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Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will publish a simplified, edited version of the treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe in booklet form.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : A booklet describing the main provisions of the treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe is being placed in the Library of the House. Further copies will be made available to hon. Members on request.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government to the Government of Israel concerning the effect of the intifada upon British public opinion concerning Israel ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Government of Israel are well aware of the effect of the intifada, and their handling of it, on British public opinion. We make frequent representations to them on the need for them to meet their obligations under international law in administrating the occupied territories.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will reconsider his policy of aid to eastern European countries to include family planning assistance to Romania.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Our policy towards aid to Romania for humanitarian purposes is unaffected by our policy towards long-term economic aid. We believe humanitarian aid should be unrestricted and have ourselves provided some £6.5 million directly and through the European Community. Our bilateral aid has included a family planning programme implemented by Marie Stopes International.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he made to the visit of Mr. Lennart Meri, Foreign Secretary of Estonia ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Mr. right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I held separate talks with Mr. Meri on 5 and 6 November. We emphasised that we had never recognised de jure the incorporation of the Baltic States into the USSR and that
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we continued to support the right of the Estonian people to decide their own future. As we told Mr. Meri, we believe that a negotiated outcome would be in the interests of both sides and hope that serious negotiations between Soviet and Baltic representatives will be resumed urgently. We agreed on the importance of developing and strengthening contacts between Britain and the Baltic states.Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he made to the visit of Mr. Landsbergis, President of Lithuania ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister had talks with Professor Landsbergis on 13 November. She emphasised that we had never recognised de jure the incorporation of the Baltic States into the USSR and that we continued to support the right of the Lithuanian people to decide their own future. She referred in her speech to the CSCE Paris summit to the particular position of the Baltic republics and to the need for a nogotiated settlement acceptable to both sides. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Professor Landsbergis agreed on the importance of developing and strengthening contacts between Britain and the Baltic states.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he intends to make an award for humanitarian aid to the people of Bulgaria.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are contributing to humanitarian aid for Bulgaria through the European Community's PHARE aid programme. The European Community has recently approved a maternal and child health care support programme for Bulgaria worth approximately £3.5 million. We have encouraged the Commission to consider urgently Bulgarian requests for food assistance. These will be discussed during the meeting of the EC-Bulgaria joint commission on 30 November.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's ambassador in Washington made any representations on behalf of Juley Howard, Jane Gregory and Lorna Richardson, each a British citizen, arrested in the United States Department of Energy research and test facility in Nevada on 14 November.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : No representations have been made : the case is a matter for the United States authorities.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for action in relation to homeless single people in London, additional to that announced in his reply of 22 June, Official Report, column 738-40.
Mr. Michael Spicer : In his autumn statement on 8 November, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the
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Exchequer announced that, in addition to this year's provision of £15 million, a further £81 million would be provided over the next two years for single homeless people in London. The resources will meet the costs of additional short-term hostels for people currently on the streets and move-on accommodation for people in existing hostels.Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what Government financial help is to be given this year to Crisis at Christmas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Spicer : We give no direct financial help to Crisis at Christmas and it has made no application for any from my Department. However, several of the voluntary organisations assisting Crisis at Christmas with the "Open Christmas" project receive grant from my Department under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will amend the homelessness provisions to allow newly arrived single refugees to qualify for priority housing status on local authority waiting lists ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Spicer [holding answer 23 November 1990] : No. It is for each local housing authority to decide its own priorities in the selection of its tenants, subject to the requirements of section 22 of the Housing Act 1985. It is also for authorities to decide whether single refugees applying as homeless under part III of that Act are vulnerable, and thus in priority need for accommodation.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make arrangements to ensure that housing authorities that experience higher than average numbers of housing requests from asylum seekers arriving in the United Kingdom are provided with additional financial resources to cope with any extra demand.
Mr. Michael Spicer [holding answer 23 November 1990] : Where a local housing authority in England experiences special needs which call for additional housing capital expenditure these needs will be taken into account by my Department in allocating housing investment programme (HIP) resources.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effect of the new house renovation grant scheme on (a) the number of applications for house renovation grants, (b) the number of grants awarded and (c) the size of the grants awarded.
Mr. Key : From a sample survey of activity in 40 local housing authorities under the new grants system it is estimated that up to the end of September in England as a whole.
(a) 5,810 grant applications have been submitted, sub-divided as follows :
|Grant |applications ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mandatory renovation grants |480 Discretionary renovation grants |60 Mandatory disabled facilities grants |230 Discretionary disabled facilities grants |230 Houses in multiple occupation grant |10 Minor works assistance |4,800
(b) 4,450 grants have been awarded.
(c) The average size of minor works grant awarded is £620. The sample size is, as yet, too small to allow reliable estimates to be made of the average size of renovation or disabled facilities grants.
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the relevant population for community charge purposes for each charging authority (a) calculated under the provisions of the Population Report (England) laid before the House on 11 January and (b) calculated under the provisions of the draft Population Report (England) (No. 2) laid before the House on 31 October ; if he will list the percentage difference between the figures outlined in (a) and (b) above ; if he will give the reasons for any percentage difference which exceeds 5 per cent. ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will list for each local authority (a) the relevant population for community charge purposes for each charging authority calculated under the provisions of the Population Report (England) laid before the House on 11 January, (b) the relevant population for community charge purposes for each charging authority calculated under the provisions of the draft Population Report (England) (No. 2) laid before the House on 31 October and (c) the percentage difference between the figures in (a) and (b) above ; if he will give the reasons for any percentage difference over 5 per cent. ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : I am arranging for the information to be placed in the Library of the House. The population figures are based on information about the number of persons on the community charges register for each authority, as supplied and certified by the relevant community charges registration officer except in the case of the City of London and Welwyn Hatfield district council, where under the provisions of the Population Report (England) the 1990-91 relevant population was based on information from the Registrar General and other sources. Differences reflect differences in the figures supplied except for those two authorities.
Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the total number of community standard charge payers for 1990-91 for each local authority in England.
Mr. Key : The available information was placed in the Library on 24 October.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the current poll tax payment rates in each local authority area in England, as percentage figures ; and if he will indicate the numbers who have paid only one poll tax instalment in each instance.
Mr. Key : I am arranging for the information reported to the Department about the percentage of community charge payers in each authority who had made a payment
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by 30 September, to be placed in the Library of the House. No information is available about the numbers of instalments paid.Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East of 20 November, Official Report, column 62, when he expects to be in a position to give the same information as to the rate of collection of the poll tax for Birmingham.
Mr. Key : I understand that the council hopes to be able to provide the information shortly.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 20 November to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East, Official Report, column 62. if he will now list for each local authority in England and Wales the available information as to the numbers of people who (a) have or (b) have not begun paying the poll tax and the percentage of the number of adults liable that represents.
Mr. Key : I am arranging for the information for England to be placed in the Library of the House. Figures for Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East of 20 November, Official Report, column 62, if he will now make it his practice to collect from local authorities information as to the numbers of people seriously in arrears with the poll tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : I have no plans to collect this information.
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the budget for the Nature Conservancy Council for 1989-90 and the proposed budget for 1990-91 ;
(2) how much of the Nature Conservancy Council's budget for 1989-90, both in absolute and percentage terms, was spent in Scotland ; and if he will give the same amounts for the proposed budget for 1990-91.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The grant-in-aid provided to the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) in 1989-90 and 1990-91 was £40.15 million and £44.819 million (including £750,000 to cover initial reorganisation costs) respectively.
In 1989-90 £5.161 million--12.8 per cent.--of the grant-in-aid was spent by the NCC's Scottish Directorate. The proposed spend by the Scottish Directorate in 1990-91 is £4.999 million, 11.1 per cent. of total grant-in-aid. These figures do not include either the salaries of any permanent staff working on Scottish matters or funds spent by NCC Directorates which serve Great Britain as a whole, as these cannot be identified easily.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the amount of grant made by the Nature Conservancy Council under section 38 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to voluntary conservation bodies for the purposes of land purchase in each of the last five years in 1989-90 prices.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 23 November 1990] : The figures requested are as follows :
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|£ million ------------------------------ 1985-86 |0.69 1986-87 |1.297 1987-88 |1.289 1988-89 |1.180 1989-90 |0.586
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money was spent by the Nature Conservancy Council for the purchase of national nature reserves in each of the last five years in 1989-90 prices.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 23 November 1990] : The figures requested are as follows :
|£ million ------------------------------ 1985-86 |2.564 1986-87 |1.756 1987-88 |1.353 1988-89 |1.102 1989-90 |0.182
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of permits issued to falconers to take protected species of birds as quarry during 1989 and 1990 to date ; what were the species in respect of which such permits were issued ; and what were the number of each species so taken.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : In the 1989-90 season, 66 licences were issued to falconers in England, Scotland and Wales to take the following species : blackbird, skylark, black-headed gull, song thrush, mistle thrush, redwing, fieldfare and meadow pipit. The number of birds reported as taken are : blackbird 59, skylark 278, black-headed gull 1, song thrush 2, redwing 8 and fieldfare 10. To date, 60 licences have been issued in the 1990-91 season to take the following species : blackbird, skylark, black-headed gull, song thrush and meadow pipit ; the numbers of birds taken are not yet available.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library audited accounts of the National Gypsy Council for the years 1979 to 1989.
Mr. Key : No. My Department receives copies of the National Gypsy Council's audited accounts, for monitoring purposes, as a condition of the grant which we pay to the council ; but it is not for us to make those accounts public.
Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what communications he has recently received from the European Environment Commissioner concerning the future of Oxleas wood in south-east London.
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Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures are currently being proposed by the European Community for the protection of the species and habitat of lepus timidus ; how he has responded to such measures ; and whether he proposes any relevant changes to United Kingdon legislation.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The lepus timidus is one of the species listed on annex III of the European Commission's proposal for a directive on the protection of natural and semi-natural habitats and of fauna and flora. Under the draft directive, any exploitation of lepus timidus would therefore be subject to a management plan. Negotiations on the directive in Brussels are currently stalled, but when they resume we expect to press the Commission to clarify what is expected of member states under this provision. It is therefore premature to consider whether changes to United Kingdom legislation would be appropriate.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the number of licences issued in each of England, Scotland and Wales to possess birds of prey ; and what were the numbers of birds of each species currently held under such licence.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Since the beginning of 1989, the Department has issued 11 licences to possess birds of prey which were either found abandoned or which had been seized by enforcement authorities after being taken illegally from the wild.
Only one bird, a golden eagle, is currently held under such a licence.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on current research into biological methods of controlling bracken.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : My Department is aware of research by Professor Lawton of Imperial college at Silwood Park with a non-indigenous moth, Conservula cinsigna, which has a bracken-feeding caterpillar. Professor Lawton has applied for a licence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, to release the moth in outdoor cages on the college premises. The application is under consideration.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what reasons the Fire Brigades Union, the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association, and the National Association of Fire Officers were not included in the list of bodies to whom the consultation letter was sent by his Department in respect of the Fire and Building Regulations proposed procedural guidance document of 17 October ; what alternative arrangements were made to consult these bodies ; and if any response has yet been received from them.
Mr. Key : All the member bodies of the joint fire prevention committee of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council, which includes those bodies referred to
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by the hon. Member, were sent a copy of the Fire and Building Regulations proposed procedural guidance document by the Home Office. I understand that to date no response has been received from any of them.Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he expects to make a public decision on the resources available to the new nature conservancy agencies ;
(2) what resources he estimates will be required by the new agencies of the Nature Conservancy Council to commence operations ; and what resources he is making available to fill these posts.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment announced on 8 November that grant-in-aid for the new Nature Conservancy Council for England (NCCE) for 1991-92 has been set provisionally at £32.411 million. This will allow the NCCE not only to undertake the full range of conservation activities inherited from the Nature Conservancy Council but also to add to them or intensify them significantly.
Announcements about the grant-in-aid to be provided to the new Councils in Scotland and Wales are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales respectively. The staffing resources needed by the three new councils in 1991-92 were described by the noble Lady Blatch in a statement made during Report stage of the Environmental Protection Act in another place on 17 October 1990 at columns 895-97. It is primarily the responsibility of the new councils to ensure that sufficient staff are in post when they assume their full functions and duties.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the terms of reference of the Joint Committee on Nature Conservation.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The statutory functions of the three new country agencies which are to be discharged through the joint nature conservation committee are set out in section 133 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It is for the JNCC in the first instance to develop its detailed programme within the provisions of the Act.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans he has to amend the Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989 to bring the controls on bailiffs enforcing the community charge into line with those applying to distress for rent ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will monitor items recovered by bailiffs in pursuit of debts owed to local authorities to ensure that items subject to hire purchase or credit sales agreements are not included in such actions ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) what plans he has to ensure that before bailiffs take action to recover debts owed to local authorities from mentally or physically disabled people, or from people in hospital or with a language difficulty, they report first to the local authority concerned ; (4) what plans he has to introduce a code of practice governing the manner in which local authorities use bailiffs ; and if he will make a statement ;
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(5) what steps he takes to ensure that bailiffs used by local authorities make reasonable efforts to contact debtors ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Key : My Department has no plans to change existing regulations on the employment of bailiffs by local authorities. We have issued a practice note to all charging authorities advising them to check the reputation, qualifications and expertise of private firms and to issue guidelines to them on procedures. I understand that the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) will shortly be incorporating this advice in a revised practice note which contains additional guidance on property and rights of entry. The Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation is also preparing a code of practice for discussion amongst local authority associations and the Certified Bailiffs Association which I welcome.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the report which he received several months ago concerning the management and disposal of radioactive spent nuclear fuel.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Two reports have been produced over the last three years concerning the management and disposal of spent nuclear fuel. These are DOE RW87/125 entitled "Magnox fuel dry storage and direct disposal", and DOE RW89/089 entitled "Packaging, storage and direct disposal of spent AGR fuel". Both reports are available from the National Lending Library.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he received the official advice that spent fuel from nuclear reactors would be better put into long-term dry storage then sent for reprocessing ; and what account he took of the advice.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I have received no such advice.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the net additional cost to local authorities of the changes to employers' national insurance contributions and reimbursement announced in the autumn statement.
Mr. Portillo : We do not collect the data which would enable us to predict with any accuracy the extent to which the changes in the level of statutory sick pay reimbursement and reductions in employers' national insurance contributions will cancel each other out for individual authorities. However, the reduction in reimbursements of statutory sick pay represents less than 0.1 per cent. of the total of employers' labour costs.
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Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list any current proposals for housing action trusts still under discussion.
Mr. Key : Discussions are proceeding with the Council and tenants in the London borough of Waltham Forest and Hull city council are consulting tenants about the council's proposal for a housing action trust for the North Hull estate.
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money in total his Department has spent on promoting housing action trusts.
Mr. Key : No expenditure has been incurred on promoting housing action trusts. In pursuance of the statutory duty under the Housing Act 1988 to hold a ballot of tenants and the need to ensure that the tenants are fully informed of the proposals expenditure of £93,000 has been incurred relating to information material and to ballots.
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list any proposals for housing action trusts which have been the subject of a ballot of tenants and the results.
Mr. Key : The Electoral Reform Society ran ballots on behalf of the Secretary of State in Sunderland and Southwark.
The results were as follows :
|In favour |Opposed to |the HAT |the hat -------------------------------------------- Sunderland |862 |3,506 Southwark |496 |1,164
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all those sites in England which have been either designated or proposed for designation as (a) special protection areas under the EC directive on the conservation of wild birds or (b) Ramsar sites under the convention of wetlands of international importance.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 23 November 1990] : The following table lists all those sites in England which have to date been formally proposed to Government as either special protection areas or Ramsar sites (or both), indicating where appropriate the date of designation.
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Proposed/designated SPA/RAMSAR sites in England ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upper Solway Flats and Marshes |P 1 October 1986 |P 1 October 1986 |P yes |P yes Irthinghead Mires |n.a. |17 July 1985 |- |- Esthwaite Water |n.a. |- |yes |- Leighton Moss |28 November 1985 |28 November 1985 |- |- Bowland Fells |- |n.a. |yes |- Ribble Estuary |31 August 1982 |n.a. |- |- Alt Estuary |28 November 1985 |28 November 1985 |- |- Martin Mere |28 November 1985 |28 November 1985 |- |- Lindisfarne |- |P 5 January 1976 |yes |P yes Farne Islands |17 July 1985 |n.a. |- |- Coquet Island |17 July 1985 |n.a. |- |- Holburn Moss |17 July 1985 |17 July 1985 |- |- Moor House |31 August 1982 |n.a. |- |- Derwent Ings |17 July 1985 |17 July 1985 |- |- Humber Flats, Marsh and Coast |- |- |yes |yes Mersey Estuary |- |- |yes |yes Rostherna Mere |n.a. |24 July 1981 |- |- Walmore Common |- |- |yes |yes Rutland Water |- |- |yes |yes Ouse Washes |- |5 January 1976 |yes |- The Wash |31 March 1988 |31 March 1988 |- |- North Norfolk Coast |20 January 1989 |20 January 1989 |- |- Bure Marshes |n.a. |5 January 1976 |- |- Hickling Broad and Horsey Mere |n.a. |5 January 1976 |- |- Redgrave and South Lopham Fens |n.a. |- |- |yes Minsmere-Walberswick |- |P 5 January 1976 |yes |- Orfordness-Havergate |P 31 August 1982 |n.a. |- |- Chippenham Fen |n.a. |- |- |yes Stour and Orwell Estuary |- |- |yes |yes Abberton Reservoir |- |24 July 1981 |yes |- Benfleet and Southend Marshes |- |- |yes |yes Exe Estuary |- |- |yes |yes Chew Valley Lakes |17 July 1985 |n.a. |- |- Chesil Beach and The Fleet |17 July 1985 |17 July 1985 |- |- New Forest |- |- |yes |yes Chichester and Langstone Harbours |28 October 1987 |28 October 1987 |- |- Pagham Harbour |30 April 1988 |30 April 1988 |- |- Medway Estuary and Marshes |- |- |yes |yes The Swale |17 July 1985 |17 July 1985 |- |- Dee Estuary |17 July 1985 |17 July 1985 |- |- Bridgewater Bay |n.a. |5 January 1976 |- |- Severn Estuary |P 5 February 1988|P 5 February 1988|P yes |P yes Notes: n.a.-Not applicable. P-Part of site.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will assess the likely impact on 1991 levels of poll tax in London boroughs due to the inability of the London residuary body to make available the promised £155.5 million arising from the sale of county hall ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key [holding answer 23 November 1990] : The effect on the community charge will depend on decisions taken by London boroughs in the light of the failure of the County Hall Development Group to complete the purchase of county hall. In setting their budgets it is for boroughs to decide what account, if any, they should take of capital receipts not yet to hand.
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