House of Commons Hansard Debates for 24 Jul 1991

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sales. A comparison of provisional unleaded petrol sales figures for 1990 in EC countries shows that United Kingdom sales of 34 per cent. were greater than Belgium--33 per cent., France--30 per cent., Luxembourg--30 per cent., Eire--20 per cent. and substantially higher than Italy--5 per cent., Spain--1 per cent., Greece--2 per cent. and Portugal where sales were negligible. Only in the former West Germany--80 per cent., Denmark--60 per cent. and the Netherlands--48 per cent. were unleaded market shares greater.

The Government have acted quickly over the problem of dioxins in milk in Bolsover. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has already started a programme of research into this problem and, in addition, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, this Department and MAAF are discussing joint monitoring arrangements. The results of this monitoring will be published, and a public inquiry would add nothing to the present response.

All of the duties and powers relating to litter in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 are now in force. The provisions enabling local authorities to introduce fixed penalty schemes were brought into force in February. Private citizens have had the right to apply for "litter abatement orders" from a magistrates court since April. This power has already been invoked successfully against Liverpool city council.

The Government recognise that diesel car emissions are becoming cleaner, but further improvements are desirable for both diesel and petrol cars. There are already financial attractions in running a diesel car, particularly for high mileage users.

Emission levels from petrol-engined vehicles will be checked at the compulsory annual tests from 1 November this year. Vehicles will fail the test if they emit more than the prescribed levels of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons in the case of vehicles registered after 1 August 1975 ; and if they emit avoidable smoke in the case of other vehicles. This new in service check will help to reduce the emission of gases which contribute to global warming, and it should also help to improve local air quality. In due course the prescribed emission standards will be made more severe so as to cater for modern engines which are designed to emit much lower levels of pollutants : these stricter standards will have been introduced by the beginning of 1996, which is when large numbers of catalyst-equipped vehicles will be old enough to come into the compulsory testing regime. The Government received a letter from the EC Commission in March about environmental assessment on the proposed Compton to Bar End section of the M3, and a response was sent in May. There has been no correspondence with the Commission on the east London river crossing since October 1989.

Planning Guidance

Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress the Government have made since September 1990 in their review of national planning policy guidance.

Mr. Heseltine : Since September 1990 we have issued planning policy guidance on archaeology and on affordable housing, and draft guidance on sport and recreation, advertisement control, redundant hospital sites in the green belts, sites of special scientific interest and travelling showpeople. We are finalising guidance on land

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for housing and on the countryside. We are about to issue draft guidance on enforcement, and are preparing consultation drafts of revised or new guidance on general policy and principles ; industrial and commercial development and small firms ; simplified planning zones ; telecommunications ; development plans and regional planning guidance ; coastal policy ; listed buildings and conservation areas ; nature conservation ; noise ; planning, pollution control and waste management ; renewable energy ; and tourism. We will be pressing ahead with this work now the Planning Compensation Bill has completed its passage through Parliament.

We are about to issue draft minerals planning guidance on interim development orders. We are preparing consultation drafts on cement and on the treatment of disused mine openings.

We issued regional planning guidance for East Anglia this month. We are preparing a consultation draft of revised guidance for the south-east. In most other regions groups of local authorities are making good progress in preparing advice for the Secretary of State as a basis for draft guidance.

Council Houses, Tower Hamlets

Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total number of council housing units in Tower Hamlets for each year since 1979.

Mr. Yeo : Local authorities report the numbers of their own dwellings, and estimates of those owned by other public sector landlords, in their annual housing investment programme returns (HIPI). The available information is as follows :

Year Tower Hamlets

borough

council Other public sector Total public sector

1979 18,194 29,579 47,773

1980 18,200 30,700 48,900

1981 18,394 31,460 49,854

1982 19,446 31,600 51,046

1983 19,241 31,075 50,316

1984 19,044 30,926 49,970

1985 18,671 31,021 49,692

1986 48,700 667 49,367

1987 48,611 539 49,150

1988 47,646 529 48,175

1989 46,277 523 46,800

1990 43,583 397 43,980

Excludes a small number of dwellings located outside the borough.

Prior to 1986, GLC-owned dwellings within Tower Hamlets are included under "Other Public Sector". This category also contains a small number of dwellings owned by other boroughs, government departments and other public sector agencies.

Riding Schools

Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received regarding the impact of the national non-domestic rate on riding schools in Essex.

Mr. Key : We have received a number of representations on the impact of non-domestic rates on riding schools. As far as I am aware, however, there have been none on the impact in Essex.

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Integrated Pollution Control

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the guidance notes on integrated pollution control issued since the Environmental Protection Act 1990 came into force.

Mr. Baldry : Comprehensive guidance was published on 28 February 1991 in "Integrated Pollution Control : A Practical Guide" which included a timetable for the issuing of chief inspector's guidance notes. Five industry sector guidance notes have been prepared : IPR 1 : Fuel and Power, IPR 2 : Metal, IPR 3 : Mineral, IPR 4 : Chemical IPR 5 : Waste Disposal. Four have been published recently and IPR 4 is at the HMSO printers. The first process note IPR 1/1 "Combustion Processes for Large Boilers and Furnaces" has already been published and preparations are well advanced on the notes for the next tranche of processes coming under integrated pollution control.

Food Labelling

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he intends to give to examination of the health effects of product use when evaluating the packaging of a product for qualification for an eco-label.

Mr. Baldry : Eco-labels will primarily be awarded on environmental grounds. There are well established health and safety regulations in place which ensure that consumers are informed about products and their packaging that are potentially damaging to health. If a product had a demonstrably detrimental effect on human health, it is unlikely that it would meet the criteria for the award of the eco-label.

Housing Management Grants

Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the amount of grant paid and the number of organisations grant-aided under section 16 of the Housing and Planning Act 1986 for each financial year since enactment, including the amount available in the current financial year.

Mr. Yeo : The information requested is shown in the following table. Figures for all the recipients of grant in 1991-92 are not yet available.


Section 16 Grants 1986-92: Total paid and number of    

recipients                                             

Financial  |Grants    |Voted     |Recipients           

Year       |paid      |Provision                       

           |£'000   |£'000                         

-------------------------------------------------------

1986-87    |427       |-         |5                    

1987-88    |1,624     |-         |27                   

1988-89    |3,030     |-         |33                   

1989-90    |3,826     |-         |39                   

1990-91    |4,967     |-         |63                   

1991-92    |-         |7,100     |-

Community Charge

Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many times, since the original introduction of the community charge, senior officials of his Department have refused to meet senior officials of county councils, following their request for such a meeting.

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Mr. Portillo : Ministers have made it clear that we are willing to receive delegations from local authorities to discuss their representations and in particular any new evidence which they may wish to bring forward. Officials meet the local authority associations on a regular basis to discuss all aspects of local government finance. They do not generally meet representatives of individual authorities other than to clarify points of technical detail.

Bank of Credit and Commerce International

Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give consideration to an immediate extension of borrowing limits for expenditure for those local authorities involved in losses through the BCCI closure.

Mr. Key : If a local authority makes an application to my Department for a direction to increase its aggregate credit limit, we will consider it.

Right to Buy

Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how long it takes on average for his Department to decide whether a particular house is exempt from the right to buy because it was built for occupation by people of pensionable age ; and what steps are being taken to speed up procedures.

Mr. Yeo : Decisions taken so far have averaged about eight months. More staff have been allocated to this work in order to speed up decisions.

Gypsy Sites

Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many fixed sites for gipsy encampments have been agreed with county councils ; and what discussions he has had with Berkshire about designating such a site.

Mr. George Young : The Caravan Sites Act 1968 places a duty on county councils, metropolitan districts and London boroughs to provide sites. At 1 January 1991, a total of 221 local authority sites providing 3,644 pitches were in place in shire counties in England. I understand that Berkshire county council is investigating a number of possible sites and that a meeting between county officers and officials of my Department has been arranged for September.

EC Directives

Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the cost of the implementation of European Community draft directive document Nos. 4084/91 and 4548/91 to the Exchequer (i) directly and (ii) channelled via the European institutions.

Mr. Baldry : These documents contain proposed regulations to establish new Community funds for supporting actions relating to respectively the protection of northern coastal waters--NORSPA--and the protection of the environment generally--LIFE. For the former, we expect the council to decide that the amounts of money necessary for the funds would be 6.5 million ecu, approximately £4.5 million, for 1991 and 10 million ecu, approximately £7 million, for 1992. For the latter, the

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Community's 1991 budget allocated 30 million ecu, approximately £21 million, although in the absence of an agreed regulation this is now unlikely to be spent in the current year.

The United Kingdom's contribution through the Community's budget would be around 17 per cent. before abatement. It is not possible to estimate at this stage what proportion of these funds would be likely to be received by United Kingdom projects or interests.

Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the cost of the implementation of European Community draft directive document Nos. 8149/88, 9204/89, 5807/90 and 4684/91 on habitats of wild flora and fauna to (a) the Exchequer (i) directly and (ii) channelled via the European institutions, (b) industry and (c) the British consumer.

Mr. Baldry : The extent of designations likely to be required under the proposed habitats directive is currently being assessed. However, special areas of conservation will be identified from our network of sites of special scientific interest. In certain circumstances assistance towards the costs of conservation projects could be obtained under the ACNAT regulation which has a budget of 25 mecu--£17.4 million--for each of the next two years. The United Kingdom contribution to ACNAT will depend on both the level and timing of payments and the relative shares of the programme. No significant additional cost to British industry and the consumer has been identified.

Sleeping Rough

Mr. O'Hara : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for providing accommodation for single homeless people sleeping rough outside London, in response to the preliminary findings of the 1991 census.

Mr. Yeo : My Department's single homelessness initiative has made a very encouraging start in dealing with the problems of rough sleepers in central London. Taking this and the census figures into account, we are considering the possibility of extending the initiative outside central London.

Property Services Agency

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications from the two recent schemes for voluntary early retirement or severance within the Property Services Agency have been turned down.

Mr. Yeo : The total number of non-industrial staff VER applications that have been turned down to date is 385.

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff, excluding natural wastage, the Property Services Agency has declared surplus for the financial year 1991-92.

Mr. Yeo : In order to achieve its business planning projections, PSA Services currently has a target reduction of 2,500 posts in 1991-92. We expect some 700 of these to be achieved by natural wastage.

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff the Property Services Agency anticipates transferring to other Government Departments in the financial year 1991-92.

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Mr. Yeo : PSA Services hopes to transfer some 800 staff to other Government Departments in the financial year 1991-92.

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on supporting the principle of staff within the Property Services Agency being subjected to compulsory redundancies where volunteers exist.

Mr. Yeo : The policy of PSA Services is to achieve as many as possible of the necessary staff reductions through voluntary means and to keep compulsory redundancies to the minimum. Some compulsory redundancies will be inevitable however even where volunteers exist ; for example if any of the volunteers are key personnel who cannot be released or are in a grade and discipline for which PSA Services has a long-term need.

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many private sector agency staff are employed within the Property Services Agency.

Mr. Yeo : PSA Services currently employes 304 private sector agency staff.

Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) pursuant to his oral answer of 10 July, Official Report, column 950, if it is his intention to give the redundancy pay dowry to which he referred to the purchasers of PSA Services ;

(2) pursuant to his answer of 10 July, Official Report, column 949, whether he has any plans to use dowries other than the ones linked to redundancy payments, in cash or in kind, to enable the sale of any part of the PSA.

Sir George Young : When the PSA Services businesses are privatised, the new owners will take over assets, particularly in the form of the expertise of staff and the contracts on which they are engaged, and liabilities, particularly in the form of contractual obligations to those staff. If the value of the contingent redundancy liabilities taken on by the purchaser exceeds the value of the assets acquired, the purchaser will require a "dowry". A trust-fund is unlikely to be the most appropriate mechanism for providing such a dowry.

Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future of Property Services Agency Services.

Mr. Heseltine : We remain committed to transferring the activities currently carried out by the PSA Services--PSAS--businesses to the private sector. Following consideration of the reports from my Department's advisers, Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte, we have reached the following conclusions on the options for the different PSAS businesses.

PSA International--PSAI--is not saleable as a separate organisation. We will therefore consult its clients, in particular the Ministry of Defence, about how best to phase out their reliance on PSAI and to complete the work currently underway.

Building Management is being reorganised into five regional businesses. We plan to appoint a contractor manager to carry through the restructuring and preparations necessary to make the businesses ready for sale. Providing satisfactory progress is made and the subject to market sentiment, we aim to offer the regional businesses for sale towards the end of next year.

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Again subject to progress and market sentiment, we propose to offer PSA Projects for sale early next year. The necessary financial information is being drawn together to determine the best form of sale or sales.

Eco-labelling

Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the cost of the implementation of European Community draft directive document No. 4717/91 on eco-labelling to (a) the Exchequer (i) directly and (ii) channelled via the European institutions, (b) industry and (c) the British consumer.

Mr Baldry : The precise cost of administering a European Community scheme of eco-labelling in the United Kingdom cannot be calculated until the final form of the scheme is agreed. Provisionally, we estimate that expenditure might initially be in the order of £1 million per year, which over time would be increasingly offset by income.

It is not possible to identify separately the costs channeled via the European institutions of implementing the scheme. In practice the actual United Kingdom contribution to the EC budget for individual programmes will depend not only on the level of expenditure, but also on the level and timing of payments, and the relative share of the programme.

It is not practicable to estimate the direct costs, if any, of an eco- labelling scheme to industry or consumers. The scheme will be voluntary and it will, therefore, be a commercial and market judgment for industry whether to apply for labels.

Green Belt

Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the number of inquiries held in each of the last five years to determine planning applications for use of leisure plots created within green belt zoning ; how many inquiries reported in favour of the local authority ; and how many in favour of the appellant.

Mr. Yeo : The Secretary of State may call in planning applications for his own decision and arrange inquiries. No applications concerning the use of leisure plots within green belts have been called in within the last five years.

Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to introduce legislation to curtail the practice of selling green belt land as leisure plots, thus creating opportunity for the settlement of temporary homes in the green belt ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Yeo : No. There is already judicial authority that the creation of leisure plots from former agricultural land is a "material" change of use, requiring planning permission. Local planning authorities have adequate enforcement powers to remedy such uses in breach of planning control.

The provisions in part I of the Planning and Compensation Bill will strengthen authorities' ability to take effective enforcement action. The maximum penalty, on summary conviction of an enforcement notice or stop notice offence is to be increased from £2,000 to £20,000.

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This should help to make the enforcement provisions even more effective in preventing the use of Green Belt land for leisure purposes.

We announced on 11 June, Official Report , columns 482-85 , that we would be withdrawing all agricultural permitted development rights from all farm holdings of less than 5 hectares, and from agricultural areas of less than 1 hectare on larger holdings, and introducing new controls over the siting of farm buildings. This should provide more effective control over development associated with the fragmentation of holdings.

Sir Peter Morrison : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 18 July, Official Report , column 241 , if he will list the sources of the information on approved green belts in 1979 and 1989 published in "This Common Inheritance" ; and if he will send copies of this information to the right hon. Member for the City of Chester.

Mr. Yeo [holding answer 23 July 1991] : The 1989 information was derived from surveys of development plans, which show green belt boundaries. I am sending my right hon. Friend a copy of the compilation, which includes the area of green belt by county. We believe that the 1979 information was compiled in a similar way.

Housing Associations

Mr Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations took place between his Department and the Bank of England prior to the directive by the Bank to banks in the United Kingdom to increase the risk factor attributed to secured loans to housing associations to 50 per cent. ; and how much the directive will add to the borrowing costs of housing associations.

Mr. Yeo : I understand that no such directive has been issued. Capital adequacy requirements were issued by the Bank of England in a notice sent to all banks in October 1988. The notice identified certain lending to housing associations as an activity attracting a concessionary weighting of 50 per cent in the ratio of capital against assets. A further notice was issued in December 1990 clarifying and slightly widening the circumstances in which lending to housing associations could qualify for this concessionary weighting.

Waste Carriers

Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made on plans to require the registration of waste carriers ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Trippier : On 13 December 1990, the Government issued for consultation a draft of the regulations necessary to implement the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989. We have considered the responses to that consultation exercise and have now laid before Parliament the Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations 1991, which will take effect from 14 October.

The regulations are a vital step in the Government's programme of action to deter fly-tipping, to ensure that those responsible for this crime are called to account, and to improve standards in the management and disposal of

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waste. The registration of waste carriers is also the first step in the implementation of the duty of care which we intend to bring fully into force by April 1992. Guidance on the 1989 Act and the regulations is provided in DOE circular 11/91.

The main effect of the regulations is to require anyone who transports waste in the course of his business, or in any other way for profit, to be registered. It will be an offence to do so without being registered. The police will have powers to stop and search vehicles carrying waste on the road and to require the carrier to produce his certificate of registration. Steps are being taken to ensure that carriers are aware of the need to register.

Waste regulation authorities will have power to refuse or revoke registration where the carrier, or someone connected with his business, has been convicted of a "prescribed offence" and the authority consider it is undesirable that he should be registered. There will be a right of appeal to the Secretary of State. Each waste regulation authority will be required to maintain a register of carriers. The register will be open to inspection free of charge by members of the public.

The regulations also set out the procedures under which a waste regulation authority can apply to the court for a warrant to seize a vehicle believed to have been used for fly-tipping where the identity of the owner has proven to be a problem.

Planning Applications

Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table indicating the percentage of planning applications decided within eight weeks by each local planning authority.

Mr. Yeo : I have arranged for the required information to be placed in the Library.

Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will announce the arrangements for bringing into force the provisions of clause 10 of the Planning and Compensation Bill, enabling local planning authorities to grant certificates of lawful use or development.

Mr. Yeo : We have now considered the response to the consultation paper of 8 January about the proposed certificate of lawful use or development.

We intend to bring the provisions of clause 10 into force one year after the Planning and Compensation Bill receives Royal Assent. This will enable local planning authorities to prepare thoroughly for the introduction of the new system of lawful development certificates. They will also be able to consider possible enforcement action against currently unauthorised development which will become lawful when the new "immunity" rules, in clause 4 of the Bill, are simultaneously brought into force.

My right hon. Friend proposes to enable local planning authorities to charge a fee for their administration costs of processing and deciding lawful development certificate applications. He intends to prescribe a national fee scale, linked to the planning application fees for which the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications and Deemed Applications) Regulations 1989--(SI 1989/193, as amended)--provide, as follows :

(1) applications under new section 191 of the 1990 Act for existing use or development

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