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Rates (Brent)
28. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by how much non-domestic rate poundages increased over and above inflation in Brent between 1979-80 and 1989-90.
Mr. Portillo : The rate poundage in Brent increased by 89 per cent. between 1979-80 and 1989-90 over inflation. During the same period, locally set non-domestic rate poundages in England rose by an average of 37.4 per cent. more than the retail prices index. This contrasts vividly with the new system under which the national non-domestic rating multiplier cannot rise by more than the rate of inflation.
Birds
29. Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about proposed reform of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 about the protection of birds.
Mr. Chris Patten : I have received many representations in response to the proposal to introduce a licensing scheme for the control of pest bird species which we put forward as a way of bringing our practice into line with the requirements of the EC birds directive. The great majority of those responding argued that there are no conservation reasons for changing the law and that our traditional practices are fully in line with the spirit of the directive. The Government agree and I therefore intend to take no further action on this proposal but shall continue to press the European Commission to bring forward a proposal for amending the directive so that member states can operate sensible pest control practices.
Shared Purchase Schemes
30. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many properties have been bought by (a) a council tenants and (b) housing association tenants either outright or through shared purchase schemes in the past 10 years.
Mr. Michael Spicer : It is estimated that 1.1 million council tenants and 53,000 housing association tenants purchased their homes either outright or through shared ownership schemes in England in the years 1980- 81 to 1989-90.
Waste Recycling
31. Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what policy instruments he proposes to use to encourage more recycling of waste.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The Environmental Protection Act 1990 sets a framework designed to promote recycling. The new duty of care on disposers of waste will increase the standards required in disposing of waste by landfill. The Act requires all local authorities involved in waste disposal and collection to give priority to recycling, wherever practicable, in their plans : and allows authorities to specify environmentally friendly options for waste disposal, such as recycling, even if they are not the cheapest in financial terms. The Act also requires local authorities to pay recycling credits and those involved in waste collection to produce recycling plans.
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The White Paper on the environment "This Common Inheritance" sets out a number of measures that we will be pursuing to ensure successful recycling. We will be pressing industry to increase both the recycling of materials and the use of recycled material ; encouraging retailers to provide collection facilities for recyclable material for their customers ; and persuading industry to expand its capacity to process reclaimed material.In his autumn statement the Chancellor announced that £40 million in supplementary credit approvals will be available over the next three years to enable local authorities to invest in facilities and equipment needed to set up effective recycling schemes.
The White Paper was printed on recycled paper and my Department is setting an example in its use of recycled paper for all ministerial correspondence and for photocopying.
Sewage Outfalls
32. Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution his Department will make to the costs of providing full treatment in respect of new sewage outfalls.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The costs of providing treatment will, in the first instance, fall to the sewerage undertakers, but may be eligible for consideration for cost-pass-through under the terms of their licences. This will be a matter for the Director General of Water Services to determine.
River Pollution
33. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the importance of river pollution as a contributor to North sea pollution ; and what is Britain's contribution to the problem.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Rivers and estuaries are the most important source of contaminants in the North sea and, together with direct coastal discharges, represent about 40 per cent. of total North sea pollution.
A recent study by the International Centre for Water Studies in Amsterdam indicates that the Rhine and Elbe are the most significant of these, together contributing about 65 per cent. of river-borne contaminants. The United Kingdom accounts for about 20 per cent. of the river-borne total.
Local Government Finance
34. Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on progress in collecting the community charge in Nottinghamshire.
Mr. Key : I understand that over 85 per cent. of charge payers in Nottinghamshire had made payments up to the end of September. The figures vary between a creditable 94.7 per cent. in Broxtowe borough council to a disappointing 67.9 per cent. so far in Nottingham city council. I look to all charging authorities to make full use of their wide powers to see that these figures approach 100 per cent. during the next five years.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list to date for the South Yorkshire valuation and community charge tribunal how many
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applications have been lodged in respect of the community charge ; how many objections to domestic rates are still ourstanding ; what are the figures for the other counties of Yorkshire and Humberside ; and by what percentage these figures differ from the national average.Mr. Key : The information requested is as follows :
Community Charge Appeals
|Total appeals |Variation from
|received |national average
|to date |per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Yorkshire VCCT |73 |-28
North Yorkshire VCCT |218 |+116
West Yorkshire VCCT |110 |+9
Humberside VCCT |763 |+655
Total appeals in England |<1>4,230 |-
National VCCT average |<1>101 |-
<1>At 30 September 1990.
Domestic Rating Appeals
Appeals outstanding
|Number |Per cent.
South Yorkshire VCCT |2,660 |+19
North Yorkshire VCCT |1,494 |-33
West Yorkshire VCCT |2,623 |+17
Humberside VCCT |1,566 |-30
National VCCT average |<1>2,235 |-
<1>At 30 September 1990.
Domestic Rating Appeals Appeals outstanding
Number Per cent.
South Yorkshire VCCT 2,660 19
North Yorkshire VCCT 1,494 33
West Yorkshire VCCT 2,623 17
Humberside VCCT 1,566 30
National VCCT average 2,235 --
At 30 September 1990.
Business Rates
35. Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the national increase in the business rate poundage in real terms in the 10 years to 1989-90.
Mr. Key : In the period 1979-80 to 1989-90 locally set non-domestic rate poundages in England rose by an average of 37.4 per cent. more than the retail prices index. This contrasts vividly with the new system under which the national non-domestic rating multiplier cannot rise by more than the rate of inflation.
Bathing Waters
36. Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide the latest figures which are available on the compliance of bathing waters with the European Community bathing water standards.
Mr. Trippier : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh).
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made in improving the quality of bathing waters, and when he expects all bathing waters to meet the standards in the EC bathing water directive.
Mr. Chris Patten : Provisional results for the survey carried out during the 1990 bathing season showed that 77 per cent. of the 446 identified bathing waters in the United Kingdom met the mandatory coliform bacteria standards of the EC bathing water directive. This compares with 76 per cent. of the 440 identified bathing waters in 1989.
Although this maintains the steady improvement of recent years, I believe that more urgent action is required
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to bring all our bathing waters up to the highest standards. Last March I announced that in future all substantial discharges of sewage to sea should be treated at a sewage treatment works. The estimated cost of this was £1.5 billion. I am now able to announce that following discussions with the water companies in England and Wales, they have agreed to provide additional treatment for around 40 improvement schemes at an estimated cost of about £600 million over the next five years. This is on top of the £1.4 billion bathing water compliance programme announced last year which the companies have also agreed to advance where possible.Column 162
This means that bathing waters will be improved sooner, and for many discharges the standard of treatment provided will be better than previously planned. Our aim is to complete the improvement programme for all bathing waters that presently fail to comply with EC standards by 1995, although present indications are that this may not be practicable for nine large schemes where there are major technical difficulties.The 1990 results for the United Kingdom are set out in summary form. I shall arrange for a more detailed summary of the results to be placed in the Library shortly, and we shall also be sending the results to the Commission of the European Communities.
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Bathing Waters. Survey-1990 results for England, Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Compliance with bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC): Coliform
Standard
Pass Fail Total
----------------------------------------------------------------
England
Northumbrian Region |21 |(20) |12 |(12) |32 |(32)
Yorkshire Region |17 |(18) |5 |(4) |22 |(22)
Anglian Region |27 |(23) |2 |(5) |29 |(28)
Thames Region |3 |(3) |0 |(0) |3 |(3)
Southern Region |48 |(45) |18 |(20) |66 |(65)
Wessex Region |39 |(31) |0 |(7) |39 |(38)
South West Region |118 |(113)|15 |(19) |133 |(132)
North West Region |10 |(11) |23 |(22) |33 |(33)
Wales |35 |(40) |15 |(8) |50 |(48)
Scotland |12 |(16) |11 |(7) |23 |(23)
Northern Ireland |15 |(16) |1 |(0) |16 |(16)
|---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Totals |345 |(336)|101 |(104)|446 |(440)
Results for 1989 are in brackets.
Housing Associations
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what percentage of housing association new build comes from off-the-shelf programmes ;
(2) what percentage of housing association new build is shown to be to mobility standard as a result of the scheme audit ;
(3) what percentage of housing association new build comes from rehabilitation programmes.
Mr. Michael Spicer : These are matters for the Housing Corporation. I have therefore asked the chairman of the corporation to respond to my hon. Friend direct.
Air Pollution
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations and information he has had and from whom, concerning implications of the moving of the east London air quality monitoring station 2 km to the north-west for the accuracy of monitoring of air pollution ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : My right hon. Friend has received no such representations. The Department has no responsibility for the east London air quality monitoring station in question.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will update the figures in his answer of 26 July, Official Report, columns 381-82, for all of 1990 so far ; and if he will list the dates, number of hours over 60 ppb, and maximum levels, from the ozone monitoring network covering the London area.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The dates, number of hours over 60 ppb and the maximum levels of ozone in ppb
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measured at the Department of the Environment monitoring sites in the London area so far during 1990 are as follows :
Date |Number of |Maximum
|hours over|hourly
|60 ppb |mean, ppb
--------------------------------------------
Central London Laboratory, Minster House, Vi
May 5 |6 |88
6 |6 |79
June 17 |4 |67
July 8 |4 |69
15 |1 |64
18 |2 |61
20 |3 |79
21 |7 |96
August 1 |3 |69
3 |3 |74
4 |5 |83
Bridge Place, Victoria
July 15 |1 |64
18 |2 |61
20 |3 |79
21 |7 |96
August 1 |4 |82
3 |3 |90
4 |9 |108
24 |2 |68
25 |6 |79
Stevenage, Hertfordshire
April 1 |1 |63
June 17 |4 |82
29 |2 |64
July 15 |11 |100
18 |1 |63
19 |6 |101
20 |9 |110
21 |13 |126
August 1 |7 |89
2 |8 |118
3 |12 |136
4 |8 |90
24 |4 |75
26 |5 |81
29 |1 |63
Harwell, Oxfordshire
April 29 |4 |71
30 |5 |85
May 3 |4 |90
4 |6 |85
5 |9 |100
6 |6 |81
28 |3 |67
June 16 |4 |70
17 |9 |71
July 15 |10 |89
17 |9 |79
18 |7 |82
19 |7 |83
20 |9 |84
21 |13 |132
25 |5 |78
26 |2 |63
27 |1 |67
August 1 |7 |81
2 |11 |106
3 |18 |113
4 |10 |89
24 |5 |76
25 |7 |68
28 |4 |67
29 |5 |69
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department was notified that the BBC was prepared to use air quality information supplied by his Department ; when the service was arranged to start ; why the supply of information was withdrawn ; when his Department notified the BBC of the need for a press conference about air quality ; when the press conference took place ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The arrangements for the new public air quality information system were made with the Meteorological Office. It already supplies weather information to the media, and advised that there would be a demand for air quality data supplied at the same time. The service was launched by my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Mr. Trippier) at a press conference on 24 October. I am not aware of any break in availability of data from the Meteorological Office. The prominence given by the media to the information at any particular time will, of course, depend on the pollution levels reported.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has given to people to protect themselves from increased susceptibilities to infection and disease resulting from high levels of ozone.
Mr. Dorrell : I have been asked to reply.
The Department of Health has established an advisory group on the medical aspects of air pollution episodes. This group will consider what advice, if any, should be given by central Government about personal protection measures when levels of air pollution are high. It will give guidance on to whom this advice should be addressed, and what criteria should be adopted for issuing it.
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A "Layman's Guide to Ozone" was issued in 1989 by the Department of the Environment with input on health aspects from the Department of Health. A copy is available in the Library.Ivory
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on the lifting, in any respect, of the current ivory ban ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The Government remain firmly committed to maintaining the ivory trade ban for as long as it is necessary to ensure the survival and recovery of elephant populations. The CITES convention provides for species to be removed from appendix I when no longer endangered, but the Government have no plans to initiate proposals for such a reclassification.
Pollution
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress made to date on implementing the provisions of the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 ; what regulations have been laid ; and what regulations he expects to lay arising from the Act.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The regulations necessary to implement the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 are now being finalised with a view to their being issued for consultation before the Christmas recess. The proposed regulations will :
(a) require each waste regulation authority to establish and maintain a register of carriers of controlled waste ;
(b) set out the manner in which the registration system is to operate ; and
(c) set out the steps which a regulation authority must take before applying for a warrant to seize a vehicle which it believes has been used in the illegal disposal of waste (fly-tipping).
A separate commencement order will be made to bring the 1989 Act into force.
Home Repossessions
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report his letter in response to the written question from the hon. Member for Barnsley, East (Mr. Patchett), Official Report , 1 November, column 694, on home repossessions.
Mr. Key : The text of the reply sent on 12 November was as follows :
"I was unable to provide an answer to your question about mortgage possessions before the Recess and in my reply of 1 November I said I would write.
The available information on the number of properties taken into possession is based on statistics provided by the largest building societies (and Abbey National). These figures are published every six months by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and a copy of their latest press release is enclosed, with the figures you require at Table 1. I understand that the CML is planning to extend the coverage of these statistics to other mortgage lenders, including banks, insurance companies and finance houses.
Local authorities have also provided limited mortgage lending where buyers have found it difficult to obtain funds from elsewhere. The scale of such lending is now very small. The information provided by English local authorities on properties taken into possession in the financial years 1978 -79 to 1989-90 is given in the attached table."
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Copies of the documents referred to are in the Library.Environment Statistics
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out Her Majesty's Government's reservations expressed in regard to the European Commission proposal to the Council on COM (90) 319 final on the gathering of regular official statistics on the environment.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 12 November 1990] : The Government support in principle the Commission's proposal to establish a formal programme for the regular collection of official statistics on the environment to inform Community environmental policy. There are a number of important areas which the Government wish to clarify in refining the details of the proposal. These include :
(a) The relationship between this proposed programme to be implemented by the Statistical Office of the European Communities, that of the European environment agency when operational, and those of other international organisations such as the OECD, needs thorough examination in order to avoid duplication of effort.
(b) Member states should be given a greater management role in shaping the scope and direction of the programme.
(c) A clearer distinction should be made between information that could be gathered in the short term and aims for more comprehensive data gathering in the longer term.
(d) Proposals for any new surveys or extensions to existing surveys need a clear assessment of the costs, benefits and the possible burdens on industry.
Residential Development
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions in each of the last five years he has permitted residential development which took the total dwellings for a sub- plan area beyond his own recommendations.
Mr. Atkins [holding answer 12 November 1990] : This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Figures for housing provision in development plans will carry weight as material considerations in the determination of planning applications and appeals, but they are not necessarily overriding. Each case has to be decided on its particular merits, and all relevant material considerations must by statute be taken into account.
Homelessness, Newham
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the number of people on the homelessness register in the London borough of Newham in each year since 1980.
Mr. Michael Spicer [holding answer 13 November 1990] : Local authorities report the number of households accepted and found accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and the Housing Act 1985.
Available figures from Newham's housing investment programme returns are :
|Households
---------------------------------
1980-81 |n/a
1981-82 |568
1982-83 |720
1983-84 |660
1984-85 |1,263
1985-86 |898
1986-87 |1,511
1987-88 |1,566
1988-89 |637
1989-90 |1,039
Airport Companies
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution has been made from the surplus at local authority- controlled or influenced airport companies to the provision and funding of local services ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
The 15 public airport companies publish annual reports and accounts in accordance with the Companies Act. These record the following dividends as having been paid to the shareholder local authorities for 1989-90 :
|£ million
--------------------------------
Birmingham |1.6
Bournemouth |0.2
Bristol |0.6
Cardiff |0.2
Luton |0.2
Manchester |8.5
Newcastle |2.0
Norwich |0.3
SCOTLAND
Cleveland Fuels Ltd.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take account of the draft European Community directives on the incineration of hazardous wastes when considering the current application by Cleveland Fuels Ltd. for a licence for the incineration of waste residues at Renfrew.
Mr. Rifkind : I understand that the draft directive on the incineration of hazardous wastes is at an early stage in its preparation. I shall however take note of the current proposals when considering the application by Cleveland Fuels Ltd. for registration as an incineration works.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider prevailing levels of atmospheric pollution locally when considering the application by Cleveland Fuels Ltd. for a certificate of registration for the incineration of waste residues at Renfrew.
Mr. Rifkind : I understand from Glasgow district council that recent measurements of sulphur ioxide in parts of its district, close to the site of the incinerator proposed by Cleveland Fuels Ltd., show average levels appreciably higher than would be expected from data currently available from the national survey of smoke and sulphur dioxide. I shall consider this point further when setting limits on the discharge of sulphur dioxide from the proposed plant.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, when he considers the application by Cleveland Fuels
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Ltd. for a certificate of registration for the incineration of waste residues at Renfrew, he will take account of the formulation used for the pollution assessment contained within the application.Mr. Rifkind : Two different approaches, both of which gave acceptable results, were used by Cleveland Fuels Ltd. to assess the environmental impact of its emissions.
Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate will however carry out its own assessments before determining the appropriate content of the certificate of registration for the company.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, when considering the application by Cleveland Fuels Ltd. for a certificate of registration for the incineration of waste residues at Renfrew, he has taken account of (a) the nature of the feedstock and (b) the description of the nature of the feedstock provided in the application.
Mr. Rifkind : Cleveland Fuels Ltd. has provided a generic description of the fuel it intends to use, specified primarily by maximum pollutant content and to a lesser extent by source. In assessing its application for registration I will not only take account of this description but also give consideration to such other likely characteristics of the waste as may give rise to nuisance. The company will be required to provide such equipment and to carry out such tests as are necessary to minimise their impact on the local environment.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, when considering the application by Cleveland Fuels Ltd. for a certificate of registration for the incineration of waste residues at Renfrew, he will take any steps to force the company to fulfil the undertaking given in the application that it would operate an open door policy.
Mr. Rifkind : I have been assured by the company that it wishes to be as open as possible with the local population and to discuss with them any difficulties occasioned by the operation of the plant. If the proposal proceeds, Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate will actively encourage the development of good working relationships between the company and its neighbours.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give a breakdown of the representations he received in connection with Cleveland Fuels Ltd.'s application for a licence including (a) the names of those organisations and individuals making representations and (b) how many supported and how many opposed the proposed development.
Mr. Rifkind : Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate has received nine representations directly, one of which included a petition, as a result of the public advertisement by Cleveland Fuels Ltd. of its application for registration as an incineration works. There has also been one letter from a Member of Parliament about the application. All were opposed to the development.
Respondents were not however advised that their names and affiliations may be made public. I must honour the implied confidentiality and cannot therefore list them as requested.
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Forth Valley Health Board
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will ask Mr. A. R. Robertson, general manager, Forth Valley health board, to reply to the letter of 17 September from the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden.
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