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Isle of WightIsles of Scilly
Western Area
Cheshire
Clwyd
Dyfed
Mid Glamorgan
South Glamorgan
West Glamorgan
Gwent
Gwynedd
Hereford and Worcester
Merseyside
Powys
Shropshire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
West Midlands
Regional Public Services
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regions the civil defence service in England and Wales is divided into ; what area is covered by each region ; and if he will publish a map showing the relevant areas.
Mr. John Patten : For many civil defence purposes England and Wales are divided into nine regions. These cover, broadly, north-east England, the east midlands, East Anglia, London, south-east England, south-west England, Wales, the west midlands and north-west England. I am placing a map in the Library.
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regions the prison service in England and Wales is divided into ; what area is covered by each region ; and if he will publish a map showing the relevant areas.
Mrs. Rumbold : The regional tier of the prison service of England and Wales disappeared as part of the reorganisation of management structures which took place on 25 September 1990. The service is now divided into 15 geographical areas each including seven to nine prison establishments. A copy of a map depicting these areas has been placed in the Library.
Category A Prisoners
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review security arrangements under which category A inmates are held in prisons.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : I have asked Mr. G. H. Lakes CB MC, former deputy director general of the prison service and Mr. R. Hadfield QPM, Chief Constable of the West Midlands, to conduct a security audit of arrangements for holding and managing category A prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons and to report to me as soon as possible.
ENVIRONMENT
Pentachlorophenol Contamination
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to ensure the reduction of pentachlorophenol concentrations in rivers in the constituency of Rossendale and Darwen.
Mr. Heseltine : Environmental quality objectives have been set for all inland waters in relation to discharges of
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dangerous substances, including pentachlorophenol and its compounds. So far as is practicable, those objectives must be achieved at all times.Applications and reviews relating to consents for trade effluent discharges containing PCP to sewers have to be referred to me for my determination. On the advice of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, conditions are being set requiring the use of the best technical means available to minimise as soon as practicable the adverse effects of such discharges.
Letting Statistics
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how the level of letting in public and private rented sectors is estimated ; and if he will provide a breakdown of the constituent components of the total flow of lets on a yearly basis from 1980 to 1990 ;
(2) how many estimated private dwelling lets there were in each year from 1980 (a) in England and (b) in Great Britain.
Mr. Yeo : Total lettings of local authority dwellings, including transfers by existing tenants, are reported each year by local authorities in their housing investment programme returns. Since 1986-87 housing associations have reported lettings annually to the Housing Corporation. For earlier years they can be estimated from the Labour Force Survey.
Lettings by other private landlords are also estimated from the Labour Force Survey.
Estimates of the number of lettings in England are given in the table :
thousands
|Local |Housing |Other
|authorities |associations<1><2>|private<1>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980-81 |<3>440 |65 |380
1981-82 |415 |<4>.. |<4>..
1982-83 |439 |70 |420
1983-84 |429 |60 |470
1984-85 |429 |65 |430
1985-86 |437 |80 |410
1986-87 |430 |77 |480
1987-88 |426 |70 |520
1988-89 |410 |72 |480
1989-90 |390 |76 |540
<1>Source of housing associations estimates (for years prior to
1986-87) and other private lettings (all years) is the Labour Force
Survey. LFS is a sample survey, and so some of the year-to-year
fluctuations in numbers may be the result of sample variability. The
LFS will tend to understate the number of lettings by private
landlords because what is recorded is whether the household had been
at the address for under 12 months; the estimate does not allow for
any multiple moves in the previous 12 months.
<2>Housing association lettings from 1986-87 onwards are based on
returns to the Housing Corporation. Internal transfers by tenants
have only been reported from 1989-90 and figures for 1986-87 to
1988-89 include estimates of these lettings.
<3>For 1980-81 includes estimate of non-secure and mobility lettings
which were not included on local authority returns.
<4>..Not available.
For information about Scotland and Wales I refer the hon. member to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales.
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Crown Suppliers
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the assets sold or used to reduce the closure costs of Crown Suppliers contract furnishing.
Mr. Yeo : The following assets were sold during the closure of Crown Suppliers Contract Furnishing.
Freehold Property--Wellington House
Surplus Computer Equipment--Microcomputers, Terminals and Printers Stores Equipment--Fork Lift Trucks
Contract Furnishing Stocks
Miscellaneous Office Furniture and Equipment
Two Antique Clocks
Intellectual Property rights--IKON range
The published costs of closure include only the differences between amounts realised and the book value of the assets.
Canary Wharf
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps the London Docklands development corporation is taking to ensure employment of local people at Canary Wharf.
Mr. Portillo : LDDC, in conjunction with the London borough of Tower Hamlets and London East TEC, is developing a programme of customised training to develop the skills of local people to match identified employment opportunities. Schemes like the Tower Hamlets construction training centre are specifically aimed at helping local people to gain employment in construction schemes in London docklands.
Property Services Agency
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish for each of the last 10 years the number of complaints he has received on the Property Services Agency from (a) hon Members, (b) members of the public and (c) registered companies.
Mr. Yeo : Such statistics are not available centrally and could not be brought together without disproportionate costs. PSA Services investigates any complaint received and, where appropriate, takes action to improve the quality of services it offers.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will arrange for an auditor's report to be prepared for him on the payment practices of the accounts department of Property Services Agency Services, Heol Pentre, Felen, Morriston, Swansea.
Mr. Yeo : No. The payment systems of all PSA offices are subject to regular cyclical audits by both the Comptroller and Auditor General and by the Department's own internal audit division. Reports of internal audits are available to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to reduce delays before the Property Services Agency Swansea office sends the invoices from creditors to the Property Services Agency accounts office at Hastings.
Mr. Yeo : From the autumn of 1991, it is planned for the payment of all PSA Building Management creditors in
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South Wales to be made by the Manchester office. This represents the implementation of the new decentralised bill payment and accounting system to improve the bill payment service offered.Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that the Property Services Agency pays interest to any creditor when payment has been delayed beyond 28 days from the receipt of an invoice for work completed.
Mr. Yeo : There is no general entitlement in law to interest on the late payment of contract debts, and it is not the normal practice of the Government to pay interest in respect of such debts unless the circumstances of a particular case give rise to a legal entitlement.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the number of civil actions for damages initiated against the Property Services Agency for non- payment and delays in meeting its liabilities to clients.
Mr. Yeo : Records are not maintained centrally of any civil actions against PSA Services for the non-payment of bills and delays in meeting its liabilities to clients. I am not, however, aware of there being any current ones.
Housing Departments
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will introduce legislation to permit local authority housing departments to operate as independent charitable trusts ; (2) how many representations he has received in favour of local authority housing departments being permitted to opt for charitable trust status.
Mr. Yeo : Local authorities may already transfer their housing stock to any stable organisation that is independent of the local authority, and able to demonstrate a long-term commitment to the needs of existing and future tenants. Fifteen authorities have so far transferred their stock to registered housing associations and one authority to an industrial and provident society. No applications have so far been made for transfer to independent charitable trusts.
Poplar Baths Training Centre
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much the London Docklands development corporation has spent on Poplar Baths training centre.
Mr. Portillo : LDDC has contributed £1.2 million towards the cost of the Tower Hamlets construction training centre.
London Docklands Development Corporation
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the employment aims of the London Docklands development corporation ; and what changes there have been in those aims since 1988.
Mr. Portillo : LDDC's education, enterprise and employment programme aims to support and encourage the development of existing and new business and facilitate
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ready access to a skilled work force ; and in collaboration with education and training providers, TECs and the LEAs, to improve education, training and employment opportunities for people living in or near the UDA and assist them to enter the employment market. Since 1988, the number of permanent jobs in the UDA has increased from around 40,000 to 53,000 with more jobs in construction. LDDC has contributed £7.6 million to the provision of training over the period April 1988 to March 1991, supporting an estimated 15,000 training places.Local Government (Access to Information) Act
Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what resources have been committed by the Government since 1 April 1986 to promote the provisions of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.
Mr. Portillo : The circular issued by my Department in 1986 (DoE Circular 6(86)) drew to the attention of local authorities the provisions of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985. Since then, it has been for local authorities to decide what resources they need to allocate to ensure that they fulfil the duties placed on them by the Act.
Irish Peatlands
Sir Fergus Montgomery : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Conservation of Irish peatlands to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.
Mr. Trippier : I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Services Committee, arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from9 December to 13 December.
Council Tax
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the council tax is proposed to be a tax for the purpose of section 28 of the Data Protection Act ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : The interpretation of the Data Protection Act 1984 on this point will be a matter for the Data Protection Registrar, and ultimately for the courts, in the light of the legislation establishing the council tax.
Concrete Batching Plant
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to be able to announce the results of the public inquiry into the proposal to construct a concrete batching plant at Monnery road, London N19 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : It is hoped to issue a decision very shortly.
Holcombe Moor Training Area
Mr. Burt : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will quantify the costs of the public inquiry into the application by the Ministry of Defence for an extension of its dry training area on Holcombe moor, Bury, in 1988.
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Mr. Yeo : The Department's costs of employing the inspector to conduct the inquiry and to write his report were about £10,000.Sewage Treatment Works
Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will be writing to those people who objected to the applications for time-limited discharge consents for sewage treatment works.
Mr. Trippier : My Department has now written to those who made objections to the applications made by the then water authorities, setting out the decisions taken, and explaining the reasons for those decisions. I have placed a copy of the letters in the Library. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales intends to write shortly to those who objected to applications made by the then Welsh Water Authority.
Detailed information about the individual consents granted is already available on the public registers held in the National Rivers Authority's regional offices. Summary information concerning all the applications submitted was contained in Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution 1989-90 annual report published last year. Around 15 per cent. of the applications submitted were rejected, or were withdrawn by the applicants, and many were granted only subject to tighter conditions than the water authorities had sought.
Time-limited consents were granted in connection with the water industry's current £1.2 billion improvement programme. The latest figures available from the National Rivers Authority demonstrate that significant improvements have been made in the operational performance of sewage treatment works throughout England and Wales. In 1990, the proportion of works complying with their current consents was 92 per cent. Time-limited consents are superseded by long-term performance measures as the improvements work through. The proportion of works which already meet these long-term measures has risen from 77 per cent. in 1986, and 83 per cent. in 1988 to some 88 per cent. in 1990.
The National Rivers Authority is continuing to monitor the performance of sewage treatment works and has the necessary enforcement powers to take action against works that fail to meet fully the requirements of their consents. The Director General of Water Services is also monitoring the progress being made by the companies towards the timely completion of their improvement programmes so that customers' interests are fully protected.
Advertising Campaigns
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Emvironment if he will list the advertising, promotional or public relations companies employed by, or on behalf of, his Department who are involved in the campaigns given in his answer of 4 July, Official Report, column 182.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 11 July 1991] : My Department and the Department of Energy have not yet selected any companies to carry out the work in respect of the home energy efficiency campaign. An announcement will be made soon. My Department has not yet selected a company for the duty of care campaign.
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Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the commencement dates and duration of each of the publicity campaigns given in his answer of 4 July, Official Report, column 182.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 11 July 1991] : My right hon. Friend and I propose to launch the home energy campaign this autumn. It will continue until 1994. The duty of care campaign will commence in November 1991 and continue until the end of the current financial year.
London Custody Service
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those public buildings currently guarded by the London custody service (a) on a 24-hour basis and (b) during silent hours, indicating the numbers employed at each.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 15 July 1991] : On security grounds, I am unable to release details of the buildings served by the London Custody Service or the number of guards at each location. However, I can advise that the London Custody Service currently services 17 buildings on a 24-hour basis using 137 guards and 90 buildings on a silent hours basis using 455 guards. The staff figures exclude reserves and inspectors.
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the sums received in respect of the London custody service together with the total expenditure for each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 15 July 1991] : The following figures are derived from the London custody service's memorandum trading accounts for the past five years.
Year |Expenditure|Receipts
|(£ ) |(£ )
------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |10,582,135 |10,854,012
1987-88 |11,092,774 |11,105,993
1988-89 |11,451,805 |11,532,647
1989-90 |12,015,201 |12,256,055
1990-91 |12,959,623 |13,135,296
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff are currently employed by the London custody service ; and on what terms and conditions.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 15 July 1991] : The London custody service operates on a repayment basis underpinned by a memorandum trading account. All clients are billed for the service they receive and charges are calculated to recover full costs.
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what basis other Government Departments and public bodies are charged for the services of the London custody service.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 15 July 1991] : As at 10 July 1991, the London custody service employed 11 non- industrial staff and 720 industrial staff. All employees are civil servants.
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Beccles Maltings
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to complete determination for listed building consent to demolition of the Beccles Maltings, reference E1/73535/4/2/4.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 15 July 1991] : The application for listed building consent to demolish the Maltings at Beccles has been referred by the Department to English Heritage for advice on whether the application should be called in for the Secretary of State to decide or left for decision by the local planning authority. There has been some delay in dealing with the case while English Heritage has obtained a structural engineers' report on the building and sought the views of the national amenity societies on the proposed demolition.
This information is now with English Heritage and the Secretary of State expects to receive a recommendation on call-in shortly. I will write to the hon. Member when the recommendation is received.
Departmental Failures
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the failures of his Department in the past 12 months.
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Mr. Heseltine : I have failed to persuade the Labour party to put the interests of citizens and consumers above the interest of trade unions and producers.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the total amount of housing benefit in each financial year paid by local authorities in (a) England and (b) Great Britain to council tenants since the scheme began ;
(2) what is total Government expenditure on housing benefit on a financial year basis in (a) England and (b) Great Britain ; (3) what is the total amount of housing benefit reimbursed (a) to local authorities and (b) private tenants in each financial year in (i) England and (ii) Great Britain in respect of rent rebates granted to council tenants since the beginning of the scheme.
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