levels of each of the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference countries' external bilateral debts to the United Kingdom broken down into concessional and non- concessional categories.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State on 28 November 1989 at column 200.
Ethiopia
100. Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in Ethiopia in respect of food supplies.
102. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent information he has in respect of the famine in Ethiopia.
103. Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the famine situation in Ethiopia.
Mrs. Chalker : The situation remains essentially as stated in my replies of 18 June at column 394 to the hon. Members for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) and Stockton, North (Mr. Cook), respectively. We have since been pleased to hear that both the Government and rebel sides have agreed to an early visit by United Nations personnel to assess the extent of damage to the port of Massawa and the prospects for reopening it to relief shipments. We await the outcome of the visit with great interest.
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Cambodia
104. Mr. Ted Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has given further consideration to the idea of sending another British delegation to review the situation in Cambodia.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes) on 18 June.
127. Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the development needs of Cambodia.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Mr. Bowis) on 5 July. Britain is helping to meet the basic humanitarian needs of the people of Cambodia by supporting the projects of British NGOs under the ODA's joint funding scheme and by contributing to the programmes of international agencies.
114. Mr. Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commomwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border.
Mrs. Chalker : There are approximately 300,000 Cambodian displaced persons living in camps administered by the Cambodian resistance factions. The United Nations Border Relief Organisation (UNBRO), other international agencies and NGOs provide humanitarian assistance. In common with other members of the international donor community, the United Kingdom provides financial support for these humanitarian relief activities. Support is channelled through the various relief agencies and is aimed at providing food, water, shelter and medical services for the non-communist groups.
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