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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 14 May 1991
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what basis he calculated community charge for two adults at £901 in Lambeth in the illustrative tables published with his consultation paper in the council tax.
Mr. Key : The community charge for two adults is two times the personal community charge set for the area, after allowing for the £140 reduction announced in the Budget. The final amount set will be less to the extent that reductions are secured by capping. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will announce his decisions on capping as soon as possible.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the council tax payable for two people in a property valued at less than £26,800 as a proportion of the council tax payable by (a) two-person household in the central band and (b) in a household in the central band as a proportion of the council tax payable by a two-person household in the top band, (i) overall and (ii) in Grimsby.
Mr. Key : Under our proposals, in every area the council tax for a property with two adults valued at less than £26,800 would be two thirds of the bill for a property in the central band ; and the bill for a property in the highest band would be two thirds more than the bill for a property in the central band.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will provide estimates of the numbers of tax units gaining and losing, and the amounts of their losses and gains, in pounds per week and as a percentage of net income (1) in the move from domestic rates to community charge, (2) in the move from community charge to council tax but retaining maximum rebates of 80 per cent. for council tax and (3) in the move from community charge to council tax, but with 100 per cent. rebates for council tax differentiating between single-pensioner tax units, one-parent family tax units, other single-adult tax units, tax unit couples with (a) no children, (b) one child, (c) two children and (d) three or more children, and all tax units ;
(2) if he will provide estimates of the number of households gaining and losing, and the amounts of their losses and gains, in pounds per week and as a percentage of net income (1) in the move from domestic rates to community charge, (2) in the move from community charge to council tax but retaining maximum rebates of 80 per cent. for council tax and (3) in the move from community charge to council tax, but with 100 per cent. rebates for council tax differentiating between single
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pensioner households, other single-adult households, two-adult households, households of three or more adults and all households.Mr. Portillo : The information requested is not available.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report, on the same basis as his illustrative 1991-92 council tax exemplifications, for each authority the average amount per household (1) paid in community charge in 1991-92, (2) which would have been paid in council tax in 1991-92, (3) which would have been paid in community charge in 1991-92 for spending at standard spending assessment and (4) which would have been paid in council tax in 1991-92 for spending at standard spending assessment.
Mr. Portillo : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 April 1991 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter), at column 12.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to a 14-band property tax as a means of financing local government.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 13 May 1991] : None.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what considerations underlay his decision to make a de minimis provision of £10,000 in his statement of 3 April on charge-capping ; and if he will list the local authorities that would have been designated for capping had this provision not been included.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 13 May 1991] : Five authorities set budgets which exceeded the provisional criteria announced on 31 October 1990 by less than £10,000. In each case the maximum reduction in community charge bills secured by capping would have been less than 10p. The five authorities are : Brighton, Buckinghamshire, Enfield, Hammersmith and Fulham and the West Midlands police authority.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will publish his best estimates of the total amount of poll tax income that local authorities have been unable to collect in the financial year 1990-91 ;
(2) what are his best estimates of unpaid non-domestic taxes at the end of the financial year 1990-91.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 13 May 1991] : On the basis of the returns received so far, we estimate that by 31 March 1991 local authorities in England had collected £8.6 billion in non-domestic rates, equivalent to 94 per cent. of the provisional contribution to the non-domestic rates pool.
On the basis of the same returns, we also estimate that by 31 March 1991 local authorities in England had collected £9.4 billion in community charges, equivalent to 92 per cent. of the community charge income which they budgeted to receive.
My Department does not yet have information about the amounts of non- domestic rates or community charges collectable by authorities and therefore about the amounts of rates or community charges outstanding.
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British Waterways (Property Auction)
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will arrange for a copy of the catalogue produced for the recent property auction held by British Waterways to be placed in the Library.
Mr. Trippier : This has been arranged.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proceeds were raised by the recent auction sale of property by British Waterways.
Mr. Trippier : The auction held on 27 March 1991 raised £2.9 million. Some of the properties originally included in the catalogue were sold separately and raised an additional £0.7 million.
British Waterways
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his most recent estimate of the cost of the backlog of maintenance that needs to be carried out by British Waterways.
Mr. Trippier : The British Waterways board's latest estimate of the arrears of maintenance which need to be dealt with during the next five years is £47 million at 1990-91 prices. This figure does not include the cost of strengthening public road bridges under Operation Bridgeguard.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any adjustments have been made to the grant to British Waterways or its external finance limit in the wake of its recent sale of assets.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any adjustments have been made to the grant to British Waterways or its external finance limit in the wake of the recent slump in the property market.
Red Squirrels
81. Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his Department's policy for the conservation of the red squirrel.
Mr. Trippier : The red squirrel is fully protected against killing, injuring, taking and selling through its listing on schedule 5 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Housing Valuations
82. Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the estimates available to his Department of the percentage of housing stock in each local authority in England falling into the valuation bands (a) £0-£15, 000, (b) £15,001-£30,000, (c) £30,001-£45,000, (d) £45,001- £60, 000, (e) £60,001-£80,000, (f) £80,001- £100,000, (g) £100, 001-£125,000, (h) £125,001- £150,000, (i) £150,001-£175,000, (j) £175,001- £200,000, (k) £200,001-£250,000, (l) £250,001- £300,000, (m) £300,001-£500,000 and (n) £500,001 plus.
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Mr. Portillo : No. The Government published a range of data underlying their consultative paper "A New Tax for Local Government" on 23 April 1991.
Council Tax
84. Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will rework his published estimates of council tax on the basis of the valuation bands sought by the Valuation Office in circular VO53 and subsequently provided to his Department.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library copies of the background material used in preparation of his council tax exemplifications published on 23 April ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 13 May 1991] : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 April 1991 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter), at column 12.
Building Regulations (Fire Safety)
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to harmonise the building regulations fire safety requirements in (a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland and Northern Ireland ; what representations he has received from fire officers on the operation of the current requirements in England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : The current review of the building regulations aims to achieve a greater degree of technical consistency between the provisions for England and Wales, and the requirements for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Thirty-six fire authorities made
representations about the operation of the current requirements in the course of a study commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry, in conjunction with the Home Office and my Department last year.
Genetically Modified Organisms
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement on his efforts to secure international agreement on the environmental safety of genetically modified organisms.
Mr. Trippier : Further to my right hon. Friend's statement on 29 January, my Department made a contribution of $80,000--£44,700--to the secretariat of the United Nations conference on environment and development --UNCED--on 18 April. The secretariat will spend this money on mounting a conference, to be held in London between 17 and 18 June, at which representative international experts will be consulted on the development of guidelines on the risk assessment and management worldwide of activities involving genetically modified organisms. This work will inform consideration of the environmentally sound management of biotechnology, which is a priority topic for UNCED, to be held in Brazil in 1992.
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Ordnance Survey
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether Ordnance Survey is being examined as a candidate for privatisation ;
(2) what is the 1991-92 annual budget for Ordnance Survey ; and what percentage of that is allocated to staff costs.
Mr. Baldry : I have asked the chief executive of the Ordnance Survey to write to the hon. Member with the details he requested.
Historic Royal Palaces Agency
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the 1991-92 annual budget for the Historic Royal Palaces Agency ; and what percentage of that is allocated to staff costs.
Sir George Young : The chief executive of the Historic Royal Palaces Agency will write to the hon. Member with the information he requests. I will arrange for copies of the letter to be placed in the Library of this House.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the 1991-92 annual budget for the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre ; and what percentage of that is allocated to staff costs.
Sir George Young : I have asked the chief executive of the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre to write to the hon. Member with the details he requested.
Building Research Establishment
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the 1991-92 annual budget for the Building Research Establishment ; and what percentage of that is allocated to staff costs.
Sir George Young : I have asked the chief executive of the Building Research Establishment to write to the hon. Member with the details he requested.
National Environment Week
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution his Department will be making towards National Environment Week.
Mr. Trippier : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 May 1991 to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes), at column 831.
Waveney District Council
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement listing the amount of public money his Department has passed to Waveney district council for all services in each of the past 10 years ; and what his plans are for the next three years.
Mr. Key : The amounts paid in support of Waveney district council's general services for these years were :
|Rate support|Main housing
|grant |subsidy
|(£ 000) |(£ 000)
----------------------------------------------------
1981-82 |4,063 |853
1982-83 |4,176 |77
1983-84 |4,246 |0
1984-85 |4,291 |0
1985-86 |4,239 |131
1986-87 |4,533 |0
1987-88 |4,606 |0
1988-89 |4,721 |0
1989-90 |4,946 |0
The amount paid to Waveney district council's collection fund, on which Suffolk county council precepts, in respect of 1990-91 were :
|(£ 000)
----------------------------------------------------
Community charge grant |<1>11,285
Revenue support grant |11,298
National non-domestic rates |28,552
Housing revenue account subsidy |3,582
<1>Estimated.
Revenue support grant 11,894
Non-domestic rates 23,966
Housing revenue account subsidy 3,772
The amounts that the Government propose to pay to the district council's collection fund in respect of 1991-92 are :
(£000)
Community charge grant 11,285
Revenue support grant 11,298
National non-domestic rates 28,552
Housing revenue account subsidy 3,582
Estimated.
These figures exclude information on minor specific grants paid in respect of particular functions or services.
It is not possible to give details of the amounts of external finance to be paid to the district council in 1992-93 and 1993-94 since this will depend on decisions which have yet to be taken on the amount and distribution of public expenditure in those years.
Rural Housing
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what grants under the rural housing programme have been made in the south-west region ; and how many home improvement agencies have been aided.
Mr. Yeo : A total of £7.9 million of supplementary credit approvals will be issued to local authorities for 1991-92 in respect of schemes under the rural housing programme. A schedule of allocations has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Five home improvement agency schemes in the south-west region have been aided for the same period.
Pollution Taxes
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response he has made to the report on pollution taxes prepared by the state university of Leiden in the Netherlands for the environment directorate of the European Commission.
Mr. Trippier : This report has not yet been released by the Commission, nor have the views of member states' Governments been sought.
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This Common Inheritance"
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made in implementing paragraph 18.31 of Cm. 1200, with regard to the establishment of a new discussion and advisory body with members drawn from a wide spectrum of business interests.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced on 7 May the appointment of the members of a new Advisory Committee on Business and the
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Environment. The committee is to be chaired by John Collins, chairman and chief executive of Shell UK Ltd. The other committee members are as listed.The committee is intended to have three central roles : to provide for a strategic level dialogue between Government and business on environmental issues, both of an immediate and topical interest and of a longer-term nature ; in liaison with other appropriate organisations, to help mobilise the business community in demonstrating good environmental practice and management, building on existing initiatives and activities, and to provide a link with, and focus attention on, international business initiatives on the environment.
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Advisory committee on business and the environment
Name |Position |Company
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Collins (Chairman) |Chairman and Chief Executive |Shell UK Ltd.
A. B. Cleaver |Chairman and Chief Executive |IBM UK Ltd.
Chris Hampson |Director |ICI
John G. Speirs |Managing Director |Norsk Hydro (UK) Ltd.
David Lyon |Chief Executive |Bowater plc.
Rod Aspinwall |Chairman |Aspinwall and Company
Robert Jones |Coordinator, Conservation |British Gas
|Projects
Nicholas Hood CBE |Chairman |Wessex Water plc.
Robin Paul |Managing Director |Albright and Wilson
John Baker |Chief Executive |National Power
P. J. Costain |Group Chief Executive |Costain Group plc.
Dorothy MacKenzie |Chief Executive |Dragon International
R. D. Yeomans |Managing Director |Wincanton Group Ltd.
Christopher G. F. Harding |Chairman |British Nuclear Fuels plc.
Derek Wanless |Chief Executive, UK Financial |National Westminster Group
|Services |plc
Norman Adsetts |Chairman |Sheffield Insulations Group plc.
Peter A. M. Heath |Chairman and Chief Executive |Cleanaway
A. P. Bird |Managing Director |Bird Group of Companies
Cameron McLatchie |Chairman and Chief Executive |British Polythene Industries plc.
Nigel Palmer |Chief Executive |C. W. Pittard and Co.
Paul J. E. Rink |Joint Managing Director |Wolstenholme Rink plc.
George Simpson |Chief Executive |Rover Group
Sue Green |Group Communications |Legal and General Group plc.
|Director
D. J. Challen |Director |J. Henry Schroder Wagg and
|Co. Ltd.
The Gulf (Oil Pollution)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance has been offered by the United Kingdom to the Governments of Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to protect migrating pipers, plovers, redshanks and other birds from oil pollution in the Gulf during their return to the northern hemisphere this spring.
Mr. Trippier : The International Council for Bird Preservation, which is based in Cambridge, is currently undertaking, with the support of the Saudi national commission for wildlife conservation and development, a detailed study of the spring migration in the Gulf. This work, which involves ringing and colour marking of birds, will give an indication of how seriously migrating species are likely to be affected by pollution in the Gulf. My Department proposes to contribute £10,000 to the cost of this study which should be completed next month.
Water Supplies
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the current status of United Kingdom water supplies and their adequacy to supply the demands of the next decade.
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Mr. Trippier : We are informed that water resources are satisfactory and water undertakers expect to maintain normal supplies--except in parts of the south east and east of England. In these areas, groundwater levels are well below normal but water companies expect to maintain supplies with restrictions confined to less-essential uses. The position to 2011 is set out in the National Rivers Authority's report "Demands and Resources of Water Undertakers in England and Wales", copies of which are held in the Library.
Environmental Business Opportunities
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a copy of his Shell lecture on environmental business opportunities given at the Royal Society of Arts on 7 May.
Mr. Trippier : I have today placed in the Library of the House a copy of the Shell lecture "The Environment Business" which my right hon. Friend delivered on 7 May.
Planning Appeals
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment further to his answer of 2 May, Official Report, columns 273-74 , to the hon. Member for Hendon,
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North (Mr. Gorst) concerning planning appeals, how many of the appeals allowed, following a local authority decision to refuse planning permission, concerned cases in areas with current and properly constituted local plans approved by him.Mr. Yeo : This information is not available.
Sulphur Dioxide
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy with respect to the abatement of emissions of sulphur dioxide.
Mr. Trippier : The Government's policies for the abatement of air pollution were explained in chapter 11 of the White Paper "This Common Inheritance". The United Kingdom is committed, under European Community legislation, to cut emissions of sulphur dioxide from existing power stations and other large combustion plant by 60 per cent. by 2003, compared with 1980 levels. Under part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, operators of industrial plant are being required to use best available techniques not entailing excessive cost to reduce harmful emissions, including sulphur dioxide. I am arranging to place in the Library copies of maps which illustrate the expected effects of these policies by 2005. They show that the areas in which our soils and freshwaters are subject to sulphur depositions in excess of "critical loads"--the levels which they can tolerate without adverse effects--should be very substantially reduced by that date : to around 8 per cent. of the United Kingdom surface area in respect of soils and around 4 per cent. of the surface area of Scotland in the case of
freshwaters--freshwaters maps are not yet available for the remainder of the United Kingdom.
The maps have been prepared to inform discussions in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, which are intended to lead to a new international agreement on sulphur dioxide by November 1992. My Department will also be issuing shortly a brochure to explain the basis of this mapping work.
Local Authority Expenditure (Southampton)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Holt) of 27 March, Official Report, column 459, if he will (a) set out the precise basis of his calculation and (b) show the increase between 1988-89 and 1991 -92 for Southampton district council using budget figures only.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 10 May 1991] : The components used to calculate the increase between 1988-89 and 1990-91 in the table to which the hon. Member refers were as follows :
Expenditure in 1988-89 to compare with demand in 1990-91 was taken from information reported by the authority on form RS1B and comprises :
Total expenditure 1988-89
less Parish Precepts
less Rate Fund Contribution to Housing RevenueAccount
less Rent Rebates
plus Variation in balances
Demand in 1990-91 was the figure returned by the authority.
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