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Directions served under section 19B of the Local Government Planning Act 1980 where (a) the authority appeared to have acted in an anti-competitive manner Wirral MBC--23 October 1989and
(b) where the authority appeared to have failed to achieve the prescribed financial objective
Brent LB--24 July 1990
Barrow-in-Furness DC--15 November 1991
Greenwich LB--25 September 1991
Harrogate BC (2 notices)--15 November 1991
Shepway DC--15 November 1991
Tonbridge & Malling BC--28 February 1991
Directions served under section 19B of the Local Government Planning Act 1980 where (a) the authority appeared to have acted in an anti-competitive manner
Wirral MBC--23 October 1989
and
(b) where the authority appeared to have failed to achieve the prescribed financial objective
Brent LB--24 July 1990
Barrow-in-Furness DC--15 November 1991
Greenwich LB--25 September 1991
Harrogate BC (2 notices)--15 November 1991
Shepway DC--15 November 1991
Tonbridge & Malling BC--28 February 1991
Air Pollution
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the EC directive of 28 June 1984 on the combating of air pollution from industrial plants (84/360/EEC) has been transposed into United Kingdom law.
Mr. Baldry : Implementation of the air framework directive in Great Britain has been by means of the Alkali &c. Works Regulation Act 1906, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and regulations made thereunder. This will be reinforced by the new controls introduced under part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Implementation in Northern Ireland is also by means of the Alkali Act. The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland intends to make regulations to bring into effect the residual requirements of the directive relating to public access next spring.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review government classification of ozone levels so that they are in line with World Health Organisation guidelines and report exceeding of eight hour guidance values.
Mr. Baldry : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on 11 November 1991, Official Report , column 394 .
Lincolnshire
Sir Peter Tapsell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Lincolnshire will be in the first batch of local authorities that will be recommended for consideration by the local government commission when it is established.
Mr. Portillo : We are still considering what would be the most balanced and manageable programme of reviews for the Local Government Commission.
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Parish and Town Councils
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the university of Aston business school to report on the national survey of parish and town councils ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : We have received the results of this survey. The university of Aston business school is preparing its final report which we hope to publish in the new year.
Volatile Organic Compounds
Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environmnent what progress has been made in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on a protocol controlling emissions of volatile organic compounds ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : Negotiation of a protocol to the 1979 convention on long-range transboundary air pollution, which would control the emissions of volatile organic compounds--VOCs--or their transboundary fluxes, has now been successfully completed and the United Kingdom today became one of the first signatories to the protocol. VOCs are major precursors of ground level azone, a pollutant which can affect human health and damage crops and trees. Ground level ozone is an international problem, and some of the worst ozone episodes in the United Kingdom have significant contributions of continental origin. It therefore needs to be tackled by international agreement.
The new protocol is the first international commitment to VOC abatement across the board. It obliges most parties to secure a 30 per cent. overall reduction in their VOC emissions between 1988 and 1999. Other basic obligations include requirements, two years after the protocol enters into force, to apply national or international emission standards to new sources of VOCs, taking account of guidance on control technologies given in the protocol ; to apply national or international measures to products that contain solvents and promote the use of products with low or nil content ; and to foster public participation in VOC emission control.
The United Kingdom is already taking a number of steps which will help it to comply with the protocol, which represents an important step forward in international action to improve the quality of our environment. I am arranging for a copy of the protocol to be placed in the Library of the House.
Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will be meeting members of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee.
Mr. Trippier : I am meeting members of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee today following the inaugural meeting of the reconstituted committee. I have asked members of the new committee to look at the three particular subjects. First, I have asked them to review the radioactive waste disposal issues which are likely to arise over the next 20 years. Secondly, I have asked them to review the overall national radiation monitoring programme following the installation of phase 2 of the radioactive incident monitoring network and to make recommendations. Thirdly, I have asked them to
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consider and advise on the extent and nature of the Department's radioactive substances research programme.The members of the reconstituted committee are :
Members of the reconstituted RWMAC Chairman : Professor John Knill-- Chairman of NERC
*Dr. Jack I. Abernethy--Member of the Institute of Professional Managers and Specialists (BNFL)
*Professor Kathleen J. Anderson OBE--Depute Principal, Napier Polytechnic of Edinburgh, Biologist
Dr. Helen ApSimon--Imperial College, Senior Lecturer--Atmospheric Modelling
Professor Andrew Blowers--Professor of Social Services, Open University
*Professor Keith Boddy OBE--Head of Regional Medical Physics Department, Newcastle General Hospital, Northern Region Health Authority
Professor Charles Brown--Heriot-Watt University (Marine Biologist) Mr. Wilf Cassidy--Scientific Advisor and County Analyst Somerset CC Dr. Roger H. Clarke--Director, National Radiological Protection Board
Dr. Martin Courtis--Director of Environmental Services Environmental Health, Carlisle DC
*Professor H. John Evans--Director of the MRC Human Genetics Unit at Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
*Dr. Ron H. Flowers--Chief Technologist (Nuclear), AEA Technology Mr. Michael Folger--Managing Director, UK Nirex Ltd
Dr. Eleanor James--Lecturer Mathematics, University of Aberystwyth, Member of Executive Committee of the Council for the Protection of Rural Wales
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*Professor Gilbert Kelling--Professor of Geology andPro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Keele
Miss Angela M. Killick--Chairman, Hampstead District Health Authority
Dr. John McKeown--Director of Safety, Scottish Nuclear
Mr. George J. Medley OBE--Director World Wide Fund for Nature UK Dr. Les A. Mitchell--Director of Technology, Nuclear Electric PLC *Dr. William L. Wilkinson CBE--Deputy Chief Executive, BNFL *Professor David R. Williams-- Professor of Applied Chemistry, University of Wales
Those names marked with an asterisk are members who have previously served on RWMAC.
Council House Sales
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list by district authorities in the south-west region all capital receipts from the sale of council houses received each year since the introduction of right to buy.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 18 November 1991] : The total discounted value of all sales of houses and flats for each year from 1980- 81, as reported by local authorities, are in the table. Actual cash receipts in any year will depend on the extent to which the sales were financed by loans from the authorities.
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South Western Region<1> Discounted value of all sales (£ '000) Local authority |1980-81 |1981-82 |1982-83 |1983-84 |1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bath |2,491 |2,197 |1,769 |2,013 |1,835 |1,416 |2,359 |4,993 |7,430 |3,177 |1,888 Bristol |0 |14,263 |19,236 |11,870 |12,537 |9,339 |9,307 |13,229 |23,430 |25,019 |11,579 Kingswood |316 |4,155 |4,847 |2,093 |1,658 |1,389 |1,264 |2,487 |5,591 |2,955 |1,069 Northavon |1,906 |2,538 |3,699 |3,039 |2,315 |1,395 |1,931 |2,379 |6,558 |n/a |1,922 Wansdyke |3,359 |3,066 |2,317 |1,581 |1,685 |1,633 |2,335 |3,336 |6,651 |3,019 |1,063 Woodspring |335 |6,520 |n/a |6,358 |4,625 |n/a |5,325 |5,553 |10,268 |7,983 |3,914 Caradon |0 |985 |2,052 |1,462 |1,657 |1,125 |1,468 |1,823 |4,978 |n/a |n/a Carrick |894 |2,445 |1,722 |673 |n/a |1,510 |n/a |n/a |2,945 |n/a |1,378 Kerrier |0 |2,456 |1,072 |850 |770 |730 |663 |829 |2,098 |1,370 |653 North Cornwall |0 |1,926 |2,118 |1,946 |1,564 |1,154 |1,271 |1,621 |4,788 |4,613 |1,816 Penwith |838 |848 |1,172 |1,355 |815 |824 |n/a |1,621 |2,678 |2,686 |852 Restormel |45 |2,429 |1,889 |1,382 |1,056 |933 |1,227 |1,657 |4,066 |1,533 |937 Isles of Scilly |0 |0 |60 |60 |16 |35 |27 |143 |77 |n/a |32 East Devon |1,519 |1,285 |1,843 |3,154 |2,268 |1,742 |2,181 |4,181 |6,316 |3,748 |1,585 Exeter |1,133 |1,958 |2,340 |2,520 |2,294 |2,635 |n/a |n/a |n/a |5,075 |1,834 Mid Devon |0 |1,685 |3,444 |2,124 |1,675 |1,304 |1,894 |3,363 |4,290 |1,857 |1,083 North Devon |0 |2,369 |3,409 |1,800 |n/a |n/a |1,789 |2,521 |4,396 |2,750 |1,180 Plymouth |5,296 |5,539 |9,420 |8,021 |4,763 |n/a |6,309 |7,612 |15,991 |19,310 |7,426 South Hams |732 |1,380 |2,030 |1,840 |1,765 |1,981 |1,468 |2,236 |3,181 |3,294 |1,443 Teignbridge |n/a |2,632 |2,359 |1,922 |1,780 |2,252 |2,055 |2,424 |7,265 |5,362 |1,406 Torbay |622 |915 |1,360 |1,948 |2,154 |1,983 |2,320 |n/a |11,619 |4,713 |1,692 Torridge |18 |2,776 |1,245 |928 |723 |677 |1,052 |1,481 |2,924 |1,596 |775 West Devon |860 |1,244 |1,031 |1,272 |1,220 |1,091 |846 |n/a |2,010 |1,524 |n/a Bournemouth |1,088 |3,199 |2,870 |5,599 |3,861 |3,060 |3,959 |5,214 |9,340 |5,311 |2,730 Christchurch |768 |960 |902 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |1,422 |n/a |1,144 |n/a East Dorset |865 |924 |1,091 |n/a |1,602 |1,252 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a North Dorset |597 |1,386 |1,912 |1,441 |1,379 |1,309 |1,374 |2,571 |3,646 |2,335 |1,181 Poole |1,087 |963 |4,217 |5,790 |4,484 |3,195 |4,113 |n/a |6,241 |8,937 |2,583 Purbeck |844 |1,583 |1,182 |1,237 |1,650 |908 |1,236 |1,382 |2,768 |3,250 |n/a West Dorset |10 |2,469 |3,933 |2,623 |2,390 |2,566 |4,691 |3,166 |5,462 |2,950 |1,839 Weymouth and Portland |789 |1,401 |2,590 |6,317 |2,014 |1,326 |1,992 |2,711 |3,910 |2,803 |898 Cheltenham |1,197 |3,672 |3,394 |2,905 |1,161 |1,793 |1,684 |2,777 |7,441 |4,709 |1,820 Cotswold |0 |3,318 |3,566 |2,018 |1,904 |1,489 |1,549 |2,235 |3,371 |1,853 |1,589 Forest of Dean |0 |n/a |2,901 |1,831 |1,617 |1,218 |1,279 |2,276 |5,526 |1,961 |929 Gloucester |942 |2,533 |2,805 |1,744 |1,661 |1,207 |1,841 |3,125 |4,436 |n/a |1,573 Stroud |1,527 |2,666 |3,232 |2,491 |2,129 |2,046 |2,643 |2,116 |5,702 |4,594 |1,425 Tewkesbury |454 |4,241 |2,536 |1,768 |1,191 |1,026 |1,024 |2,057 |3,682 |2,046 |1,234 Mendip |1,601 |3,287 |2,392 |2,587 |2,587 |2,823 |3,489 |3,614 |7,797 |n/a |1,999 Sedgemoor |1,260 |3,805 |4,253 |2,552 |1,486 |2,140 |2,434 |3,610 |4,770 |4,965 |2,272 South Somerset |1,829 |2,872 |3,237 |2,882 |3,193 |2,588 |3,521 |6,016 |12,007 |6,321 |3,337 Taunton Deane |1,877 |2,596 |1,997 |1,935 |2,200 |2,306 |2,581 |3,889 |6,370 |4,338 |2,042 West Somerset |83 |1,507 |2,170 |1,040 |624 |561 |421 |982 |1,692 |999 |516 Kennet |642 |832 |2,291 |3,363 |1,575 |1,556 |1,762 |2,835 |5,686 |n/a |2,086 North Wiltshire |680 |2,683 |2,812 |2,585 |2,619 |2,791 |2,691 |3,660 |6,749 |4,473 |1,783 Salisbury |0 |2,979 |3,456 |2,524 |2,475 |2,225 |3,041 |3,877 |6,081 |6,720 |n/a Thamesdown |0 |n/a |9,519 |5,664 |4,586 |4,888 |n/a |n/a |12,858 |10,936 |3,706 West Wiltshire |2,878 |2,514 |3,042 |n/a |1,629 |2,863 |4,113 |3,551 |6,296 |3,550 |1,285 <1> Figures shown are as reported by individual authorities. n/a indicates that no data is available.
Cats
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice his Department offers to land owners and others concerning the control of straying domestic or feral cats.
Mrs. Rumbold : I have been asked to reply.
None. I am not aware of any demand for such advice.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Baltic Gold
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on the negotiations with the Baltic states on the Baltic gold.
Mr. Garel-Jones : Talks were held with an Estonian delegation on 7 November ; a Latvian delegation on 8 November ; and a Lithuanian delegation on 13 November. The discussions were friendly and useful progress was made. In each case it was agreed that a further round of discussions be held soon.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his meetings with representatives of Lithuania concerning repayment of the Baltic gold.
Mr. Garel-Jones : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs discussed the question of the gold when he met President Landsbergis in Blackpool on 8 October. Subsequently talks on the gold and other financial issues were held in London on 13 November with a Lithuanian delegation led by the Lithuanian deputy Foreign Minister. It was agreed that a further meeting be held soon.
Libya
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there are any plans to reopen diplomatic relations with Libya ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Garel-Jones : There are no such plans.
Yugoslavia
Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the number of refugees fleeing Yugoslavia and going into Italy, Hungary and Austria.
Mr. Garel-Jones : A total of 35,000 Yugoslav refugees have registered in Hungary. Between 5,000 and 8,000
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refugees are believed to have arrived in Austria. Since there is no visa requirement for Yugoslavs travelling to Italy, no figures are available for refugees there.Libya
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the numbers of British citizens employed in Libya during the past five years to the latest available date ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Garel-Jones : Figures are available only for 1988, 1989 and 1990. We estimate that 5,000 British nationals, including dependants, were living and working in Libya in 1988 and 1989 and around 5,500 in 1990.
EC Competence
Mr. Grylls : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will veto the extension of EC competence into any areas not directly related to the establishment of the single market.
Mr. Garel-Jones : A number of proposals have been put forward in the intergovernmental conference on political union for extensions of EC competence. We consider them on their merits, but the Government have made clear that a significant increase in competence would be undesirable.
Media Funding
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, further to his answer of 13 November, Official Report, column 525, if he will place copies of the papers concerning the Morning Star and Pergamon Press in the Library.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We will do so when they have been translated.
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy towards the negotiation of a comprehensive test ban treaty ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We are committed to a comprehensive test ban within the context of general and complete disarmament. Because our security will depend for the foreseeable future on deterrence based in part on the possession of nuclear weapons, we have a continuing need to carry out nuclear tests to maintain the effectiveness and safety of our deterrent.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the United Kingdom delegate
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voted on the draft resolution on a comprehensive test ban treaty (Document A/C. 1/46/L.4) at the United Nations on 11 November.Mr. Garel-Jones : The United Kingdom abstained on the resolution in the first committee.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy towards a moratorium on United Kingdom nuclear tests.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We have a continuing need to carry out tests to maintain the effectiveness and safety of our nuclear deterrent.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy towards a negotiated gradual reduction in the number of nuclear tests worldwide.
Mr. Garel-Jones : This is primarily a matter for the United States and Soviet Union. The United Kingdom has only a limited test programme.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's assessment of the potential impact of a comprehensive test ban treaty on the futher proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The 1968 non-proliferation treaty--NPT--is the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. A comprehensive test ban would not change the policies of those states not parties to the NPT, or prevent certain countries like Iraq who are parties to the treaty from seeking a nuclear capability.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's assessment of the potential impact of a comprehensive test ban treaty on the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons arsenal.
Mr. Garel-Jones : For as long as the United Kingdom's security and that or our allies relies on our possession of a minimal nuclear deterrent, the United Kingdom will have a requirement to carry out tests from time to time.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Drugs (Foreign Prisoners)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of (a) men and (b) women who are foreign nationals and are at present serving prison sentences in prisons in England and Wales for conviction for seeking to import illegal drugs into the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information readily available does not distinguish the different types of drugs offence.
On 30 June 1990, the latest date for which information is available, about 1,090 males and 160 females recorded as foreign nationals were held in prison service establishments in England and Wales under sentences for drugs offences.
Prisoners in Police Accommodation
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total cost (a) to his Department and (b) to police authorities, of holding
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prisoners in police accommodation during the action by prison officers to limit numbers at Cardiff prison (i) as a total to date and (ii) in each month to date.Mrs. Rumbold : Separate information on the cost of holding Cardiff prisoners in police cells is not collected centrally. It could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Car Theft (Guidance to Magistrates)
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to magistrates on passing those convicted of taking away a motor vehicle without consent to a higher court for sentencing.
Mrs. Rumbold : The power to commit for sentence does not apply to the current offence of taking a vehicle without consent, which is triable summarily only. We shall shortly bring forward proposals for a new offence of aggravated taking carrying more severe punishment in the Crown court. Magistrates would be able to commit an offender convicted of the new offence to the Crown court for sentence.
Bail Offenders
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the number of crimes committed by individuals granted bail during the last 12 months ;
(2) how many police officers have been injured or assaulted by persons who were on bail at the time of the offence during the last 12 months.
Mr. John Patten : Information on the number of recorded offences committed by persons who were on bail is not available separately.
Correspondence
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Parole Board was informed about the case of a prisoner about whom the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill wrote to the Minister of State in the Home Office on 17 September ; and when he expects to receive a reply from the Parole Board.
Mrs. Rumbold : The case was referred to the Parole Board on 28 October 1991 and is scheduled for consideration on 27 November. I will write to the hon. Member once the outcome is known.
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