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Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people serving in Her Majesty's forces have appealed against their being included on the community charge register ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The information requested is not available centrally.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a review of his proposed poll tax-capping rules for 1991- 92 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : As I told the House on 3 December, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I stick firmly by the intended criteria announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr. Patten) on 31 October.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each local authority his proposed basic credit approval for 1991-92.
Mr. Portillo : Basic credit approvals for individual local authorities for 1991-92 will be announced in due course. I will arrange for a copy of this information to be placed in the Library of the House of Commons when it is available.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to review his proposed standard spending assessments for local authorities for 1991-92.
Mr. Portillo : We are considering the representations made in response to our proposals for 1991-92 as set out in the statement on 31 October. We will announce our decisions shortly.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all working papers, implementation documents, departmental circulars and other publications, regulations and notices, in draft or final form, that have been issued in 1990 arising from the implementation of the poll tax.
Mr. Key [holding answer 7 December 1990] : My Department has issued the following regulations, practice notes and consultation documents on the community charge and the national non-domestic rating system in 1990.
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RegulationsThe Personal Community Charge (Relief) (England) Regulations 1990/2
The Standard Community Charge (Multipliers) Order 1990/129 The Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1990/145
The Community Charges (Co-owners) Regulations 1990/146
The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 1990/156
The Standard Community Charge and Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Domestic Property) Order 1990/162
The Wimbledon and Putney Commons (Special Levies) Regulations 1990/201
The Commons Regulations (Therfield) Provisional Order Confirmation Act 1988 (Amendment) Order 1990/233
The City of London (Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier) Order 1990/340 The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/366
The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (City of London) Regulations 1990/369
The Personal Community Charge (Relief) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/402
The Personal Community Charge (Exemption for the Severely Mentally Impaired) Order 1990/462
The Central Rating Lists (Amendment) Regulations 1990/502 Community Charges (Deductions from Income Support) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/545
The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1990/582
The Non-Domestic Rating (Transitional Period) Regulations 1990/608 The Non- Domestic Rating (Caravan Sites) Regulations 1990/673 The Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/711
The Personal Community Charge (Qualifying Courses of Education) Regulations 1990/712
The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/769
The Local Government Finance (Repeals, Savings and Consequential Amendments) Order 1990/776
The General Rate Act 1967 and Related Provisions (Savings and Consequential Provision) Regulations 1990/777
The Gas and Electricity Industries (Rateable Values) (Amendment) Order 1990/804
The Community Charges (Notices) (Substitute Charges) (England) Regulations 1990/942
The Local Government Finance (Miscellaneous Amendments and Repeal) Order 1990/1285
The Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/1426
The Central Rating Lists (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/1566 The Non- Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/1822
The Non-Domestic Rating (Payment of Interest) Regulations 1990/1904
The Personal Community Charge (Students) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/1986.
The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 1990/2025.
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The Non-Domestic Rating (Transitional Period) (No. 2) Regulations 1990/2329.The Non-Domestic Rating Contributions (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1990/2472
Practice Notes
The Community Charge : Maintaining the Community Charge Register--Community Charge Practice No. 24.
Non-domestic rates : Transitional Arrangements--Non-domestic rates Practice Note No. 3.
Non-domestic rates : The Boundary between the Community Charge and Non- domestic (Business) rates : Definition of Domestic
Property--Non-domestic rates Practice Note No. 4.
Non-Domestic rates : Alteration of Lists and Appeals--Non-domestic rates Practice Note No. 5.
Non-domestic rates : Discretionary Rate Relief--A Non-domestic rates Practice Note.
Consultation Documents
Non-domestic rating : Bed and Breakfast Accommodation.
Business rates : Valuation of Property formerly in Enterprise Zones
The Standard Community Charge and other Matters.
Community Charge Bill.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will undertake a review of his estimates of poll tax collection rates for 1990-91 and the likely impact on poll tax bills in 1991-92 ;
(2) what are his best estimates of the amount of poll tax income that will prove impossible to collect by the end of the current financial year.
Mr. Portillo : When local authorities come to set community charges for 1991-92 they will make proper estimates of the likely level of collection for that year and of how much uncollected in 1990-91 will prove to be uncollectable and should be written off. Such estimates are not for me to make.
Boundary Review, Humberside
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give (a) the cost, (b) the amount of staff time in hours and (c) the number of meetings of the commission and the attendance at each devoted by the Local Government Boundary Commission to (i) the interim report and (ii) the draft proposal in its further review of the county of Humberside and list the changes occurring in the commission and its staff between the two.
Mr. Key : In the period between the publication of its interim report and its draft proposals, two new members were appointed to fill vacancies on the commission, and eight staff out of a total of 35 at all grades were changed. It is not possible to identify the cost of any particular element of the commission's work.
The other questions concerning the conduct of its work are for the commission.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what meetings or discussions occurred between (a) himself or his predecessors, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) officials of the Local Government Boundary Commission on its review of county Humberside between 7 March and 27 November.
Mr. Key : None, though the chairman of the commission meets Ministers from time to time to discuss matters of general interest.
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Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will refer back to the local authority boundary commission the further review of the county of Humberside, for reconsideration by a commission with changes in composition from that which considered the further review.
Environment and Development Conference
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans his Department has for consulting with non- governmental development organisations in the preparatory process for the United Nations conference on environment and development to be held in Brazil in 1992 ;
(2) what plans his Department has for holding national consultations in preparation for the United Nations conference on environment and development in 1992.
Mr. Trippier : My Department has commissioned the International Institute for Environment and Development, on behalf of the United Kingdom committee for UNEP, to hold a series of public meetings to examine the main issues of the 1992 United Nations conference. This will be an important opportunity for the non-governmental community, including development organisations, to contribute to the preparatory process for the conference. In addition, we will welcome submissions from interested individuals or organisations who may wish to put forward their views directly to the Government.
Peat
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 22 November, Official Report, columns 188-89, to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies), what further consideration Her Majesty's Government are giving to the issues raised by peat extraction and nature conservation.
Mr. Yeo : The noble Lord Reay's response to the debate on peatland issues, which took place in another place on 9 May 1990, indicated the issues which should be addressed and how they were to be carried forward. Work on these is progressing both in my Department and elsewhere, but is not yet completed. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to be able to make a statement about the issues raised by peat extraction and nature conservation in due course.
Nature Conservancy Council
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response he intends to make to the criticisms contained in the Nature Conservancy Council report published on 28 November about the reorganisation of the Nature Conservancy Council.
Mr. Baldry : None. These issues were fully dealt with during the debates in both Houses on part VII of the Environmental Protection Act.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he will take to ensure that Britain's ecology continues to be treated as a continuum, following the break-up of the Nature Conservancy Council.
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Mr. Baldry : Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, ecological issues affecting Great Britain as a whole will fall within the remit of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee of the three new country councils.
Ecology
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a review of the resources devoted by his Department to developing and maintaining standards of ecological understanding among its officials.
Mr. Baldry : My right hon. Friend has access to a wide range of expertise within his Department, including knowledge of ecological matters. Training needs are regularly monitored, and there is no need for a specific review in this area.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is Her Majesty's Government's policy with regard to the proposal by Senor Enrico Ferri, MEP, in his report to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens Rights (PE 143.353/fin, 5 November 1990), that provisions for liability for impairment to the environment caused by radioactive waste be included in the EC directive on civil liability caused by waste (COM(89) 282 final-C3-0154/89-SYN 217).
Mr. Baldry : The Government are considering their position on the draft directive, and will be consulting widely.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) in how many cases in the last five years sufficient damage has been inflicted upon sites of special scientific interest to render designation meaningless ;
(2) how many sites of special scientific interest have been damaged by statutory organisations during the last five years ; and in how many of these cases either official permission was given or official approval was signified. Mr. Baldry : The information is not available in the form requested. Since 1 April 1984 information on the numbers of SSSIs damaged is set out in the Nature Conservancy Council's annual reports, copies of which are in the Library.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of sites of special scientific interest which have been damaged or destroyed during the last three years ; and what is his estimate of the area affected by this damage or destruction.
Mr. Baldry : The information requested is as follows :
Year |Number |Estimated
|damaged |area (ha)
----------------------------------------
1987-88 |166 |27,297
1988-89 |241 |30,067
1989-90 |324 |91,677
This includes damage of all kinds whether significant or not. It includes proposed SSSIs and both those SSSIs notified under the 1981 Act and those notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and not yet renotified.
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Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of whether the present level of protection is sufficient to safeguard the 900 sites which are assessed to be of key importance in their conservation interest ; and what action he is taking to provide the necessary protection.Mr. Baldry : I am satisfied that the SSSI and the national nature reserve systems afford the protection necessary to these sites.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to reduce the damage or destruction of sites of special scientific interest.
Mr. Baldry : We are always ready to consider with the NCC and others practicable action to minimise damage to SSSIs. The NCC is encouraged to take all steps necessary to minimise damage, including the entering into of management agreements and in appropriate circumstances by requesting that the Secretary of State make a nature conservation order.
Environmental Protection Conferences
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has received an invitation to participate in the conference on environmental protection in practice, organised by International Business Communications, to be held in London on 10 to 11 December.
Mr. Baldry : Yes. Dr. Martin Bigg, head of the local authority unit of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, will be addressing the conference on the subject of pollution regulation.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has received an invitation to contribute to the conference on liquid effluent control to be held at Loughborough university of technology on 17 to 19 December.
Mr. Baldry : Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution (HMIP) was invited by the department of chemical engineering at Loughborough university to contribute to the conference on liquid effluent control on 17 to 19 December 1990. HMIP was unable to accept the invitation on this occasion due to other commitments.
Domestic Insulation
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much annual central Government expenditure was dedicated to domestic insulation projects for the years 1979 to 1990.
Mr. Yeo : Expenditure on central Government domestic energy efficiency programmes is set out in the table.
£ million
|Homes |Community
|insulation |insulation
|scheme |project Great
|England |Britain
1979-80 |16.1 |-
1980-81 |16.1 |-
1981-82 |23.7 |-
1982-83 |29.4 |-
1983-84 |24.9 |5.5
1984-85 |25.2 |8.6
1985-86 |27.6 |19.4
1986-87 |25.2 |36.6
1987-88 |21.3 |45.2
1988-89 |7.2 |n/a
<1>1989-90 |7.0 |n/a
n/a Not available.
<1> Provisional.
For the corresponding information about the homes insulation scheme in Wales and Scotland I refer the hon. Member to the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland.
Trees and Hedgerows
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of trees and hedgerows which have been lost to the United Kingdom, on an annual basis, for the years 1979 to 1989.
Mr. Baldry : No records of the number of trees lost in the period are available. In the storms of 1987 and 1990 we estimate that some 19 million trees were destroyed--mostly in woodlands. However, despite such losses woodland cover in Great Britain has increased from some 2 million hectares to over 2.3 million hectares in the past 10 years. Various estimates of hedgerow loss have been made for past periods but none covers precisely the period to which the hon. Member refers. A survey of landscape change in England and Wales carried out for my Department and the Countryside Commission in 1986 by Hunting Technical Services Ltd. showed annual losses of some 2,600 miles of hedgerow between 1947 and 1969, 2,900 miles between 1969 and 1980, and 4,000 miles between 1980 and 1985. However a postal survey of farmers carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1985 showed annual losses of 500 miles between 1980 and 1985. The two surveys used different methodologies and neither can be regarded as definitive. Work is continuing to improve information both on the rate of removal and on the extent of new planting.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the mileage of hedgerows which have been removed from England and Wales during the last 10 years.
Mr. Baldry : Various estimates have been made for past periods but none covers precisely the period to which the hon. Member refers. A survey of landscape change in England and Wales carried out for my Department and the Countryside Commission in 1986 by Hunting Technical Services Ltd. showed annual losses of some 2,600 miles of hedgerow between 1947 and 1969, 2,900 miles between 1969 and 1980, and 4,000 miles between 1980 and 1985. However, a postal survey of farmers carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1985 showed annual losses of 500 miles between 1980 and 1985. The two surveys used different methodologies and neither can be regarded as definitive.
Work is continuing to improve information both on the rate of removal and on the extent of new planting.
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UN Environment Programme
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much financial support was given to the United Nations Environment Programme, on an annual basis, for the years 1979 to 1989.
Mr. Baldry : Contributions by Her Majesty's Government to the United Nations Environment Programme's environment fund for the period 1979 to 1989 are as follows :
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