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Housing Renovation Grants
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will amend publicity issued by his Department in respect of housing renovation grants to make it clear that the mandatory rights of owners to receive grants are subject to the availability of resources in the local authority ; and if he will make statement.
Sir George Young : No. Under part VIII of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 a local authority must approve a grant application for works to make a property fit for human habitation or for works to comply with a statutory notice. There is no provision under the Act to make such grants subject to resource availability.
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what decision he has made in respect of the application by Blackburn borough council for supplementary credit approval for mandatory renovation grants.
Sir George Young : Blackburn's application is currently being considered along with the bids received from other local housing authorities. Decisions on these will be announced shortly.
Defective Housing
Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action his Department proposes to take under the Housing Defects Act 1984 to assist in the resolution of problems arising from the collapse of balconies at blocks of flats and maisonettes at Rowner, Gosport, originally owned by the Ministry of Defence but now leased to the borough of Gosport or owned by private purchasers.
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Mr. Yeo : I am considering whether the housing defects legislation is relevant to this case in the light of the report to the borough of Gosport by the Building Research Establishment. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.Bathing Water
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many designated bathing waters there are in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France and (c) Italy, respectively.
Mr. Baldry : I refer the hon. Member to the EC Commission report "Quality of Bathing Water 1989-1990", copies of which are available in the Library.
Tecnazene
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultation he has had with the National Rivers Authority to take steps to prevent the contamination of water courses by the fungicide Tecnazene.
Mr. Baldry : [holding answer 11 November 1991] : With the cooperation of the National Rivers Authority my Department has carried out a survey of Tecnazene and its metabolites in rivers and effluents from potato washing and processing. The Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food has suggested a provisional water quality standard of 1 microgram per litre for tecnazene. The results of the survey, and the NRA's data, have been submitted to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides which is currently reviewing the registration of this fungicide.
RNIB Needs Survey
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the report "Blind and Partially Sighted Adults in Britain--The RNIB Needs Survey" ; what action he will be taking in relation to its findings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 12 November 1991] : I welcome the publication of this report, which gives us for the first time comprehensive and authoritative information about visually handicapped people in Britain. It will be of value to my Department when advice is given on the planning of programmes and the delivery of services in which attention is given to the special needs of visually handicapped people.
Local Authority Investments
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each month from January 1991 and subsequently outstanding local authority investments by amount outstanding and the net change between periods using the categorisation that appears in the CSO's financial statistics, and differentiating between those banks which have eligible status and those which do not.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 12 November 1991] : The most recent quarterly figures for local authority investments were published in table 4.8 of "Financial Statistics", October 1991 edition. Figures for the third quarter will be available in the November edition.
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Whereas the quarterly information on investments is collected from all authorities, the monthly information is collected only from a sample of authorities. The sample is not large enough to provide reliable figures in the detail requested.Information on local authority bank deposits used in table 4.8 is collected from banks by the Bank of England on a quarterly basis. Monthly figures, used for the provisional calculation of the local authority borrowing requirement, are estimated from information on all public sector bank deposits.
No separate statistics are available for local authority deposits with eligible banks, which are banks whose sterling acceptances are eligible for discount at the Bank of England. The list of eligible banks, which is entirely a matter for the Bank of England, is determined on a functional basis, reflecting levels of activity and commitment to the sterling acceptance market. Whether or not a bank is on this functional list carries no implications for its competence or credit-worthiness.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each month from January 1991 and subsequently outstanding inter-local authority investments by amount outstanding and the net change between periods.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 12 November 1991] : Information from the Department's quarterly survey of local authorities is as follows. I regret that no reliable monthly information is available.
Local authority investments with other local
authorities
|Amount |Change from
|outstanding|previous
|quarter
|£ million|£ million
------------------------------------------------
1991 Q1 |960 |-159
Q2 |1,335 |+375
Q3 |1,231 |<1>-104
<1> Q3 provisional.
Council Tax
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish an update of his tables showing illustrative council tax bills for 1991-92 with the inclusion of an eighth property band.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 12 November 1991] : I do not propose to do so since the inclusion of an eighth property band makes no significant difference to the council tax figures for bands A to G published on 23 April.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Iraq
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the proportion of Government aid moneys given to the Simple Truth Campaign which was spent on Kurds living in Iraq ; and if he will provide a breakdown of how the public moneys provided by the Government were spent.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave on 11 November to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Hughes).
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PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 14 November.
The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
Tibet
Dr. Godman : To ask the Prime Minister what factors he regards as part of the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : We believe that human rights, as set out in the universal declaration of human rights adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, should apply to all people.
Redistribution of Wealth
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards reducing the gap between the richest and the poorest 10 per cent. of the British population.
The Prime Minister : The Government's policy is to improve incentives to work and to save. Over the period 1979 to 1988--the latest available information--real incomes in all parts of the income distribution have risen.
EC Regional Body
Ms. Quin : To ask the Prime Minister what consideration he has given to the proposals to establish an EC institution representing the regions of the EC ; what are his proposals regarding United Kingdom regional representation on the body ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : We support proposals in the intergovernmental conference on political union for a new consultative body to represent the regions at Community level. Negotiations continue on the detailed arrangements. United Kingdom representation will be considered after the IGC.
Minister for Youth
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister if he will expressly designate a Minister with specific responsibility for youth.
The Prime Minister : No. The opportunities and problems facing young people are often not specific to that age group, and young people are themselves not a homogeneous group. They can best be served through specific actions spanning a range of Departments.
WALES
Labour Statistics
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many companies in (a) Merthr Tydfil and Rhymney, (b) Mid-Glamorgan and (c) Wales employ more than 200 people ; and what percentage these are of the total number of companies in each case.
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Mr. David Hunt : Available information is given in the table. The analysis excludes agriculture and horticulture, activity heading 0100, of Standard Industrial Classification (revised) 1980.
|Units employing|Percentage of
|200 or more |all units
|persons
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merthyr and Rhymney travel-
to-work<1> |40 |1.8
Mid Glamorgan |128 |1.5
Wales |647 |1.1
Source Census of Employment, 1989.
<1> Data for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney parliamentary
constituency are not available.
Investors in People Awards
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many companies in Wales have to date qualified for Investors in People awards ; and whether he will list them, indicating the number of employees in each company.
Mr. David Hunt : Four companies in Wales have so far met the Investors in People standard. They are :
|Employees
------------------------------------------------------
Monsanto PLC (Newport) |480
Tulsa Holdings Ltd (Newport) |176
Pirelli Cables (Aberdare) |152
Quattech Services Ltd (Treforest) |3
Low Pay
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many employees in the constituency of Clwyd, South-West are paid less than £3.40 an hour ; how many of these employees are (a) women, (b) part time and (c) in manual occupations.
Mr. David Hunt : Information on the numbers of employees earning less than £3.40 per hour is not available for sub-areas of Wales.
Conwy Tunnel
Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the causes of the recent flooding in the Conwy tunnel ; and what remedies he proposes to prevent further flooding.
Sir Wyn Roberts : There has been no flooding of the Conwy tunnel. The westbound carriageway was closed for two hours on 1 November to deal with a faulty heat/gas detection sensor.
169. Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if detergents used for cleaning of the Conwy crossing tunnel will be discharged into the Conwy estuary ; and how the discharge will be treated.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Detergents are discharged into the public foul sewer. The type used in the tunnel are of a fully biodegradable kind.
Penmaenbach Tunnel
163. Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the anticipated annual cost of the maintenance of the Penmaenbach tunnel arising from the cracks in the lining of the tunnel.
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Sir Wyn Roberts : To date, the only maintenance cost associated with the cracking since the tunnel was opened to traffic in June 1989 is about £2,000 for minor remedial works. Future costs cannot be predicted, but are not expected to be significant.168. Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration was given in the plans for Penmaenbach tunnel of the possibility of cracking of the lining of the tunnel.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The probability of shrinkage cracking in the tunnel lining was always recognised. The lining's main purpose is to provide a smooth surface to aid illumination and assist ventilation.
Conwy Estuary
167. Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the annual quantity from all sources of raw, untreated sewage, presently discharged into the Conwy estuary.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : This information is not available. The consented volumes of discharges are entered onto public registers maintained by the National Rivers Authority.
Housing Starts
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many council houses, private houses and housing association houses have been started in each of the months in 1991.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The number of dwellings started by district councils, private sector and housing associations for each of the months between January and August 1991 is given in the table :
|Local |Private |Housing
|authority |sector |association
------------------------------------------------------------
January |42 |576 |157
February |0 |435 |196
March |3 |589 |222
April |20 |615 |236
May |0 |552 |172
June |9 |786 |274
July |0 |658 |213
August |4 |690 |155
Roads, Mid Wales
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to build a dual carriageway in mid Wales during the next five years ; and if he will make a statement.
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Sir Wyn Roberts : No. Our policy is to undertake selective improvements to the A470 which is the main north-south link through mid Wales. That policy is set out in "Roads in Wales : Progress and Plans for the 1990s". The 1991 supplement to that, published in February, details the substantial programme of major improvements.
Burns and Plastic Surgery
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will now direct health authorities within Wales not to place contracts for specialist burns and plastic surgery outside Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The placement of contracts for specialist burns and plastic surgery is a matter for individual district health authorities. However, it is expected that contracts at the historic level for these services for patients in south Wales will continue to be placed with St. Lawrence hospital, Chepstow. I understand that patients in north Wales are continuing to be referred to specialist centres in England.
Inward Investment
Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the percentage of inward investment into Wales which is located in (a) Powys, (b) Dyfed excluding Llanelli and (c) Gwynedd, during the financial year 1990-91 ; and if he has any plans for increasing this amount.
Mr. David Hunt : Statistics held by Welsh Development International show the following percentage shares of inward investment projects secured in Wales :
|Projects |Forecast jobs
|Per cent. |Per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dyfed (excluding Llanelli) |2.0 |1.5
Gwynedd |3.4 |2.5
Powys |2.0 |0.4
|------- |-------
Total |7.4 |4.4
Health Authorities (Capital Spending)
Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will indicate the funds he has made available to each of the local health authorities for capital expenditure over (a) the past 10 years and (b) the sum proposed in the present year 1991-92.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information requested is shown in the table.
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Health authority capital allocations 1981-82 to 1990-91
£ million
|Clwyd |East |Gwent |Gwynedd |Mid |Pembrokeshire|Powys |South |West |Annual
|Dyfed |Glamorgan |Glamorgan |Glamorgan |total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981-82
Discretionary allocation |0.888 |0.731 |1.115 |0.504 |1.264 |- |0.256 |1.484 |0.859 |7.101
Centrally funded developments |0.830 |0.140 |0.656 |0.522 |0.452 |- |0.193 |1.761 |0.884 |5.438
1982-83
Discretionary allocation |0.992 |0.624 |1.256 |0.568 |1.416 |0.200 |0.296 |1.680 |0.968 |8.000
Centrally funded developments |0.381 |0.168 |0.567 |0.668 |0.129 |0.010 |0.024 |2.608 |0.894 |5.449
1983-84
Discretionary allocation |1.000 |0.624 |1.272 |0.568 |1.408 |0.208 |0.288 |1.664 |0.968 |8.000
Centrally funded developments |0.245 |0.318 |0.140 |0.499 |0.234 |0.003 |0.020 |0.455 |0.456 |2.370
1984-85
Discretionary allocation |1.437 |0.644 |1.504 |0.528 |1.646 |0.305 |0.311 |0.789 |1.434 |8.598
Centrally funded developments |0.676 |0.195 |0.055 |1.961 |1.315 |0.010 |0.047 |1.297 |1.902 |7.458
1985-86
Discretionary allocation |2.697 |1.209 |2.823 |0.991 |3.089 |0.573 |0.584 |1.482 |2.692 |16.140
Centrally funded developments |2.658 |0.077 |0.055 |0.014 |5.488 |- |0.411 |1.082 |1.504 |11.289
1986-87
Discretionary allocation |3.576 |1.603 |3.743 |1.314 |4.096 |0.760 |0.775 |1.965 |3.570 |21.402
Centrally funded developments |1.291 |0.358 |0.337 |0.103 |1.498 |0.320 |0.077 |1.912 |1.719 |7.615
1987-88
Discretionary allocation |4.086 |1.831 |4.277 |1.501 |4.680 |0.868 |0.885 |2.245 |4.079 |24.452
Centrally funded developments |0.155 |0.066 |0.036 |0.628 |0.817 |- |0.153 |1.315 |0.912 |4.082
1988-89
Discretionary allocation |4.935 |2.212 |5.166 |1.814 |5.653 |1.049 |1.069 |2.711 |4.927 |29.536
Centrally funded developments |0.399 |0.380 |0.259 |0.023 |0.798 |- |- |3.847 |0.608 |6.314
1989-90
Discretionary allocation |6.915 |1.967 |7.308 |1.741 |7.168 |1.963 |1.589 |3.572 |6.732 |38.955
Centrally funded developments |0.466 |4.536 |3.036 |0.259 |2.570 |0.202 |0.040 |5.308 |0.345 |16.762
1990-91
Discretionary allocation |6.277 |3.205 |6.184 |1.710 |8.054 |1.968 |1.113 |7.938 |8.072 |44.521
Centrally funded developments |0.070 |3.716 |1.400 |0.061 |4.095 |0.948 |0.095 |4.082 |2.242 |16.709
1991-92
Discretionary allocation |8.582 |4.382 |8.454 |2.337 |11.010 |2.690 |1.522 |10.852 |11.034 |60.863
Notes:
(1) The discretionary allocation figures given above represent "start of year" allocations. They do not reflect any additional capital resources
made available in-year as a result of land receipts or brokerage loans; nor do they take account of any funds which health authorities
may have vired during the course of any of the years in question from revenue capital.
(2) The figures also exclude further capital expenditure which has been incurred on behalf of health authorities concerned in respect of major
building schemes and the purchase of IT equipment or other major items of equipment by the Welsh Health Common Services Authority.
(3) All figures are at cash prices.
(4) During the course of 1991-92 health authorities will also receive specific allocations for centrally funded developments.
Local Government Reform
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what checks he made before the appointment of Touche Ross as his consultants on the reform of local government in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Selection followed the guidance set out in "Seeking help from Management Consultants" produced by the Treasury and published by HMSO.
Youth Training
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan TEC concerning the numbers of 16 and 17-year-olds leaving school in 1991 not so far in a job or training place under the youth training guarantee.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State holds regular meetings with the chairman of TECs in Wales. He is satisfied that sufficient financial resources have been made available to the South Glamorgan TEC for youth training provision. The TEC and the careers service are working closely with employers and training providers to ensure that the Government's guarantee is met.
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Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidelines were given for his departmental civil servants and Cardifff Bay development corporation consultants attending meetings with individual political parties on Saturday 9 November.
Mr. David Hunt : If the hon. Gentleman is referring to the Labour party meeting held on 9 November to discuss the predicted effects on groundwater levels of the Cardiff Bay barrage, I can confirm that my Department did not give any guidelines on conduct, and was not represented at that meeting.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Baltic States
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further steps are proposed by the European Community to assist the Baltic states in their efforts to create genuine independent economic conditions and policies.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The Foreign Affairs Council on 4 November agreed negotiating directives for the European Commission to negotiate trade and co-operation agreements with the three Baltic states. These would
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provide a framework for the liberalisation of trading relations between the European Community and the Baltic states, and encourage the process of economic reform. The Community has also extended its PHARE programme of technical assistance to include the Baltic states.Sovereign Republics
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements he is making for British representation in the sovereign republics of Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tadjikistan, Turkenistan and Kirghizia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : British interests in these republics are represented by the embassy in Moscow. We are discussing the question of resident representation in Kiev and St. Petersburg with the appropriate authorities. We are keeping the question of resident representation elsewhere in the republics under constant review.
Tibet
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received concerning the policy of the Government of the People's Republic of China to transfer Chinese citizens to Tibet ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : A number of individuals and organisations have drawn reports of such transfers to our attention. There is however little or no reliable independent confirmation that such a policy exists. According to the most recent Chinese census figures, over 95 per cent. of the population of the Tibet autonomous region is Tibetan while 3.7 per cent. is Han Chinese.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to propose a United Nations or non -governmental organisation sponsored fact-finding delegation to Tibet in the near future to examine allegations concerning the violation of human rights and the destruction of the environment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans to do so. A number of delegations concerned particularly with human rights have recently visited Tibet, including a delegation from the European Parliament. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister specifically raised Tibet when discussing human rights with Chinese Premier Li Peng in Peking in September.
Departmental Papers
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of his Department's papers have been made available to the public since 1 October 1990.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Between 1 October 1990 and 31 October 1991, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office--excluding the Overseas Development Administration--made the following papers available to the public on request :
Africa
Decline of the One-Party State in Sub-Saharan Africa
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Famine in AfricaSouth Africa : Chronology March-December 1990
South Africa : Chronology
Asia : Far East
Burma : A Missed Opportunity
Heroin in South-East and South-West Asia
New Hong Kong Airport
Vietnamese Migrants in Hong Kong
Reform in Mongolia
Asia : Near and Middle East
Oil Pollution in the Gulf
Lebanon after the Taif Agreement
Jerusalem : A Background
Asia : Gulf Crisis
An Offence against International Law
Dismantling of Kuwait
Effects of the UN Sanctions on the Iraqi Economy
Foreign Hostages in Iraq and Kuwait
International Community rejects Compromise
Iraqi Claims to Kuwait
Iraq : the Wasted Potential
Life in Iraq-occupied Kuwait
Multinational Force
Oil Pollution in the Gulf : Iraq's New Dirty Weapon
Rape of Kuwait
Saddam Hussein's Legacy
Suffering in Iraq
Why Sanctions could not be given more Time
Wider Repercussions of the Invasion of Kuwait
Saddam Hussein : A continuing menace
UN Security Council Resolution 687 : Iraq : Weapons of Mass Destruction
Europe
Assistance to Eastern and Central Europe
Britain and NATO
Britain in the Community : Europe in the 1990s
Changes in Soviet Aid Policy
Energy problems in Eastern Europe
Know How Fund : Czechoslovakia
Know How Fund : Hungary
Know How Fund : Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Soviet Union
USSR and Eastern Europe : Problems in Trade Relations
Britain and the Baltic States
Disarmament
Arms Control and Disarmament Quarterly Review No. 19
Arms Control and Disarmament Quarterly Review No. 20
Arms Control and Disarmament Quarterly Review No. 21
Arms Control and Disarmament Quarterly Review No. 22
Arms Control Agreements (Revised)
Arms Control at the United Nations
British Non-Proliferation Policy (Revised)
Chemical and Biological Weapons : Negotiating an International Ban
Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty
Economic
Aid to the Developing World
Directory of Overseas Export Services
International Debt
Talking Points on Britain's Economy
World Food Supplies
Consular
Annual Review of Consular Work 1990
Checklist for Travellers
Consular Assistance Abroad
General
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Diplomatic Wing) : Basic Facts and Figures
Miscellaneous
Children in the 1990s
Combating Drug Abuse in the 1990s
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