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Column 167
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 21 March 1991
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide for each local authority the level of rates payable in 1989-90 below which a ratepaying couple who have not subsequently moved house might expect in 1991-92 to benefit from the community charge reduction scheme.
Mr. Key : I am arranging for a table of the information requested, based on the community charges for 1991-92 so far reported to the Department, to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for the years 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91, for each local authority in England and Wales, the proportion of revenue raised by the rating system or community charge as a percentage of total local authority expenditure.
Mr. Key : I am arranging for a table of the estimates for local authorities in England for 1988-89 and 1989-90 to be placed in the Library of the House. For 1990-91, community charge income is paid into the collection fund of the charging authority and, together with revenue support grant and receipts from the non-domestic rates pool, finances the spending of both charging and precepting authorities. It is not therefore possible to relate the community charge income of the collection fund to the expenditure of any particular authority. Figures for authorities in Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the year on year increase in percentage terms, in standard spending assessment for 1991-92 for each metropolitan district and London borough.
Mr. Key [holding answer 20 March 1991] : The figures requested are given in the following table :
Percentage increase in SSA between 1990-91
and 1991-92
|per cent.
-------------------------------------------
Greater London
City of London |2.5
Camden |22.4
Greenwich |22.2
Hackney |22.9
Hammersmith and Fulham |20.8
Islington |25.4
Kensington and Chelsea |26.8
Lambeth |23.3
Lewisham |24.1
Southwark |24.7
Tower Hamlets |25.1
Wandsworth |23.2
Westminster |22.1
Barking and Dagenham |20.6
Barnet |22.9
Bexley |21.3
Brent |19.9
Bromley |21.9
Croydon |20.7
Ealing |21.7
Enfield |22.1
Haringey |21.7
Harrow |18.9
Havering |20.3
Hillingdon |23.5
Hounslow |23.9
Kingston upon Thames |21.6
Merton |17.2
Newham |23.7
Redbridge |22.6
Richmond upon Thames |22.1
Sutton |21.9
Waltham Forest |20.8
Greater Manchester
Bolton |17.9
Bury |17.9
Manchester |19.5
Oldham |21.6
Rochdale |19.5
Salford |16.3
Stockport |19.2
Tameside |18.5
Trafford |16.6
Wigan |18.6
Merseyside
Knowsley |16.0
Liverpool |18.1
St. Helens |20.2
Sefton |20.5
Wirral |19.2
South Yorkshire
Barnsley |19.9
Doncaster |20.5
Rotherham |18.8
Sheffield |20.2
Tyne and Wear
Gateshead |20.4
Newcastle upon Tyne |18.8
North Tyneside |19.5
South Tyneside |18.2
Sunderland |19.5
West Midlands
Birmingham |18.4
Coventry |17.0
Dudley |19.5
Sandwell |17.1
Solihull |17.9
Walsall |15.9
Wolverhampton |18.4
West Yorkshire
Bradford |19.7
Calderdale |18.0
Kirklees |18.8
Leeds |20.5
Wakefield |19.4
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what would be the level of community charge in Kent for 1990-91 if the amount of revenue support grant, or its equivalent, paid to local authorities had been maintained at its 1978-79 level in real terms ;
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(2) what would be the level of community charge in Calderdale for 1990-91 if the amount of revenue support grant, or its equivalent, paid to local authorities had been maintained at its 1978- 79 level in real terms.Mr. Key : I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to the hon. Member for Jarrow (Mr. Dixon) on Thursday 14 March, Official Report, column 675 .
Council Housing
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish, in the Official Report (a) the total, for each authority, of homes owned by the council at 1 January 1980, (b) the total sold to tenants under the right-to-buy legislation and other voluntary processes since 1 January 1980 to the latest date for which figures are available and (c) the percentage (b) represents of (a) for the London boroughs of Camden, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth, the metropolitan boroughs of Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham and the districts of Nottingham and Bristol, and each of the districts of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.
Mr. Yeo : A table giving the available information on sales for each English local authority was placed in the Library on Wednesday 30 January 1991-- Official Report, column 542.
Homelessness
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the number of people made homeless due to mortgage repossessions since 1979.
Mr. Yeo : Local authorities report the number of households accepted under the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and the Housing Act 1985 where the main immediate reason for homelessness is mortgage arrears, but do not distinguish those who were actually subject to repossession. Estimates are as follows :
Year |England ------------------------ 1979 |2,000 1980 |2,500 1981 |3,500 1982 |4,200 1983 |4,700 1984 |6,100 1985 |8,300 1986 |10,070 1987 |10,460 1988 |8,340 1989 |8,360 1990 |13,470
Urban Renewal Grant
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the range of projects funded by urban renewal grant in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Key : In addition to the resources made available through local authorities' housing investment programme allocations and capital receipts, my Department provides specific resources under the group of urban and housing programmes as follows :
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(
|£ million
----------------------------------------
Urban programme |232.6
City grant approved |49.5
Derelict land grant |73.5
Urban development
corporations |553.9
City action teams |7.8
Estate action |190.0
In addition, resources totalling £165 million are available in 1990-91 to help the homeless through local authority and housing association schemes, the rough sleepers initiative and grants to voluntary organisations offering advice and support.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what projects in Wandsworth have received funding from the urban renewal grant ; and what is the total value of the grants.
Mr. Key : My Department has provided specific resources in Wandsworth as follows :
1990-91
£ million
Urban programme 2.5
City grant approved 0.4
Homelessness 3.1
Crown Suppliers
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what payments will be made or have been made to Mr. D. A. Turnbull arising out of the sale of TCS to the management buy-out with which the person to whom the Government are considering selling the transport section of the Crown Suppliers is connected.
Mr. Yeo : Payments totalling £36,000 have been made by my Department to members of Mr. Pinkney's team in support of fees they incurred up to December 1990 for advice from D. A. Turnbull and Co. Mr. Turnbull is corresponding with the Department about support for subsequent fees for the team's advisers.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether all TCS contracts let by his Department connected in any way with Mr. D. A. Turnbull complied with civil service procurement rules.
Housing Associations
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on funding lesbian and gay housing associations.
Mr. Yeo : To be eligible for public funding for housing activities, a housing association must be registered with the Housing Corporation. Responsibility for registration rests in statute with the corporation. I am, however, not aware that there are any registered associations which meet the hon. Member's description.
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Derelict Land, Leicestershire
Mr. Ashby : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent in Government grants on derelict land, following the closure of coal mines, in north-west Leicestershire since 1979.
Mr. Yeo : Since 1979, payments of derelict land grant totalling £2, 496,884 have been authorised for schemes for the reclamation of former collieries in Leicestershire, North-West.
Gulf Oil Fires
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the evidence on which he has based his statement, Official Report, 15 March, column 1389, on the impact of oil fires.
Mr. Baldry : The long-term environmental damage arising from acid rain in parts of Europe results from cumulative deposition over very many years, combined with sensitive geology. Neither of these factors applies in the Gulf region, and it is therefore to be hoped that long-term damage will be slight.
Water Supply
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many relaxations have been authorised under the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989.
Mr. Trippier : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 12 March, Official Report, column 476.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what are (a) the average cost per person of Government provision towards local government services and (b) individual community charges in each district in Devon in 1991-92 ;
(2) what is the support per person given by central Government to (a) Lambeth and (b) North Devon ; and what is the community charge of each for the year 1991-92.
Mr. Key : The available information is given in the table. If Parliament enacts the Community Charges (General Reduction) Bill, new average community charges will be £140 lower, with a consequent increase in central Government support.
|Total |Average
|external |community
|support<1>|charge
|1991-92 |1991-92
|£/head |£/head
---------------------------------------------
East Devon |456 |383
Exeter |491 |377
Mid Devon |472 |394
North Devon |479 |<2>-
Plymouth |510 |380
South Hams |465 |380
Teignbridge |466 |405
Torbay |475 |380
Torridge |514 |346
West Devon |468 |370
Lambeth |1,557 |590
<1> Total external support includes revenue
support grant, receipts from the
non-domestic rates pool, area protection
grant and Inner
London education grant. Information on other
central Government support (specific grants,
community charge reduction scheme, and
community charge benefits) will not be
available until authorities send in their
detailed budget returns to the Department.
<2> Not available.
Research
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of research projects (a) currently being undertaken or (b) commissioned by his Department ; and if he will list the subjects of research and dates for publication in each case.
Mr. Heseltine : My Department is currently managing just over 1,000 research contracts on environmental protection, planning, local government, housing and construction. These contracts are expected to produce a corresponding number of reports over the next two years. It would not be practicable to list the expected publication date of each.
Transport Museum, Bradford
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the negotiations regarding the city grant application to assist the development of the transport museum site at Low Moor, Bradford.
Mr. Key : There is as yet no city grant application for the Low Moor site. However, a proposal for a mixed leisure and commercial development on this site has been submitted to the Department for a preliminary view on its suitability for city grant. The proposal is currently under discussion between the Department's city grant team and the scheme's promoters.
Milton Keynes Development Corporation
Mr. Benyon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for the wind-up of the Milton Keynes development corporation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : Following careful consideraiton of the representations received in the course of our consultation under section 41 of the New Towns Act 1981, I have decided that Milton Keynes development corporation should be wound up on the target date of 31 March 1992. The necessary order will be made in due course.
It is important that Milton Keynes be brought to completion to the high standards established by the development corporation and that inward investment and promotion of the city continue. The Commission for the New Towns has much experience in handling the completion of development, and I am confident that it has the flexibility to meet the particular and acknowledged needs of Milton Keynes. I am asking the commission to pay special attention to balanced development to continuing high standards at Milton Keynes and to inward investment there. I am also asking the commission to move towards the establishment there of a new promotion agency, in conjunction with the local authorities and the private sector. This agency will have a dedicated budget.
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Urban Renewal Grants
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the range of projects funded by urban renewal grants in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Key [holding answer 18 March 1991] : I refer the hon. Member to my reply given earlier today to the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox).
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what projects in Salford have received funding from the urban renewal grant ; and what is the total value of the grants.
Mr. Key [holding answer 18 March 1991] : My Department has provided specific resources in Salford as follows :
|1990-91
|£ million
--------------------------------------------------------
Urban programme |6.9
City grant approved |5.3
Derelict land grant |1.8
Manchester/Salford city action team |0.9
Estate action |3.7
In addition, the designated areas of Trafford Park development corporation covers a small area of Salford borough ; the development corporation's total provision in 1990-91 is £24.2 million.
Local Authority Debt
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the capital debt for each local authority (a) at the latest available date and (b) five years previously and the amount of interest paid in the intervening period ; and if he will total the figures regionally and nationally.
Mr. Key [holding answer 19 March 1991] : The available information has today been placed in the Library of the House.
Standard Community Charges
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 12 March, Official Report, columns 478-79, relating to standard poll tax payers ; if he will now give the comparable figures for Bolton ; and how many standard charges are attributed to second homes in (a) Wigan, (b) Salford, (c) Westminster and (d) Bolton.
Mr. Key [holding answer 20 March 1991] : Bolton's return to my Department gives the number of properties subject to a standard community charge at 1 June 1990 to be "not available". In any case, no information can be provided in the terms sought. The fact that a property may give rise to the standard charge does not indicate whether it is kept as a second home or is empty for some other reason.
Inner London Education Authority
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the additional costs grant arising from the abolition of ILEA to each of the London local authorities (a) in 1990-91 and (b) for 1991-92.
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Mr. Key [holding answer 20 March 1991] : The amounts payable by way of inner London education grants are as follows :
|1990-91 |1991-92
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------
City of London |210,000 |147,000
Camden |6,781,169 |4,792,075
Greenwich |11,344,514|7,852,451
Hackney |6,523,011 |4,872,854
Hammersmith and Fulham |6,812,046 |4,951,567
Islington |7,840,576 |5,342,227
Kensington and Chelsea |3,693,725 |2,416,962
Lambeth |9,475,207 |6,691,718
Lewisham |10,565,150|7,375,779
Southwark |9,479,967 |6,469,667
Tower Hamlets |9,102,152 |5,910,136
Wandsworth |10,974,086|7,970,026
Westminster |7,198,397 |5,207,538
Dumplington
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he gives to local authorities as regards an acceptable time scale for the determination of a planning application ; what target time scale he sets for determination of planning issues within his Department ; what is the average length of time taken by his Department to arrive at a decision on such applications following the completion of a public inquiry ; and why it has now taken more than three years in the case of the application for a regional shopping centre at Dumplington, Trafford Park, Manchester.
Mr. Yeo : The Government have set local authorities the target of deciding 80 per cent. of planning applications within eight weeks. The Department has a target of determining 80 per cent. of those planning applications which are called in for the Secretary of State's decision within 13 weeks from the date on which the inspector's report is received. The target for planning appeals which are recovered for the Secretary of State's decision, rather than being transferred to a planning inspector for decision, is to determine 80 per cent. within eight weeks of receiving the inspector's report. Of cases decided in 1990, 64 per cent. of called-in applications were decided within 13 weeks ; 59 per cent. of recovered appeals were decided within eight weeks.
Occasionally, decisions take substantially longer because the scale or nature of the proposed development raises complex issues. I understand the frustration caused by the long delay in issuing the decision on two called- in applications and an appeal relating to the Dumplington scheme. This has been caused by the need to consider carefully the comments made by the parties about the access proposals. As I said in reply to my hon. Friend on 11 February, I cannot yet forecast when it will be possible to decide these cases. I will write to interested parties as soon as I can.
Litter, Motorways
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment further to his answer of 13 March, if he will list the starting and completion dates of litter collection from each section of motorway for the last year for which figures are available ; if he will take steps to ensure that
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embankments and verges are cleared ; and whether any prosecutions for littering of motorways have been successful.Mr. Chope : I have been asked to reply.
Litter collection from motorways is undertaken by the Department's agents in conjunction with other highway maintenance functions. Separate information about starting and finishing dates for litter collection is not available.
The provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which will come into force on 1 April this year, will require litter clearance to specified standards from highways including embankments and verges.
Records of successful prosecutions for littering do not distinguish motorways from other areas. In 1988, there were 1,607 convictions for littering under the Litter Act 1983, and in 1989 there were 2,174.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Public Safety
Mr. O'Hara : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he intends to review the legislation relating to corporate responsibility, liability and accountability for public safety ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh : My Department keeps under review any issues which may affect the safety of consumers and the responsibility of suppliers of consumer products to ensure that their products are reasonably safe. The relevant legislation is the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and I have no immediate plans to undertake a review of the Act.
Profit Sharing
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what new incentives for profit sharing his Department plans to offer to British companies.
Mr. Redwood : A number of tax incentives are operated by the Inland Revenue. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a number of improvements to them in his Budget statement, including profit- related pay, save-as-you-earn, employee share ownership trusts and personal equity plans.
WALES
Steel Industry
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the total job losses in the steel industry in Wales in each financial year since 1978-79.
Mr. David Hunt : Comprehensive information detailing separately the number of jobs lost or created in the steel industry is not available. The following table shows the number of persons employed in the steel industry in Wales at the end of December each year.
|Number of
|employees
------------------------------
1978 |56,900
1979 |55,300
1980 |34,700
1981 |27,100
1982 |24,600
1983 |22,300
1984 |21,800
1985 |21,500
1986 |21,100
1987 |20,900
1988 |20,200
1989 |19,400
1990 |<1>18,000
<1> Provisional.
Source: Iron and Steel
Statistics Bureau.
Speech Therapy
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether, following the recent determination on appeal that speech therapy should be regarded as an educational provision for certain children, he has given any guidance to local education authorities in Wales on the implementation of the Education Act 1981 and the provision of statements of special educational needs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Welsh Office circular 54/89 on "Assessments and Statements of Special Educational Needs" gives guidance to local education authorities on the implementation of the Education Act 1981 and the provision of statements. It also advises on the need for local education authorities to work closely with district health authorities and social services departments on the provision of non-educational services.
Fallen Animals
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he proposes concerning fallen animals : and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : As I indicated to the hon. Gentleman when I wrote to him on 18 February 1991, the difficulties being experienced in respect of the disposal of fallen animals arise primarily from changes in the market for rendered products. In the Government's view, this is largely a problem for the market to resolve. Nevertheless, the state veterinary service continues to monitor the situation. It, with the National Rivers Authority and local authorities, can provide advice to farmers about the disposal of fallen animals. Research which could lead to an improvement in the market for rendered products continues, and the recycling of animal waste has been identified as a priority area for EC assistance under regulation 866/90.
Open-heart Surgery
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects the number of open-heart surgery operations carried out at the University hospital of Wales to reach (a) 650, (b) 700, (c) 750 and (d) 800.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : An increase in the number of open-heart operations for adults at the University hospital of Wales to the target of 800 yearly is presently under consideration with South Glamorgan health authority, reflecting the substantial central investment to upgrade coronary and intensive care facilities and cardiac catheter laboratories at the hospital and projected achievements in 1990-91.
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Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the numbers of open-heart surgery operations carried out in Wales in 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985 and 1990.Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Information for 1970 and 1975 is not readily available or directly comparable. From information provided by health authorities I understand that, in addition to 129 open-heart operations secured for patients from Wales under contractual arrangements with hospitals in England during 1990 and funded centrally by the Welsh Office, the number of open-heart operations reported to have been carried out in Wales is :
|Number
---------------------
1980 |244
1985 |576
1990 |637
Farm Aid Conservation Grants
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many grant applications under the farm aid conservation grant scheme have been refused in the last two years ; and if he will list the numbers refused under each main ground for refusal.
Mr. David Hunt : In Wales, since the farm and conservation grant scheme was introduced in February 1989, a total of 134 claims have been rejected and 2,099 claims authorised for payment up to the end of February 1991. Claims will have been rejected for a breach of either the statutory requirements or the administrative rules of the scheme. I understand that the vast majority have been rejected for breaching statutory requirements.
Minister's Flat, Cathays Park
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answers of 18 March, column 34 , whether he took account of the country of origin, when purchasing the bed linen, microwave oven, television set and video recorder for the Secretary of State's flat at the Crown buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff.
Mr. David Hunt : These were purchases made locally seeking value for money. Most of the items were manufactured in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether, pursuant to his answers of 18 March, column 34 , standard community charge is payable to Cardiff city council in the respect of the Secretary of State's flat at the Crown buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff.
Mr. David Hunt : Community charge payments are not appropriate as the flat forms part of the non-domestic value of the Cathays Park building. However, contributions are made through non-domestic rate support.
Artificial Joints
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current cost of a replacement (a) knee and (b) hip operation carried out under specific earmarked Welsh Office contract funds at the treatment centre at the Prince of Wales orthopaedic hospital, Rhydlafar.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Current costs at the treatment centre, including all fixed and variable costs, are £2,463 for a hip replacement and £3,163 for a knee replacement.
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Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the numbers of adults in Wales waiting for replacement (i) hips and (ii) knees for periods of more than four months (a) in the last full year before the setting-up of the treatment centre at the Prince of Wales orthopaedic hospital, Rhydlafar and (b) the present year.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Information is not collected in the form requested, although it was estimated, at July 1989, that some 935 patients were waiting four months or more for hip and knee replacement operations.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the length of the four months plus waiting list for artificial (a) knees and (b) hips for the year 1991-92.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information is not collected in the form requested.
Pollution Control
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to ensure that in the case of pollution control projects, grant aid approval will not be refused to farmers who have set about urgent remedial works, eligible for grant, in response to requests from the National Rivers Authority or any other regulatory body.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : It has always been our policy to pay grant on claims which comply with the terms of the relevant grant scheme.
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