| Previous Section | Home Page |
Rents-to-Mortgages Scheme
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many inquiries from Basildon new town tenants have been received regarding the rents-to-mortgages scheme since the announcement of its introduction in autumn 1990 ; how many sales through
rents-to-mortgages have been achieved to date ; what representations he has received regarding the progress of rent-to-mortgages scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : There were more than 900 initial inquiries following the announcement of the rents-to-mortgages scheme in Basildon last autumn. Since its official launch in February there have been 180 firm applications and the first sale is expected to be completed next month. There have been no recent representations about the progress of the scheme, which is being monitored carefully.
Community Charge
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will withdraw "Community Charge Practice Note 25" as it relates to people who change addresses within one local authority charging area.
Mr. Key : My Department has ceased production of all the community charge practice notes. The issue of practice notes on the community charge is now a function of the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation.
Column 330
Renewable Energy
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to issue the planning policy guidance note on sites for wind, tidal and other alternative energy plants ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, North-West (Mr. Bellingham) on 28 March, Official Report, columns 543-44.
Solar Heating
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to make a condition of domestic planning consent the installation of solar panels in all new dwellings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : I have no plans to advise local planning authorities to impose conditions on all residential planning permissions requiring the installation of solar panels.
Child Abuse
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many social workers with specialist training in child abuse are employed by each local authority in England and Wales.
Mr. Key : This information is not held centrally.
Kill the Messenger"
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will acquire for his Department's library a copy of Sir Bernard Ingham's "Kill the Messenger".
Buildings (Environmental Assessment)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the environmental assessment method programme launched by the Building Research Establishment.
Mr. Yeo : The Building Research Establishment environmental assessment method--BREEAM--was developed by the BRE in association with private sector interests and launched in July 1990. It is a method by which the environmental impact of new office buildings can be assessed against defined criteria at design stage and, where appropriate, improved. The scheme is voluntary and its operation self-financing. I welcome this collaborative initiative by the Building Research Establishment and the firms associated with it.
Public Sanitary Facilities
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance is given to local authorities on the cleaning up of public sanitary facilities.
Mr. Baldry : None, but they have an obligation to ensure that public sanitary conveniences, whether provided by themselves or others, are not prejudicial to health or a nuisance.
Column 331
Brandon Estate, Southwark
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) why the Estate Action bid by Southwark council for the Brandon estate was rejected ;
(2) if he will reconsider the application of Southwark council for Estate Action funding for the Brandon estate.
Mr. Yeo : The Department did not offer Estate Action support for 1991-92 to Southwark council towards the cost of its proposed works on the Brandon estate as the application failed to satisfy the objectives of the programme. The Department would be willing to consider a new bid for this estate in a future year, but approval would depend on the quality of the proposed scheme in competition with other bids received.
Estate Action
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the criteria for awarding Estate Action funding.
Mr. Yeo : Estate Action resources are allocated on the basis of published ministerial guidelines. The detailed criteria applicable to 1992- 93 will be published shortly.
Right to Buy
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 18 April, Official Report, column 227, to the hon. Member for Kingswood (Mr. Hayward), how much discount, in cash terms, has been granted as a result of these sales under right-to-buy legislation.
Mr. Yeo : Information on the value of discount allowed under right to buy is not separately identified. Between October 1980, when the right- to-buy scheme was introduced, and December 1990 about £14 billion was granted as discount to all purchasers of local authority dwellings in England.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the impact of the European Commission's report about quality assurance in the management of radioactive waste in the European Community on United Kingdom policy on nuclear waste.
Mr. Baldry : I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the report by the European Commission entitled "Objectives, standards and criteria for radioactive waste disposal in the European Community"--EUR 12570. The report was produced by a working group on which my Department was represented. I fully agree with the European Council conclusions that the report was a good assessment of the current situation for radioactive waste disposal.
Dog Registration
Mr. David Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he now considers it necessary to introduce a dog registration scheme by which dog ownership is linked to the animals owned ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 332
Mr. Baldry : The Environmental Protection Act 1990 contains a package of measures to enforce the requirement that dogs wear a collar and identifying tag when in a public place ; and to ensure that stray dogs are collected up. We remain of the view that the package provides a practical and effective solution to the problems caused by irresponsible owners and that registration would be costly, bureaucratic and ineffective.
Council Tax
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people in the North Devon district council area would benefit from reduced payments under his council tax proposals.
Mr. Key [holding answer 15 May 1991] : Information about the effect of the council tax on individuals is not available. The tables issued on 23 April show the effects on households of the council tax as compared with headline community charges in 1991-92.
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the estimated cost of using the district valuers and their staff to undertake the valuation of properties for the proposed council tax ;
(2) how many estate agents will be employed to undertake the valuation of properties for the proposed council tax ; how these estate agents will be chosen ; and what is his estimate of the cost of employing them.
Mr. Key [holding answer 14 May 1991] : Paragraph 2.29 of the consultation paper "A new tax for local government" set out the Government's proposals for the initial banding of properties. We are presently considering the best way of combining Valuation Office expertise and that of private sector valuers, with a view to enabling all domestic properties to be placed into seven bands by value, and the council tax to be in place by April 1993.
Housing (Southwark)
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how long it will take under the current housing reference system for the London borough of Southwark to receive an actual management and maintenance allowance equivalent to the target management and maintenance allowance.
Mr. Yeo : [holding answer 17 May 1991] : Our aim is to move progressively towards a system of targeted housing revenue account subsidy allowances for management and maintenance based upon an assessment of need rather than on historic spend. This will involve a redistribution of resources between local housing authorities. The rate of progress of introducing targeted allowances will depend on annual decisions about the overall provision for allowances and will be subject to consultation with local housing authorities and their associations.
PRIME MINISTER
European Monetary Union
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the recent proposals by the President of the European Comission for a delayed consideration of entry into European monetary union.
Column 333
The Prime Minister : As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor told the House on 24 January, we cannot accept any changes to the treaty of Rome that would bind us to move to a single currency or a single monetary policy without a separate decision by the United Kingdom Government and Parliament. The suggestion made at the informal ECOFIN on 12 May is a step in the right direction. But there remain many issues to be discussed in the economic and monetary union intergovernmental conference before a final agreement can be reached.International Arms Transfers
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will seek a debate on the United Nations on the United Nations Publication, "Topical Paper 3-- Transparency in International Arms Transfers".
The Prime Minister : We are in favour of greater transparency in international arms transfers. On 8 April I proposed the establishment of a United Nations register of arms sales. We are discussing this with members of the Security Council, the Twelve and others. We fully expect it to be the subject of debate at the next general assembly.
Special Forces
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Prime Minister if it has now become the policy of Her Majesty's Government to reveal details of the operations of United Kingdom special forces.
The Prime Minister : I have nothing further to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 17 May 1991 at column 281.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Non-audit Fees
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what draft statutory instrument he has circulated on disclosure of non-audit fees paid by companies to their auditors ; to whom it has been circulated ; and with what closing date.
Mr. Redwood : Officials have circulated a draft of possible regulations to be made under section 390B of the Companies Act 1985, as inserted by section 121 of the Companies Act 1989. The draft was sent to the major professional accountancy bodies with an interest ; to the larger accountancy firms ; to the Law Society and the Law Society of Scotland ; to the CBI ; and to a number of other persons who asked to see it. Comments were invited by 16 May, or shortly thereafter.
Liquidators
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will propose legislation under which anyone acting as a liquidator will be required to publish financial information about his business.
Column 334
Mr. Redwood : I have no plans to do so.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times since 1986, his Department has taken action to remove company liquidators.
Mr. Redwood : The Secretary of State has the power to remove a liquidator only where he made the initial appointment following an application by an official receiver. Since 1986 the Secretary of State has not removed any liquidators whom he has appointed.
Auditors
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what representations he has received from shareholders expressing dissatisfaction with the work and standards of United Kingdom auditors ;
(2) what representations he has received from company directors expressing dissatisfaction with the work and standards of United Kingdom auditors.
Mr. Redwood : My Department receives a variety of such representations.
Official Receiver (Investigations)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to require the results of the Official Receiver's investigations into companies to be published.
Mr. Redwood : The Secretary of State has no plans to introduce legislation to require the Official Receiver to publish the results of his investigations. Under the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986, the Official Receiver has a statutory duty to investigate the affairs of companies in compulsory liquidation and report prima facie evidence of criminal misconduct to officials at Insolvency Service headquarters. He also has a duty under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 to report unfitted conduct by directors of companies in compulsory liquidation to the Secretary of State. The Official Receiver is required to make a report to creditors and contributories on the proceedings in the liquidation and the state of the company's affairs and to file a copy of that report in court.
Companies Inspectors
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, further to his answer of 31 January, Official Report, column 580, he will indicate which of the inspectors have come from the auditing firms criticised by his Department's inspectors.
Mr. Redwood : Of the six cases listed, two inspectors come from accountancy firms criticised in reports of inspectors published since June 1979.
Column 335
Name of Inspector |Name of Firm |Published |Date of Publication
|Inspectors Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. J. White FCA |KPMG Peat |Orbit Holdings |23 December 1981
| Marwick | Limited
| McLintock
|Alexander Howden |29 August 1990
| Holdings plc
Mr. J. K. Heywood FCA |Price Waterhouse |Norwest Holst |23 June 1982
| Limited
|Ramor Investments |22 March 1983
| Limited
Insolvency Practitioners
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many liquidators/receivers have been appointed by the insolvency service.
Mr. Redwood : The Secretary of State has power to appoint liquidators in compulsory liquidations and trustees in bankruptcy following application by an Official Receiver. Statistics do not differentiate between liquidators and trustees, but during the year to 31 March 1990, a total of 2,081 appointments were made, and in the year to 31 March 1991 there were 2,356.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints have been lodged with him or the Insolvency Service about the conduct of insolvency practitioners.
Mr. Redwood : Statistics relating to the number of complaints received by the Secretary of State or the Insolvency Service are not kept. However, I can confirm that, in addition to ministerial correspondence, the Insolvency Service receives correspondence from interested parties of companies in liquidation or receivership, or of bankrupts where some dissatisfaction concerning the practitioner is voiced.
Bankruptcies
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give details of companies (a) in the west midlands and (b) in north Staffordshire which have gone bankrupt in each of the last nine months.
Mr. Redwood : This information could not be provided without disproportionate cost.
Clothing Industry
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on jobs in the knitwear and hosiery industry of state intervention in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia and the lifting of import controls on goods from these countries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : At present, in almost half the multi-fibre arrangement knitwear and hosiery categories, no quota limits are imposed on imports from the three countries and in nearly all the remaining categories the quotas are either little used or not used at all. It is not therefore anticipated that trade liberalisation is likely to have a significant effect on knitwear and hosiery in the United Kingdom.
Column 336
Geomagnetism
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what approaches he has had from the British Geological Survey on geomagnetism ; and what response he has given.
Mr. Redwood : A number of approaches were made to officials in the early part of last year. While sympathetic to the requirement for a continued programme of regular monitoring of the earth's geomagnetic field, the response given was that the programme was of marginal relevance to the work of the Department and that support could not therefore be provided.
Kill the Messenger"
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will acquire for his Department's library a copy of Sir Bernard Ingham's "Kill the Messenger".
Mr. Lilley : A copy is being acquired by the departmental library and information services.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Mrs. Peacock : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from industry on the proposed changes to the ECGD ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : A number of exporters, representatives of trade associations and representatives of the ECGD's staff have written to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State about the proposed privatisation of the short-term business of the ECGD.
European Coal and Steel Community
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the position taken by his Department on the future of the European Coal and Steel Community treaty which was discussed at the meeting of the EC Industry Council on 29 April.
Mr. Sainsbury : My noble Friend the Minister for Industry welcomed the initiative the European Commission had taken in looking at the future of the European Coal and Steel Community treaty. He indicated that the Government's preferred solution was an immediate termination of the treaty so that coal and steel would be governed by the EEC treaty in the same way as other industries. While the Government were disappointed that the Commission had not taken the same view, they welcomed the Commission's view that a much less interventionist interpretation and application of the treaty
Column 337
was necessary pending a transition to the EC regime in 2002. To this end, my noble Friend asked the Commission to set out a timetable for the necessary work and to report regularly to the Council on the results.ENERGY
Iraqi Nuclear Materials
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority or the nuclear installations inspectorate was (a) asked for or (b) offered any assistance to the International Atomic Energy Agency in developing appropriate methods of taking custody and verifying inventories of Iraqi nuclear materials before 17 May, as mandated by United Nation Security Council resolution 687 of 2 April.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : No formal request has been received from the IAEA or formal offer made by the UK authorities in relation to the matters raised in the question. However, there have been a number of discussions with the agency on points relating to the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 687. The agency's board of governors held a special meeting on the matter on 6 May.
Plutonium (Transport)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer of 25 April, Official Report, column 497, if he will list all the options being considered for the transportation of plutonium that has been reprocessed to its country of origin ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : This is a matter for British Nuclear Fuels plc which is currently considering the transport options for returning the plutonium arising from reprocessing spent fuel from overseas.
Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer of 25 April, Official Report, column 497, when he expects to receive agreement from the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate to restart the two reactors at Trawsfynydd nuclear power station ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : In my reply to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) on 14 March, Official Report, columns 634-35, I explained that the shutting down of the two reactors at Trawsfynydd nuclear power station was an operational matter for Nuclear Electric plc, and that the reactors would not be returned to power until the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate is satisfied with NE's safety case for such action. NE's preparation of the safety case is continuing.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment has been made (a) by his Department and (b) by the energy technology support unit of the feasibility and potential benefits of the interspacing of trees grown for bio-fuels and aero-generator wind power machines at suitable sites in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Moynihan : No detailed assessment of the potential benefits of interspacing trees and aero-generators has been
Column 338
made. Basic principles dictate that the ground around wind generators should be as smooth as possible. The extra roughness arising from trees would be detrimental to the efficiency of the wind turbines. Wind farms are therefore likely to be on land which is otherwise used for normal agricultural purposes.Energy Market
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what regulations and economic incentives he proposes to introduce to intervene in the energy market.
Mr. Wakeham : The Government work to promote the operation of market forces in the energy sector wherever practicable, while taking action to fulfil their responsibilities in relation to security and diversity of supply, health and safety, energy efficiency, the protection of the environment and other matters.
Energy Conservation
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting in Brussels on 13 May between his Department and the European Commission's
directorate-general XVII on energy conservation policy.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The meeting to which the hon. Member refers was a seminar organised by the European Commission's DGXVII on improving energy efficiency in buildings, with particular reference to labelling and insulation. Member states, industry and other interested parties gave their views on work which DGXVII has commissioned prior to drawing up proposals for legislation. The Commission indicated its intention to formulate draft directives for consideration by the Council in the light of the views expressed.
Departmental Headquarters
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to respond to the 10th report of the Committee of Public Accounts on the new headquarters building for his Department.
Mr. Wakeham : A response to the Committee's report is expected to be presented to Parliament in a Treasury minute before the summer recess.
Electricity Consumption
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many units of electricity per person are used currently in each region of England and Wales.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Sales of electricity and numbers of consumers, by type of consumer, are analysed for each of the old area electricity boards in England and Wales in table 58 of the "Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 1990".
Greenhouse Gases
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to offer to the International Energy Agency and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a technical review by his Department of the report entitled "Greenhouse Gas Emissions : The Energy Dimension".
Column 339
Mr. Moynihan : "Greenhouse Gas Emissions : The Energy Dimension" was produced by the secretariats of the International Energy Agency--IEA--and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development--OECD--with the guidance of their relevant committees. An earlier version was provided as informal input to the deliberations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change--IPCC. As its explanatory note makes clear, the report reflects the perspectives of the secretariats and not necessarily those of all the IEA and OECD member countries.The Government regard this report as another useful contribution to the discussion on global climate change. It represents a view assembled by the IEA and OECD secretariats at a particular time, and a wide range of further work is continuing, both in international organisations and in countries. For that reason, the Department does not propose to offer a technical review of the report.
Onshore Petroleum Exploration
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about further onshore petroleum licensing.
Mr. Moynihan : The Petroleum (Production) (Landward Areas) Regulations 1991--SI 1991 No. 981--came into force on 9 May. I have placed in the Libraries of both Houses the text of a notice, which will be published as soon as possible in the official Gazette, inviting companies to apply for exploration licences in respect of unlicensed areas in Great Britain and certain near shore waters. The notice specifies that applications should be made on 19 or 20 June 1991. Application forms and guidance notes will be available from my Department.
I shall separately be inviting holders of production licences to apply to transfer exploration acreage within their existing licences to the new style exploration licences, subject to agreement being reached on a satisfactory work programme for the area.
Successful applicants will be offered exploration licences containing the conditions set out in the new Regulations. The licences will grant rights for a term of six years and entitle the licensee to carry out seismic surveys and deep drilling subject to the need to obtain the requisite permission from the appropriate mineral planning authorities and land owners and occupiers.
| Next Section
| Home Page |