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Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of (a) making the lower rate mobility component of disability living allowance available to people aged over 65 years who also qualify for the care component, (b) making the lower rate care component of disability living allowance available to people who qualify aged over 65 years, (c) making the higher rate mobility component available to those aged over 65 years, (d) removing the lower age bar of disability living allowance, (e) reducing the age limit of disability living allowance to age two or three respectively, and (f) introducing a new higher rate at the same level as the higher rate care for people with locomotor difficulties in OPCS categories 9 and 10.
Mr. Scott : The information is as follows :
(a) The estimated cost of making the lower rate only of the mobility component available to people over the age of 65 who also qualify for the care component would be in the region of £15 million. The cost of making both the rates of the mobility component available to such people would be up to £100 million.
Estimates of the other costs which have been asked for are (b) £165 million, (c) £2 billion, (d) £35 million, (e) £30 million for an age limit of 2 or £25 million for an age limit of 3. (f) There are particular difficulties with attempting to estimate the cost of introducing a new higher rate of the mobility component at the same level as the higher rate care for people with locomotor difficulties in OPCS categories 9 and 10. OPCS severity categories refer to overall levels of disability and a very severe level of overall disability may not necessarily equate with appreciable mobility needs. If a higher rate mobility component was to be paid in the way suggested in the question it would be necessary to decide the overall level of a person's disability before going on to determine whether there were any locomotion difficulties ; and benefit would be awarded regardless of the severity of those locomotion
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disabilities. The Government does not believe that such an approach would be either sensible or workable. The cost, assuming the normal age conditions for the mobility component, might be around £140 million, but this cannot be assessed with any certainty.Incomes
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security between 1979 and 1987, what increase or decrease in incomes, after housing costs, occurred (a) for the poorest 100 of the population and (b) for the richest 100 of the population.
Mr. Jack : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 23 July at columns 535-37.
Cold Weather Credits
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received from the Campaign for Cold Weather Credits ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : Yesterday we received one representation concerning this campaign, to which we will reply separately. The Government have recently announced substantial improvements to the cold weather payments scheme. From this winter, payments will be made automatically to those who are entitled ; a forecast trigger has been introduced ; and the capital limit has been abolished bringing a further 400,000 people into the scheme.
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what basis the adult population of Lambeth is calculated to be 172, 411 for poll tax reduction grant instead of Lambeth council's estimated population of 181,000 ; and what difference the lower figure makes to the reduction given to Lambeth overall and on individual terms.
Mr. Portillo : Instalments of community charge grant, which compensates authorities for the £140 general reduction in community charges in 1991-92, are currently based on the amount which each council had budgeted to collect in community charges for the year. After the year end further payments will be made to bring the total amount of grant up to 100 per cent. of the actual income forgone. Actual population is incidental to these calculations.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many queries have been raised about the correctness of assessments of domestic properties since 1 April 1990 following the change of domestic rates after the introduction of poll tax ; and what action he proposes to take to deal with the question of identically built and serviced properties erected prior to 1 April 1990 whose owners are now in dispute over incorrect assessments and which cannot be reviewed retrospectively by the district valuation offices.
Mr. Portillo : Information on queries to local valuation offices about 1973 valuation list entries is not kept
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centrally. We do not propose to re-open the right to appeal against the assessments of domestic properties for general rates. All ratepayers had full rights to challenge their rateable values during the life of the previous system.Public Rights of Way
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions have taken place between Government Departments, and agencies such as English Nature, and local authorities about possible conflicts between local authorities' duties to protect and maintain public rights of way and the duty under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to protect sites of special scientific interest.
Mr. Baldry : No such discussions have taken place, although my Department is aware of correspondence between English Nature and highway authorities. Such authorities have a duty of care when operating within sites of special scientific interest and are advised to consult English Nature informally before undertaking operations in sensitive areas such as this.
Wild Birds
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to restrict trade in wild birds ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth (Mr. Tredinnick) on 14 October 1991, Official Report, column 13.
Eco-Labelling
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent meetings have been held with the national advisory group on eco- labelling ; and what publications on eco-labelling were released by his Department between the end of July and 14 October.
Mr. Baldry : The national advisory group on eco-labelling last met as a body on 16 July ; further meetings of its sub-groups, examining product categories, promotion and the administration of the scheme have been held since then.
The national advisory group on eco-labelling published a report on its work, "Giving Guidance to the Green Consumer--Progress on an Eco-Labelling scheme for the UK", on 22 August. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.
Environmental Conferences
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department was represented at or participated in the conference on disasters, pollution and the environment, held at the university of Bradford on 10 to 12 September.
Mr. Baldry : My hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside spoke at the conference on 11 September.
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Household Waste
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to meet officials of the Association of Municipal Engineers to discuss its report "Recycling Household Waste--The Way Ahead", a copy of which was sent to his Department in August.
Mr. Baldry : Officials in the Department of Trade and Industry have already discussed the ideas in the report with its authors. We consider it a useful contribution to the current debate on the future of household waste recycling in this country.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department published its 1991-92 environmental protection research newsletter ; from where and at what cost it can be obtained ; and how many copies were printed on the initial print run.
Mr. Baldry : The Department released its 1991-92 environmental protection research newsletter in June 1991 ; 500 copies were printed on the initial print run. The newsletter is available from the chief scientist group of the Department.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department published its report "Environmental Action Guide for Building and Purchasing Managers" ; how many copies were printed on the initial print run ; and what has been the cost of production of the report.
Mr. Baldry : The "Environmental Action Guide for Building and Purchasing Managers" was published by HMSO on 9 August 1991, price £5.50.
The intial print was 4,000. The cost of copies supplied to DOE for official distribution was £4,400. Staff costs incurred in producing the guide are estimated at approximately £30,000.
Water Quality
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any scientists from his Department are members of the technical sub -committee on water analysis (CEN/TC230) of the European Committee for Standardisation.
Mr. Baldry : The Department has not attended meetings of the Technical Committee on Water Analysis (CEN/TC230) but participates in its work through the appropriate committee of the British Standards Institution.
Landfill
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to respond to the seventh report of the Environment Select Committee (HC-263) on the EC draft directive on the landfill of waste.
Mr. Baldry : The Environment Select Committee's report is a useful contribution, both to the discussion of the draft landfill directive in Brussels, and to the ongoing task of raising the standards of United Kingdom waste management generally.
I am currently considering all the issues raised in the report and will be responding in due course.
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Environmental Protection Act
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance notes for prescribed processes, pursuant to the Environmental Protection Act 1990, part I, have been published to date ; and if he will make it his policy periodically to update Parliament on the publication of further guidance notes.
Mr. Baldry : Details of the first 25 progress guidance notes for local authority air pollution controls were given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Environment and Countryside on 26 February, column 422, in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich (Mr. Bowden) ; and details of five general guidance notes on the operation of these controls were given on 25 April, column 493, in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, South (Mr. Sumberg).
An additional 25 local authority guidance notes were published in July. These were as follows :
PG2/2 (91)--Hot dip galvanising processes.
PG2/3 (91)--Electrical and rotary furnaces.
PG2/4 (91)--Iron, steel and non-ferrous mental foundry processes. PG2/5 (91)--Hot and cold blast cupolas.
PG2/6 (91)--Aluminium and aluminium alloy processes.
PG2/7 (91)--Zinc and zinc alloy processes.
PG2/8 (91)--Copper and copper alloy processes.
PG2/9 (91)--Metal decontamination processes.
PG3/5 (91)--Coal, coke and coal product processes.
PG3/7 (91)--Exfoliation of vermiculite and expansion of perlite. PG3/8 (91) --Quarry processes including roadstone plants and the size reduction of bricks, tiles and concrete.
PG3/9 (91)--Sand drying and cooling.
PG3/10 (91)--China and ball clay.
PG3/11 (91)--Spray drying of ceramic materials.
PG3/12 (91)--Plaster processes.
PG3/13 (91)--Asbestos processes.
PG3/14 (91)--Lime slaking processes.
PG6/1 (91)--Animal by product rendering.
PG6/7 (91)--Printing and coating of metal packaging.
PG6/8 (91)--Textile and fabric coating and finishing processes. PG6/9 (91)- -Manufacture of coating powder.
PG6/12 (91)--Production of natural sausage casings, tripe, chitterlings and other boiled green offal.
PG6/13 (91)--Coal coating processes.
PG6/14 (91)--Film coating processes.
PG6/15 (91)--Coating in drum manufacturing and reconditioning processes.
The following guidance notes have been issued by the chief inspector of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution on integrated pollution control :
IPR 1--Fuel and Power Industry Sector Guidance Note.
IPR 2--Metal Industry Sector Guidance Note.
IPR 3--Mineral Industry Sector Guidance Note.
IPR 4--Chemical Industry Sector Guidance Note.
IPR 5--Waste Disposal Sector Guidance Note.
IPR 1/1--Process Guidance Note : Combustion Processes, Large Boilers and Furnaces 50MWth and Over.
We will ensure that Parliament is kept informed periodically as more guidance notes are produced.
Marine Conservation
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department expects to complete and publish its review of options for increasing marine conservation.
Mr. Baldry : The first year report on "This Common Inheritance" (Cmnd 1655) says in paragraph 5.28 :
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"The Government will publish on a consultative basis by early 1992 a first list of proposed Marine Consultation Areas in England and Wales and draft Government guidelines addressed to regulatory agencies".Radioactive Water Management Advisory Committee
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he received a copy of the radioactive water management advisory committee's 12th annual report ; and whether he has yet taken any steps to strengthen RWMAC's environmental membership and amend its terms of reference as referred to in that report.
Mr. Baldry : My right hon. Friend received a copy of the radioactive waste management advisory committee's 12th annual report on 23 August. As I announced on 18 July, the committee's new terms of reference are :
"To advise the Secretaries of State for the Environment, Scotland and Wales on the technical and environmental implications of major issues concerning the development and implementation of an overall policy for all aspects of the management of civil radioactive waste, including research and development ; and on any such matters referred to it by the Secretaries of State."
An announcement about new members will be made shortly.
Halons
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department has had any communication with manufacturers over its sale of halons to states that have not signed the Montreal protocol to protect the ozone layer.
Mr. Baldry : Officials from my Department have discussed this issue with a number of halon manufacturers based in the United Kingdom and abroad.
Water Pollution
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on measures taken to reduce the pollution of drinking water sources from nitrates and pesticides since July 1987.
Mr. Baldry : Good progress has been made towards reducing pollution from nitrates and pesticides and further action is being planned. The Government have introduced 10 pilot nitrate-sensitive areas and nine pilot nitrate advisory areas in England, and these will provide a practical test of the effectiveness of measures to reduce nitrate leaching. The European Commission has also adopted the urban waste treatment directive and agreed the nitrate directive, which together will control nitrate leaching and the levels of nitrate in sewage discharges across the Community. My Department has set up groups to oversee the implementation of both directives in the United Kingdom. The advisory committee on pesticides is urgently reviewing the environmental fate and behaviour of atrazine and simazine, the herbicides most frequently found in drinking water. Following this review the Government will consider the options available. In addition, my Department is discussing with major non-agricultural users of pesticides ways of combining effective weed control with minimising the presence of residues in the environment generally and in water in particular.
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RECHAR
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will meet members of the Coalfield Communities Campaign representing the local authorities which qualify for support from the RECHAR programme.
Mr. Portillo : The Government are fully aware of the Coalfield Communities Campaign's view on the issues arising on the United Kingdom's application to the European Commission under the RECHAR programme. Although the Commission has not yet approved the application everything is being done to permit a satisfactory outcome and no useful purpose would be served by a meeting with members of the campaign at the present time.
Gipsies
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the definition of gipsy in the Caravan Sites Act 1986.
Sir George Young : Section 16 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 defines gipsies as
"persons of nomadic habit of life, whatever their race or origin, but does not include members of an organised group of travelling showmen, or of persons engaged in travelling circuses, travelling together as such."
It is the responsibility of a local authority to decide whether any person qualifies, under the statutory definition, for accommodation on a gipsy site. The essential test is whether, as a matter of fact and degree, someone claiming to be a gipsy is of a nomadic habit of life.
Mobile Homes
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations, including names on petitions, he has received from mobile home owners who are concerned about the 10 per cent. commission payable to the site owner on the sale of each mobile home and about other aspects of the Mobile Home Act 1983.
Mr. Yeo : We have received nine representations, including seven petitions totalling 337 signatures, in support of the hon. Member's early- day motions on mobile homes and 22 representations, including two petitions totalling 57 signatures, relating specifically to the issue of commission so far this year.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the final report of the research programme on the mobile homes sector in England and Wales conducted by his Department.
Mr. Yeo : The results are currently being finalised and I hope to publish this report early next year.
Leeds Development Corporation
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the total number of people employed in the area covered by the Leeds development corporation at the time of its inception and on the latest available figures.
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Mr. Portillo : A total of 31,871 people were employed in the Leeds development corporation's area at the time of inception. The latest available figure is 37,733, as at March 1991.Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities which had deposits in BCCI have applied for directions from him concerning their losses ; how these should be dealt with ; and if he will list them.
Mr. Portillo : We have received applications for directions under section 62(2) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to increase the authority's aggregate credit limit from Alnwick, Mansfield and Southwark. We have also received an application from Three Rivers for a direction under section 40(6) of that Act to permit the authority to treat expenditure in meeting potential losses as expenditure for capital purposes. In addition, Bury has asked for a supplementary credit approval. We are considering all these applications.
Agricultural Land
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the hectarage and percentage of agricultural land in the United Kingdom which is owned by (a) Government Departments, specifying which Department, (b) local government, (c) the Crown Estates and (d) other bodies in 1970 and 1990.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 17 October 1991] : This information is not held centrally and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
SCOTLAND
Smoke Alarms
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been spent by his Department on public safety campaigns encouraging the use of domestic smoke alarms in each of the last three years ; how much is budgeted for the current year ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish Office Home and Health Department has spent the following amounts in connection with these campaigns :
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