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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 19 December 1990
NORTHERN IRELAND
Slaughterhouses
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what expenditure has been incurred by his Department in ensuring slaughterhouses in Northern Ireland meet European Community standards.
Mr. Needham : During the five-year period ended 31 March 1990, capital grant assistance of £4,554,502 has been paid to the eight privately owned beef slaughter and processing companies in Northern Ireland which have facilities approved to Economic Community hygiene standards.
All these companies have abattoirs with integrated further processing facilities and the grant assistance paid was mainly towards expenditure on buildings and equipment for meat processing. Only two of the companies received grant payments totalling £252,300 towards abattoir capital expenditure. In no case was grant provided solely towards abattoir expenditure to achieve European Community standards.
Electrostatic Data Analysis Testing
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the reasons for the delay in the report on the ESDA test on the evidence relating to the case concerning four members of the Ulster Defence Regiment from Armagh, and ordered by the chief constable on 31 July.
Dr. Mawhinney : The report has been delayed by the need to subject a large volume of material to detailed and thorough examination ; but I understand that the work is now virtually complete and that the Northern Ireland forensic laboratory expects to be able to submit its findings to the Royal Ulster Constabulary shortly.
Fair Employment
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the fair employment implications of the loss of 20 action for community employment jobs in west Belfast.
Mr. Needham : There has been no net loss of ACE jobs in west Belfast.
Disabled People
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals (a) over 65 years, (b) physically disabled and (c) mentally disabled were receiving hospital, residential or nursing home care in each year since 1985 in each health board area in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Hanley : This information is not available centrally.
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District Nursing
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were registered for ongoing treatment through the district nursing system in each health board area in each year since 1985.
Mr. Hanley : Information is not available in the form requested. The table shows the number of patient visits carried out by district nurses.
Health and Social Services board Year |Eastern |Northern |Southern |Western ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1985 |714,359 |344,679 |n.a. |228,359 1986 |<1>721,674|341,505 |312,902 |211,842 1987 |n.a. |329,073 |316,602 |247,395 1988-89 |837,178 |<2>319,024|312,981 |222,986 1989-90 |853,280 |<3>320,873|307,260 |229,947 Notes: n.a.-Not available. <1> 1986-87. <2> 1988. <3> 1989.
Political Vetting
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of all instances where public funds have been withdrawn from Northern Ireland organisations under the Government's political vetting policy ; how many of the decisions were appealed ; and what was the result of each appeal.
Mr. Brooke : There is no political vetting. However, under the terms of the policy reflected in the written reply of 27 June 1985 by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, public funds have been denied in a total of 26 cases. On further review funding has been restored in four cases. It is not Government policy to reveal details of individual cases.
Glor na nGael
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the number and what were the sources of representations he has received in relation to the withdrawal of funds from Glor na nGael.
Mr. Brooke : Written representations have been received from over 150 bodies and individuals including voluntary organisations, interest groups, trade unions, politicians, other public figures and various private individuals both within Northern Ireland and further afield.
Smoke Alarms
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been spent by his Department on public safety campaigns encouraging the use of domestic smoke alarms in each of the last five years ; how much money is budgeted for the current year ; and if he will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 18 December 1990] : The information requested is as follows :
|£s
------------------------------
1985 |-
1986 |-
1987 |-
1988 |10,500
1989 |17,100
1990 |<1>21,600
<1> Anticipated
EC Funds
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how much money has been expended in the Ballymoney borough council area by the Northern Ireland Departments apart from money expended under the various EEC funds ;
(2) how much money has been expended in the Moyle council area by the Northern Ireland Departments apart from money expended under the various EEC funds ;
(3) how much money has been expended in the Ballymena borough council area by the Northern Ireland Departments apart from money expended under the various EEC funds.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 13 December 1990] : The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
ENERGY
Energy Efficiency
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations have taken place with energy efficiency projects about the network installer areas under the home energy efficiency scheme.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : It is open to any organisation engaged in the delivery of energy efficiency services to apply to become a network installer under the home energy efficiency scheme. I understand that, in drawing up the areas for which applications would intially be invited, the Energy Action Grants Agency sought advice from both Neighbourhood Energy Action and Energy Action Scotland.
Electricity Privatisation
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the cost of the advertising campaign for the flotation at the 12 regional electricity companies of England and Wales.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The costs of the campaign are still being finalised and will be announced to Parliament in the normal manner as soon as they are available.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most up-to-date estimate of the cost of the advertising campaign for the flotation of the two generating companies.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The full costs of the privatisation, including advertising costs, will be made available to Parliament in the normal way.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what policy considerations led him to reject institutional tendering as a method of flotation for the two generating companies in the electricity supply industry of England and Wales ;
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(2) what policy considerations led him to choose a public offer flotation for the two generating companies ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Decisions have yet to be taken on the precise structure of the sale of National Power and PowerGen. In intend to float both companies next February, subject to market conditions.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer of 13 December, what numbers of employees applied for shares under employee priority application procedures, in each of the 12 regional electricity company areas.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The numbers of employees who applied under the employee priority offers are as follows :
-------------------------------------- Eastern Electricity |4,073 East Midlands Electricity |3,328 London Electricity |2,546 Manweb |2,016 Midlands Electricity |3,188 Northern Electric |2,026 NORWEB |3,549 SEEBOARD |2,307 Southern Electric |3,237 South Wales Electricity |1,559 South Western Electricity |2,741 Yorkshire Electricity |3,050 <1>Provisional figures.
These figures exclude employees who have applied under the free and matching offers alone.
Gas and Electrical Installations
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if his Department will seek to place upon suppliers of electricity and gas a requirement to carry out periodic checks on all domestic and other installations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wakeham : No. All consumers are responsible for ensuring that the electricity and gas installations on their own premises are safe. The electricity and gas suppliers urge consumers to arrange checks on their installations regularly. This message is reinforced from time to time in newspapers, in billing material and so on. There is adequate guidance available from the suppliers and others.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to make a further non-fossil fuel obligation order in respect of projects involving renewable energy sources.
Mr. Wakeham [pursuant to the reply, 19 November 1990, c. 7] : In announcing the initial order setting a non-fossil fuel obligation for renewable sources of energy, I noted that a number of projects had proved not yet ready to meet the requirements of the legislation. To give these projects, and any others, an early opportunity to go forward, I have decided to make a second order setting a non-fossil fuel obligation for renewables in 1991. This will specify levels of renewables-sourced electricity generating
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capacity required to be available to the regional electricity companies, in addition to those required under the initial renewables order (SI 1990 No. 1859), during the period from 1 January 1992 until 31 December 1998.Before making the order I shall, as required under the legislation, consult the regional electricity companies and the Director General of Electricity Supply.
However, I currently have it in mind that the new order should be set at a level which will require the regional electricity companies to enter into contracts for some 150 to 200 MW DNC of generating capacity. I also have it in mind to introduce separate bands within the order for landfill gas, hydro, waste incineration and wind. This would give each of those technologies an opportunity to make a contribution to the capacity required under the order, and so would promote the Government's objective of stimulating the development and application of renewable sources of energy which have prospects of being economically competitive and environmentally acceptable. I shall determine the size of the bands, in the light of bids by generators and after the statutory consultations, at a level to strike an appropriate balance between diversity of renewable generating technologies and the cost to the electricity consumer. I may decide, in the light of the consultations, to omit a band or to combine two or more bands. However, I currently have it in mind that the bands, and the band sizes, should be as follows :
|MW DNC
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Wind power |25-50
Hydro |5-10
Landfill gas |30-60
Municipal and general industrial waste incineration |50-100
Others (eg. sewage gas, combustion of special waste) |15-30
The bands adopted for the 1991 renewables order will be without prejudice to the format of the further renewables orders that the Government intend to introduce during the 1990s.
My Department, in consultation with the RECs and the Office of Electricity Regulation, has reviewed the procedures for making NFFO orders in the light of the experience gained from the first one. A number of those consulted thought it important that the timetable should be less compressed.
Against this background I propose to make the next order, and to lay it before Parliament, in the autumn of 1991. I understand that the RECs will begin the process of selecting projects in the new year, when they will announce the procedures that they propose to adopt. My Department is publicising these proposals through "Renewables Energy Bulletin No. 4", a copy of which I am placing in the Library of the House.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Oral Questions
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council what savings his Department would make were no notice given of oral questions to Ministers and they were answered without civil service time being used on briefings.
Mr. MacGregor : No savings would be made and costs could well increase, because time and effort would be involved in wider briefing.
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Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council what is the average length of time taken and the average cost involved of officials' time in his Department preparing ministerial briefs for oral parliamentary questions.
Mr. MacGregor : The time taken in preparing ministerial briefs for oral parliamentary questions is not routinely recorded in my Department although estimates would be made where there is a likelihood of exceeding the disproportionate cost threshold (currently £250). However, following an interdepartmental exercise in 1972 in which the Department participated an assessment was made of the average cost throughout all Departments of answering an oral question. This assessment was based on staff time, using average rates of pay and associated costs for the grades concerned, together with a share of the cost of parliamentary sections and any substantial non-staff costs such as computer usage. This assessed figure is regularly updated and currently stands at £99.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Antarctic
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what decisions regarding the convention on the regulation of Antarctic mineral resource activities for the Antarctic have been agreed by Britain's representatives at the Santiago convention ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The situation at the end of the 11th Antarctic treaty special consultative meeting with respect to CRAMRA is set out in paragraph 20 of the interim report of the meeting. I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 12 December, column 421-22, to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) for the text.
Bishop Laslo Tokes
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received about the infringements of the human rights of the Romanian bishop, Laslo Tokes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [pursuant to his reply, 14 December, c. 530] : Her Majesty's ambassador in Bucharest has spoken to Bishop Tokes to ascertain his safety and that of his family. Bishop Tokes confirmed that although some threats have been made, he is unharmed and the Romanian authorities are taking an active interest in ensuring his safety.
ENVIRONMENT
Local Authority Borrowing
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will bring forward proposals to end controls on local authorities' ability to borrow money to meet local needs ; (2) if he will make it his policy to introduce proposals to replace existing controls on local authority borrowing powers with a statutory requirement to pay back loans from revenue over a minimum period ;
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(3) what are his reasons for continuing central controls on local authority capital spending ; and if he will make a statement on the achievements of this policy.Mr. Key : No. Local authority capital expenditure which is mainly financed by borrowing amounts to a quarter of all public sector capital expenditure. Since the end of the last century, successive Governments have found it necessary to exercise some control over local authority capital expenditure and borrowing.
Toxic Sites
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made to compile a central index of toxic sites ; and when he expects such an index to be available.
Mr. Baldry : The question of compilation of a national list of seriously contaminated and polluting sites was considered in the Government's response to the Select Committee on the Environment's first report on contaminated land. We concluded that this was not a practical possibility. However, we have taken powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to require local authorities to set up public registers of all land in their areas which, because of past or present uses, may be contaminated.
We will consult widely on the scope of these registers and the methods to be used in compiling them. Depending on the outcome of consultations, we hope that authorities will be able to proceed with compilation of registers during 1992-93.
Charitable Housing Associations
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out in tabular form the number of houses and flats owned by charitable housing associations in each district or borough in Hertfordshire.
Mr. Yeo : This is a matter for the Housing Corporation. I have therefore asked the corporation to respond to my hon. Friend direct.
Special Needs Housing
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make additional funding available to provide the homeless and others with special needs with move-on accommodation to relieve the pressure on existing high-care hostels.
Mr. Yeo : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning on Monday 17 December 1990, column 24, to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Hughes).
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the expenditure by local housing authorities on energy efficiency measures in homes since 1983.
Mr. Yeo : The following figures show capital expenditure by English local authorities on :
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£ million
|Homes |Energy
|Insulation |conservation
|Scheme |work on local
|authorities'
|own stock<1>
--------------------------------------------------------
1983-84 |24.9 |17.1
1984-85 |25.2 |17.0
1985-86 |27.6 |10.5
1986-87 |25.2 |13.2
1987-88 |21.3 |15.8
1988-89 |7.2 |20.2
<2>1989-90 |7.0 |52.5
<1>Expenditure on specific energy conservation schemes
only. It does not include the cost of relevant works,
e.g. the installation of insulation etc, which are
carried out as part of general conversion or
improvement programmes.
<2>Provisional.
Water Quality
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the most recent information on the number of regional water companies that do not comply with EEC regulations on water quality.
Mr. Baldry : All water companies already achieve most of the standards in the Water Quality Regulations, which incorporate the requirements of the EC drinking water directive. Where a standard is not consistently achieved at present, the company has been required to give an undertaking that it will carry out remedial action by the earliest possible date, taking practicalities into account. An up-to-date summary of the position will be given in the first annual report of the drinking water inspectorate, to be published next summer.
Waste Recycling
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what measures he will implement to encourage local authorities to move towards a target of 50 per cent. recycling of domestic refuse where such treatment of waste is more costly that the traditional landfilling ;
(2) if it is proposed that under the Environmental Protection Act, municipal solid waste disposal costs will be compared with municipal solid waste recycling costs ;
(3) how the costs for the disposal of municipal solid wastes and recycling will be calculated ; and what account will be taken of collection, transport and man hours ;
(4) which of the waste disposal authority or its waste collection authority in the event of collection authorities contracting directly with a waste recycler will be financially liable for the costs of an operation.
Mr. Baldry : My Department will be consulting early next year about the new duty on waste disposal authorities to pay credits in respect of the costs of disposal of household waste avoided by recycling. We are currently developing a method for the calculation of credits. It will be up to each organisation which undertakes recycling to assess viability in the light of costs, benefits and credits available. We do not expect recycling to take place where it is economically and environmentally unviable.
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how authorities' assets will be valued before being transferred to a local authority waste disposal
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contractor ; and what liabilities will be attached to existing landfill sites as an ongoing financial responsibility for such local authority waste disposal contractors.Mr. Baldry : Advice on valuation of assets will be included in a draft circular giving advice on the new arrangements for waste disposal under the Environmental Protection Act and on local authority waste disposal companies. This draft circular should be available early in the new year. Full liability for restoration and after-care costs of existing landfill sites will transfer with sites.
Landfill Sites
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how duty of care responsibilities under the Environmental Protection Act will affect landfill sites currently operating, but with many years' capacity still open to them.
Mr. Baldry : The Environmental Protection Act 1990 contains new measures whereby a licensee may not surrender his licence without the consent of the Waste Regulation Authority, and that consent may not be given unless the authority is satisfied that the condition of the land is unlikely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health. The licensee will therefore remain responsible for the monitoring of the land and any remedial action necessary until the authority accepts the surrender and issues a certificate of completion. The licensee will need to ensure that the resources to enable him to meet these obligations are set aside during the active, revenue-earning, phase of the landfill. Licences already issued under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 will automatically become waste management licences when the relevant sections of the Environmental Protection Act are implemented, and they will be subject to the provisions of the new Act.
Housing Investment Programme
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the housing investment programme bids received, and the agreed level of programme, by his Department for each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Yeo : The table compares local authorities' bids with the capital allocations, which provide part of the available resources to fund capital expenditure, and actual outturn.
Local authority housing capital expenditure: England: £ million
|Proposed |HIP |Gross
|programme |allocation<1>|expenditure
|outturn
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1982-83 |3,480 |2,192 |2,483
1983-84 |3,560 |2,233 |3,176
1984-85 |4,480 |1,852 |3,187
1985-86 |4,870 |1,605 |2,802
1986-87 |5,420 |1,459 |2,883
1987-88 |6,040 |1,400 |3,151
1988-89 |6,650 |1,331 |3,470
1989-90 |6,330 |1,095 |<3>4,442
1990-91 |6,500 |<2>1,913 |N.A.
1991-92 |<3>6,020 |<2>1,861 |N.A.
<1>For the years up to 1989-90 Housing Investment Programme
allocations made by the Department relate to the borrowing approvals
available to local authorities to finance their housing capital
programmes. In addition capital expenditure could be
financed from capital receipts (subject to certain conditions) and
from revenue sources. A new capital finance system was introduced for
1990-91 in which the HIP allocations comprise annual capital
guidelines and resources for specified capital grants. A proportion
of local authorities' usable receipts are then taken into account in
arriving at a figure for the basic credit approval which permits
borrowing.
<2>Allocations made to date for these two years.
<3>provisional.
Water Supply
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he has made for the enforcement of the general duties placed on water companies by sections 37 and 67 of the Water Act 1989 to provide water supply and sewerage in their areas.
Mr. Trippier : These duties hitherto have been enforceable by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales. Under a general authorisation given by my right hon. Friends, they are now enforceable by the Director General of Water Services, and he will deal with any complaint that a company has not fulfilled its statutory duties.
Environmental Organisations
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to publish details of the new fund to help finance voluntary organisations in the furtherance of policies set out in "This Common Inheritance," (Cm. 1200) ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to publish details of the new fund to help finance voluntary organisations in the furtherance of policies set out in "This Common Inheritance" (Cm. 1200) ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : I am very pleased to announce that my Department has today issued invitations to voluntary groups to apply for project funding under the new environmental grant fund. The grant is available exclusively for projects which will help to further the policies set out in the White Paper "This Common Inheritance", published in September 1990.
We are eager to use the new fund to support practical projects at the local level. We will particularly favour projects which show innovations or which involve new groups in environmental work. Funding will normally be in the form of a 50 per cent. contribution to the overall project cost with an unlimited proportion of this being available to meet capital costs. Projects can be funded for up to three years and will be closely monitored to assess their effectiveness.
In order to bring the scheme quickly into operation, we have decided for this first year only to restrict applications to national and regional organisations. We will be discussing with the voluntary sector how the scheme might be extended for future years to target local groups directly.
In this first year £650,000 is available. In 1993-94 when the fund is fully operational £1.5 million will be available.
Competitive Tendering
Mr. Ashby : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take in regard to Leicester city council under part I of the Local Government Act 1988.
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Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend has today issued a direction under section 14 of the Local Government Act 1988 requiring Leicester city council to expose refuse collection work to competitive tendering again by 1 November 1991. He has taken this action because he was not satisfied with the response which Leicester city council made to the notice served on 11 September 1990 under section 13 of the Act. That notice set out the Secretary of State's view that Leicester city council had acted contrary to the requirement of section 7(7) of the Act (which is that, in reaching a decision to assign work to its own work force, an authority must not act in a manner having the effect or intended or likely to have the effect of restricting, distorting or preventing competition) in that, in assessing the cost of accepting a tender from an external contractor, it took account of certain fixed overhead costs.Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take in regard to Thurrock borough council under part I of the Local Government Act 1988.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend has today issued a direction under section 14 of the Local Government Act 1988 requiring Thurrock borough council to expose street cleaning work to competitive tendering again by 1 November 1991. He has taken this action because he was not satisfied with the response which Thurrock borough council made to the notice served on 3 October 1990 under section 13 of the Act.
That notice set out the Secretary of State's view that Thurrock borough council had acted contrary to the requirement of section 7(7) of the Act (which is that, in reaching a decision to assign work to its own work force, an authority must not act in a manner having the effect or intended or likely to have the effect of restricting, distorting or preventing competition) in that, in assessing the cost of accepting a tender from an external contractor, it took account of certain fixed overhead costs.
Homelessness
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for discontinuation of the leasing by borough or district councils of private houses for temporary accommodation for homeless persons ; what consultation he has had with boroughs principally affected ; and what study he has made concerning the effects of implementing his proposal.
Sir George Young [pursuant to the reply, 18 December 1990, column 114 -15] : The housing revenue account subsidy determinations for 1991- 92 have been made today. They cover the assumptions the Government will make about rents and management and maintenance and other rules governing the calculation of each authority's subsidy entitlement. I am placing copies of the determinations in the Library.
The determinations also confirm, with modifications, the new rules for subsidy on short-term leasing that were proposed in October. Local authorities have increasingly taken private houses and flats on short-term leases to provide temporary refuge for the homeless. The Government had not proposed to discontinue this. On the contrary, I want to ensure that the rules regulating councils' entitlement to subsidy on this activity leave them with the flexibility they need, and I have therefore had
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extensive consultations with local authorities and their representatives. In response to their views, I have had a fresh look at the rules proposed in October and am today announcing two modifications.The first is a proposal designed to help those authorities which are worried by the numbers of short-term leases approaching the end of their terms. To assist them with renewal or replacement, the rent they pay from 1 April next would be subsidisable up to a cash limit for each authority. The total national cost would be up to £25 million, to be found by a transfer from the estate action programme. I am putting this forward today as a proposal for consultation, and my Department is inviting responses from authorities by 19 January. The second modification (on which we have already consulted) recognises that short-term leases are not necessarily appropriate in the permanent housing account. They may be used for the same purpose as licensed accommodation and bed-and-breakfast provision, both of which are financed from the general fund with underlying assistance from revenue support grant. The Department is prepared to give authorities special directions to take named leases outside the housing account, and we are today telling authorities of the criteria that must be met if they wish to apply. Leases taken outside the housing account will benefit from the same rent rebate subsidy arrangements as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security will be introducing for rebates for tenants in bed-and-breakfast or licensed accommodation.
On the subsidy allowances for management and maintenance expenditure, we are introducing a system that targets allowances on those authorities with the greatest problems in maintaining their estates. I have decided to introduce this targeting slightly more quickly than was proposed in October, through a larger redistribution of resources from authorities with the least needs to those in greatest need. As a result, about 40 rather than 20 authorities will receive higher increases in allowances. Overall the level of allowances will be increased in order to maintain them at this year's levels in real terms.
For rent guidelines, my right hon. Friend confirms the proposals for an average rent increase of 2 per cent. above the allowance for inflation. This means an average increase of £1.85 over the guideline rents which applied this year ranging from £1.38 to £2.50 in individual councils. It is for each council to determine its actual rent level and how much to spend on management and maintenance of stock.
My right hon. Friend also confirms the proposal to reduce the allowance for the rent lost on empty properties to a flat rate of 2 per cent. of dwellings.
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