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Sir George Young : My right hon. Friend receives representations on this subject from a variety of sources, including housing association tenants and their representatives.
Buy British Policy
27. Mr. Holt : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department has a buy British policy.
Mr. Heseltine : We seek to achieve value for money and to honour our international obligations.
Nature Conservancy Council
31. Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council to discuss reorganisation.
Mr. Trippier : Ministers from my Department have met the chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council on a number of occasions during the last 18 months at which the Government's proposals to reorganise the Nature Conservancy Council were discussed.
Methane Gas
32. Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps can be taken to reduce or eliminate any hazard resulting from the escape of methane gas from domestic rubbish dumps.
Mr. Trippier : A number of technical solutions are available to reduce or eliminate the hazard resulting from the escape of landfill gas, which contains methane, from landfill sites containing domestic waste. Guidance on these measures is given in the Department's waste management paper No. 27--"Control of Landfill Gas".
Water Charges
33. Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to require water companies to charge for their services by means of (a) a flat-rate charge per property or (b) a water poll tax.
Mr. Trippier : No. Methods of charging for their services are for individual water companies to determine.
Housing Action Trusts
35. Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing action trusts have been established.
Mr. Yeo : No housing action trusts have so far been established. However, discussions are proceeding with the council and tenants in the London borough of Waltham Forest, and Hull city council is consulting tenants about the proposal for a housing action trust for the North Hull estate.
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Rented Housing
37. Mr. Flannery : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to build houses for rent at reasonable prices for those people who cannot afford to buy houses.
Sir George Young : The Government see housing associations as the main providers of additional subsidised housing where it is needed. Public funding for the Housing Corporation will increase from £1.1 billion this year to over £2 billion by 1993-94. Together with their increased ability to draw in private funds, this will permit a sustained increase in output of low-cost housing by associations over the next few years.
Victoria Tower
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Ealing, North, 30 November, Official Report, column 500, if he will indicate the depth beneath ground level of the support structures for the scaffolding recently erected on the Victoria Tower ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : The answer is 21 m.
Catalytic Reduction Technology
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent assessment he has made of the potential environmental benefits of selective catalytic reduction technology in respect of large combustion plants ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : My Department has recently received a report on NOx abatement technologies which includes an assessment of the performance of selective catalytic reduction technology. The report is currently being considered.
Birds
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all changes to the protection or quarry status of bird species in the United Kingdom since the enactment of the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Mr. Baldry : There have been no changes to the status of any bird species since the Act came into force.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether capercaillie and black grouse are still quarry species in the United Kingdom ; and if he has any plans to alter their status.
Mr. Baldry : Both capercaillie and black grouse may be hunted in the open season. There are no plans at present to alter these arrangements.
Bathing Waters
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will set maximum limits for the presence of salmonella and enterovirus in bathing waters ;
(2) what plans he has to ensure compliance with the salmonella and enterovirus standards in the EC bathing water directive.
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Mr. Baldry : The EC bathing water directive sets limits for salmonella and enteroviruses. The limits are zero salmonella in 1 litre and zero enteroviruses in 10 litres in 95 per cent. of bathing water samples. It is widely accepted that these standards are deficient and have no regard to risks to public health : the Environment Select Committee has recently endorsed this view. The European Commission has brought forward proposals for a committee of adaptation to review the bathing water directive. One of its remits would be to look at those standards. This Government have supported the need for such a review. Pending adoption of revised standards we shall continue to monitor and report in accordance with the directive, but our assessment of compliance will be based on its coliform standards.Community Forests
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made towards the establishment of community forests on the outskirts of towns and cities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : Project teams have been set up in east London, south Staffordshire and Tyne and Wear to prepare business plans for the forests launched in those areas. In addition the Countryside Commission is considering proposals for forests at various other locations.
RECHAR
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the rules governing local authority finance in those areas which militate against local authorities being able to fully take up grants under European Community programmes, in particular the RECHAR scheme.
Mr. Yeo : In setting annually the level of public expenditure programmes for local authorities, account is taken of anticipated European Community receipts so that these programmes are larger than they would otherwise be. However, in addition for 1990-91 the other services block was "top sliced" by £25 million for distribution as supplementary credit approvals to local authorities in receipt of European regional development fund. In the light of representations received from local authorities it is proposed to increase the top slice to £45 million for this purpose in 1991-92.
Emissions
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy with regard to the application to large combustion plants by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution of the BATNEEC provisions in the Environment Protection Act where these provisions require stricter standards than those in the national emission reduction plan.
Mr. Baldry : Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution must, among other things, ensure the use of BATNEEC and compliance with any plan made by the Secretary of State. Where one of these requirements is more onerous than the other, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution must include conditions in authorisations which achieve the more onerous standards.
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Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to exempt the electricity generation industry from the new BATNEEC guidance notes being issued by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
Public Paths
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from Hampshire on his policy regarding the reclassification of public paths ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : We have received a number of representations both from local councils and individuals. While I appreciate the concern expressed about the possible effects of reclassifying roads used as public paths (RUPPs) as byways open to all traffic (BOATs), the regulation of use by vehicles, were necessary, is a separate management issue. There are already appropriate powers available to highway authorities. However, the rights of way review committee is presently considering a number of issues relating to the use of vehicles in the countryside, and I look forward to hearing its views.
Fire Advisory Panel
Mr. Hayes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he takes to ensure that the advice he receives from his fire advisory panel is completely impartial.
Mr. Yeo : The fire advisory panel has been established to provide a forum for the discussion of technical issues related to fire safety aspects of the Building Regulations 1985. The panel draws its membership from across the whole field of fire safety in buildings, and from both the public and private sectors, and this wide spectrum of professional expertise safeguards the impartiality of the panel's advice. A further safeguard is provided by the need for proposals from the panel for changes to the regulations to be considered by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, which has the statutory responsibility of advising the Secretary of State on them.
Mr. Hayes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to revise the membership of his fire advisory panel.
Mr. Yeo : Membership of the fire advisory panel is kept under regular review. A technical expert from the Loss Prevention Council has recently been invited to join the panel.
Mr. Hayes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he takes to ensure that the membership of his fire advisory panel is fully representative of all aspects of the fire safety limits.
Mr. Yeo : Membership of the fire advisory panel includes representatives from the Home Office, the Scottish Development Department, and the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) as well as of my Department. Non-governmental members include fire safety consultants, architects, building control officers, representatives of the fire service, and technical experts from universities, fire testing organisations, the building
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materials industry, and the fire insurance industry. The secretariat is provided by the fire research station. The panel therefore already has available a wide range of experience and expertise, but whenever gaps are identified, steps are taken to fill them.Landfill Gas
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on contracts recently placed by his Department to prepare guidelines for the safety and environmental management of landfill gas recovery.
Mr. Baldry : Such a contract was let in June 1990. It is jointly funded by the Department of the Environment, the Department of Energy, via the Energy Technology Support Unit, and the Office of Gas Supply. It should be completed by next summer.
Radioactive Substances
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment to which international treaties and conventions which cover the impairment of the environment caused by the spillage, leakage or discharge of radioactive substances is the United Kingdom a party.
Mr. Baldry : The United Kingdom is party to many international treaties and conventions concerned with the discharge of radioactive substances to the environment. In particular, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Communities conventions on early notification of a nuclear accident require that signatories should inform the relevant international organisation whenever there is an accident from which an international transboundary release is likely to occur that could be of radiological significance for another state.
Litter
Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he has made an order under section 90(3) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to describe land as litter control areas for the purposes of designation by local authorities ; (2) if he will list those organisations he intends to consult about the implementation of section 90(3) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Mr. Baldry : No order has yet been made under section 90 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. We do, however, intend to consult on a draft order in the near future and are currently finalising the list of those to be consulted. I will ensure that the hon. Member is sent a copy. If he wishes to suggest the names of bodies which should be consulted, I invite him to pass them on to my office.
Beach Pollution
Mr. David Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Government response to the Environment Select Committee report on pollution of beaches will be published ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : The Government response is being published today and a copy has been placed in the Library. We welcome the report as pollution of beaches is a matter of great public concern and is something that we are taking active steps to combat.
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The Government are committed to improving the quality of bathing waters. In 1990 77 per cent. of our 446 identified bathing waters met European standards compared with only 51 per cent. in 1986. A major investment in the sewerage system around our coasts of £1.4 billion was announced last year to bring all our bathing waters up to European standards.The Select Committee report coincided with a major Government review of their policies on disposal of sewage to sea. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in March that the discharge of raw sewage from coastal towns is to be banned. Over £2 billion is to be spent on additional treatment and £600 million of this will be spent on bathing waters over the next five years.
The Select Committee has also focused on the relationship between risks to health and sea bathing and concluded that the risk of contracting serious disease is minimal. The Government accept that more research is necessary into the risks of contracting minor infections and, with the National Rivers Authority, will fund a continuation of the existing programme.
We also believe that the public should be better informed about bathing water quality. I announced an initiative earlier this year for a voluntary scheme for local authorities to publicise, at the beach or at other prominent sites, up-to-date information on bathing water quality which will be provided by the National Rivers Authority. The local authority associations in England and Wales have endorsed the idea and we are pressing ahead finalising the arrangements for the scheme to be ready for the start of next year's bathing season. A poster is being developed for local display which will give easily understood information on bathing water quality as part of our policy on improved access to environmental information.
Goods and Services
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish tables showing the amount spent on (a) acquiring and (b) commissioning goods and services by his Department in each of the last five years.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 11 December 1990] : Departmental purchasing information systems do not differentiate between acquiring and commissioning goods and services. However, information on departmental purchasing expenditure from 1986-87 is set out in the annual reports of the central unit on purchasing, copies of which are available in the Library.
Advertising
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish a table showing the amount spent in each of the last five years by his Department on (a) advertising in the press, (b) advertising on television and radio, (c) other advertising and promotion and (d) promotion videos and sound cassettes.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 11 December 1990] : The information in respect of paid publicity and associated staff costs for my Department, including PSA, is as follows :
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|£ million
------------------------------
1985-86 |3.5
1986-87 |4.2
1987-88 |4.8
1988-89 |6.9
1989-90 |31.5
Expenditure is not broken down between different publicity media. The increase in expenditure in 1989-90 arises mainly from the flotation of the 10 water plcs, and from specific information campaigns on new legislation on local government finance and housing and to encourage the use of lead- free petrol.
Council Houses
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses have been sold (a) nationally and (b) in the London borough of Ealing, in each year since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : Tables giving available information on each local authority's sales for each financial year up to June 1990 were laid in the Library on 29 November. The equivalent figures for England are as follows :
\~Local authority sales and transfers England: (thousands)
|Sales to |Other |Total sales
|owner |transfers<1>|and
|occupiers |transfers
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |54 |- |54
1980-81 |68 |- |68
1981-82 |128 |- |128
1982-83 |181 |- |181
1983-84 |119 |3 |122
1984-85 |91 |- |91
1985-86 |82 |- |82
1986-87 |85 |1 |86
1987-88 |103 |10 |113
1988-89 |145 |12 |156
1989-90 |134 |14 |148
<2>1990-91 |27 |11 |38
<1> To housing associations and private developers.
<2> 1st quarter only.
EMPLOYMENT
Employment Training
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the cost in income support plus the £10 bonus of payments to employment training trainees in 1988-89 and 1989-90 ; and what was the average weekly income support and the £10 bonus during each of those two years.
Mr. Jackson : Employment training was launched in September 1988. Expenditure on employment training trainee allowances was £151.7 million in 1988-89, and £527.4 million in 1989-90.
The average allowance per trainee on employment training was approximately £48 per week in 1988-89 and £50 per week in 1989-90.
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Youth Training
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the number of those persons aged 16 and 17 years who are not undertaking a YTS placement.
Mr. Jackson : The latest, mid-1989, estimated total population figure of persons aged 16 and 17 years in Great Britain is 1,552,266. The number of persons in those age groups undertaking a YTS placement in July 1989 was 408,900.
Tourism
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) in what manner his Department intends to input the tourist industry's view into the ongoing review of the poll tax ;
(2) what recent representations he has received from the tourist industry on the 100-day rule and bed-and-breakfast accommodation ; (3) what plans there are for amending the 100-day rule within the British tourist industry.
Mr. Forth : Through their frequent contacts, Ministers and officials in the Department ensure that their counterparts at the Department of the Environment (DOE) are kept fully informed of the views of the tourism industry about the community charge and the uniform business rate. This will also apply to the planned comprehensive review of local government finance.
The Department has received many representations, both directly and via the tourist boards, about bed-and-breakfast accommodation and the uniform business rate, all of which have been critical of the "100-day rule". We therefore welcome the DOE's plans to draw up alternative regulations, drawing on the responses to its extensive consultation exercise.
Ports (Accidents)
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the fatal accident statistics and serious injury statistics for each employee for the years 1984 onwards for the port of London and each of the Medway ports.
Mr. Forth : The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Tenosynovitis
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what research has been conducted by his Department into means of preventing tenosynovitis ; and in which industries workers suffer from tenosynovitis ;
(2) how many actions for damage to health by tenosynovitis have been initiated in each of the last five years ;
(3) what is his estimate of the number of people who suffer from arm or wrist damage from the repetitive work syndrome called tenosynovitis.
Mr. Forth : Tenosynovitis is one of a number of musculo-skeletal disorders affecting the hand and arm which can be brought on by working conditions,
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particularly by repetitive grasping and twisting performed under time pressures. These upper limb disorders can occur throughout industry and are not specific to particular sectors.The Health and Safety Executive has recently published a booklet, "Work related upper limb disorders : a guide to prevention", drawing on the following research which it has funded :
"Clinical epidemiological study of relations between upper limb soft tissue disorders and repetitive movements at work". Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh. Research Report TM/88/19 ; "Development of an aid to identifying task elements which may predispose individuals to work related upper limb disorders". Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh. Research Report TM/90/08 ;
"Occurrence and mechanism of occupational repetition strain injuries". University of Birmingham. ISBN 070441094X
There are no reliable estimates of the number of workers affected by tenosynovitis. But the first study listed found a 4.8 per cent. incidence of tenosynovitis (21 cases) from a sample of 437 individuals presenting to orthopaedic clinics with upper limb disorders and who had worked during the previous two years. I regret that information on actions for damage to health by tenosynovitis is not available.
Employment Agencies Act
Mr. Gorst : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of refusals or revocations of licenses granted under the provisions of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 have been on account of (a) a criminal conviction, (b) civil proceedings against the applicant and (c) other grounds of unsuitability.
Mr. Jackson : Of the 55 refusals or revocations of licences (a) 25 were on grounds of criminal convictions (b) one on grounds of civil proceedings and (c) 29 on other grounds of unsuitability.
Mr. Gorst : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many appeals against refusals or revocations of licences under section 4 of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 have been lodged with him since 1973 ; and with what result.
Mr. Jackson : Since 1976, when the Act came into force, there have been 36 appeals of which eight were successful.
Mr. Gorst : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the actual grounds on which any licences have been refused or revoked under the provisions of the Employment Agencies Act 1973.
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Mr. Jackson : The grounds on which licences have been refused or revoked are : convictions for criminal offences, lack of financial probity, civil debt, failure to conduct an employment agency or an employment business properly and unsuitability of the relevant premises.
Mr. Gorst : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment on how many occasions in the last 10 years licences granted under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 have been (a) refused or (b) revoked under the provisions of section 3 of that Act.
Mr. Jackson : In the last 10 years, 33 licences have been refused and five licences have been revoked.
Crown Premises
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to replace the system of Crown notices to cover health and safety at work at Crown premises with a regime that incorporates all Crown premises under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988.
Mr. Forth : Generally the Crown is required to comply with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and the relevant statutory provisions, which include the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988. However, the Crown is immune from prosecution, and therefore the arrangements for enforcement are carried out through an alternative system of Crown notices. There are no plans to introduce legislation to change this position.
Disabled People
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had with organisations representing disabled people regarding the introduction of rehabilitation leave to encourage employers to retain workers who become disabled.
Mr. Jackson [holding answer 11 December 1990] : The Royal National Institute for the Blind told my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State of a proposal that they are developing for rehabilitation leave. His response was that we should like to see employers taking more positive action on addressing the needs of any people who become disabled while in employment and that the employment service can help employers to do this.
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