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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 13 January 1992
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
European Court
Mr. Michael : To ask the Attorney-General whether the Lord Chancellor intends to amend or clarify the law in order to ensure that the intentions of the House of Commons are not frustrated by courts imposing requirements which are contingent on the outcome of an unresolved appeal to the European Court.
The Attorney-General : I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Kirklees Borough Council v Wickes Building Supplies Ltd in which it was held that the council was required to give a cross-undertaking in damages when seeking, by means of an interlocutory injunction, to enforce the Shops Act 1950. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on this decision because it is shortly to be appealed to the House of Lords.
Sunday Trading
Mr. Michael : To ask the Attorney-General if he will seek an early date for the hearing in the European Court of Justice on the alleged conflict between article 30 of the treaty of Rome and United Kingdom legislation on Sunday trading.
The Attorney-General : The United Kingdom has asked the European Court of Justice for an early date for the hearing of this issue.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his statement of 27 November, Official Report, column 918, if he will seek clarification from the European Court on the obscure reference in its decision in the Torfaen case, to which he referred, and in particular of those comments which have been interpreted as implying a conflict between United Kingdom Sunday trading legislation and article 30 of the treaty of Rome.
The Attorney-General : In two current cases on Sunday trading the United Kingdom has submitted observations to the European Court of Justice which discuss the effect of previous decisions of the court.
Mr. Higgins : To ask the Attorney-General when he expects the European Court of Justice to reach a decision on Sunday trading ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The European Court of Justice has not yet fixed a date for the hearing of the references by English courts, but the United Kingdom has asked for an early hearing.
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CIVIL SERVICE
Job Satisfaction
41. Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what recent representations he has received from civil service unions on job satisfaction.
Mr. Renton : I meet civil service unions from time to time to discuss a variety of issues. It is the job of managers in departments and agencies to achieve our aim of having an efficient, effective and well- motivated civil service.
Fair Employment
42. Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will commission research to update the Race Relations Employment Advisory Service report into how to identify and overcome barriers to fair employment across the civil service.
Mr. Renton : That report focused on the Department of Employment group. Similar recommendations were incorporated into the civil service programme for action on race, launched in 1990. Last month my department published the first progress report. It showed that departments and agencies have made a good start. The Government are determined to see further progress in this area.
THE ARTS
Music Training
31. Mr. Wigley : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will visit Wales to discuss music training.
Mr. Renton : I visited Wales in May and October last year, and shall be visiting the Principality again on 21 February to attend a performance by Welsh National Opera of "Pelleas and Melisande". Musical training in Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales ; but I should be pleased to discuss any matters falling within my own remit.
Theatre Visits
35. Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he next intends to visit the northern region to visit theatres.
Mr. Renton : I visited the northern region twice last year, and I hope to do so again soon. I will be happy to consider invitations to theatres in the region as part of that visit.
Artistic Heritage
38. Mr. Carrington : To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received about his proposals to retain the country's artistic heritage in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Renton : I have received a number of representations on the approach suggested by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and on the other option which I floated as an alternative. I look forward to receiving further representations by the end of March.
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Business Sponsorship
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement about business sponsorship of the arts.
Mr. Renton : Business sponsorship of the arts is holding up extremely well. Last year £44.5 million was attracted. I have now increased the budget for the business sponsorship incentive scheme, by £1 million, to £4.5 million from 1992-93, to sustain the growth of sponsorship which makes a vital contribution to the well-being of the arts in this country.
ENVIRONMENT
Competitive Tendering
Mr. Butcher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to introduce a system of independent and objective evaluation of competitive tenders for the provision of local authority services, in cases where private sector agencies are in competition with direct labour organisations.
Mr. Portillo : We have no proposals to remove the responsibility for tender evaluation from local authorities. Our approach is set out in the consultation document "Competing for Quality--Competition in the provision of local services", published on 5 November. We expect our proposals to result in a clearer and fairer framework for compulsory competitive tendering.
Executive Agencies
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the quality of service performance indicators adopted by each of his Department's executive agencies since their establishment ; and separately identify those quality of service performance indicators already operative prior to agency status.
Mr. Heseltine : The following quality of service performance indicators have been adopted in each of my executive agencies. Unless otherwise specified, they have been adopted since the establishment of the agency.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre : The key quality of service performance indicators are customer ratings of service in each functional area. These are measured by means of a detailed questionnaire presentation, catering facilities, overall value for money and the client's willingness to use the Centre again. Historic Royal Palaces Agency : The key quality of service performance indicators are visitors' ratings for enjoyment, value for money, and helpfulness of staff, which are measured by regular surveys of customer satisfaction. The customer survey programme started in 1988, one year ahead of Agency status.
Building Research Establishment : The current quality of service indicators are fulfilment of customer commissions (monitored by a sample survey) ; adherence to timescales for delivery of contracted outputs ; and adherence to customer budgets.
Ordnance Survey : The key quality of service performance indicators are to publish on microfilm within three months, each large scale map meeting the criteria and specification for reproduction, and to despatch within seven working days (including the day the order is received) 90 per cent. of orders for 1 : 50,000 folded maps. The first indicator was tightened from four to three months after the first year of the Agency's operation.
The Buying Agency : This agency was launched on 31 October 1991. Performance indicators have yet to be agreed, and
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are expected to cover comparative prices for key product and service ranges, response and delivery times, and complaints. The Ordnance Survey is a separate Government Department for which I have ministerial responsibility.Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the first degree obtained by the chief executive of each of his Department's executive agencies ; and from which university or polytechnic it was awarded.
Mr. Heseltine : The information is as follows.
Agency |Subject |University
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Historic Royal Palaces |Law |London
Agency
Building Research |Natural Science Tripos|Cambridge
Establishment
Ordnance Survey<1> |Technology |Brunel
The Buying Agency |Geography with |Bristol
|Geology
<1> The Ordnance Survey is a separate Government Department for
which I have ministerial responsibility.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff were in post on the date that each of his Department's executive agencies was established ; and how many staff are in post now in each case.
Mr. Heseltine : The information is as follows :
Agency |In post at launch|In post on
|1 December 1991
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Queen Elizabeth II
Conference Centre |64.0 |65
Historic Royal Palaces Agency |344.0 |372
Building Research
Establishment |684.5 |707
Ordnance Survey<1> |2,518.0 |2,373
The Buying Agency |115.0 |115
<1>The Ordnance Survey is a separate Government Department for
which I have ministerial responsibility.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was spent on events and publicity surrounding the launch of each of his Department's executive agencies ; and whether the cost was borne by the parent department or the new agency.
Mr. Heseltine : The information is as follows :
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre --since the Centre had already been successfully launched as a commercial organisation for nearly 3 years before it became an Executive Agency there was no special launch.
Historic Royal Palaces Agency --was launched with a press conference and a modest event for staff at each Palace. The Department contributed £366 and the Agency £150.
Building Research Establishment --the Agency bore the total cost of £7,000.
Ordnance Survey --the Agency bore the cost from its running cost provision and did not exceed £5,000.
The Buying Agency --the Agency bore the total cost of £25,000. The Ordnance Survey is a separate Government Department for which I am responsible.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the post, grade and maximum salary payable, including performance-related elements, in each case where appointments from the private sector have been made to his Department's executive agencies at grade 7 or above, since their establishment.
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Mr. Heseltine : The information is as follows :Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre --one appointment at Grade 7 level.
Historic Royal Palaces Agency --apart from the Chief Executive three at Grades 5/6 and two appointments at Grade 7.
Building Research Establishment --five appointments at Grade 7. Ordnance Survey --apart from the Chief Executive, one appointment at Grade 6.
The Buying Agency --none.
The salaries including performance elements of each appointment in each executive agency are appropriate to the relevant civil service grade.
The Ordnance Survey is a separate Government Department for which I am responsible.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether a group bonus scheme is in operation in each of his Department's executive agencies.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the last annual report for each of his Department's executive agencies was published ; and when the next one is due.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those new facilities for staff nurseries and health care schemes which have been introduced in each of his Department's executive agencies since their establishment.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the new forms of alternative working patterns introduced into each of his Department's executive agencies since their establishment ; and provide a breakdown by grade of the number of staff taking up each new working pattern for each new agency.
Mr. Heseltine : These are matters for which each chief executive has day-to-day management responsibility. I am therefore asking each chief executive--including that of the Ordnance Survey, which is a separate Government Department for which I have ministerial responsibility--to write to the hon. Member. A copy of their letters will be placed in the Library.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the maximum salary payable to the chief executive of each of his Department's executive agencies, including performance-related element, and the length of time of the chief executive's contract in each case.
Mr. Heseltine : The information is as follows :
Agency |Maximum |Length of
|salary |contract
|£ |Years
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre |55,490 |<2>5
Historic Royal Palaces Agency |59,000 |5
Building Research Establishment |57,300 |5
Ordnance Survey<1> |55,700 |3
The Buying Agency |56,300 |3
<1> The Ordnance Survey is a separate Government Department for
which I have ministerial responsibility.
<2> Extended to just over 7 years.
Property Services Agency
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the total amounts unpaid by the Property Services Agency to contractors for work
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completed which remain outstanding for periods in excess of (a) two years, (b) three years, (c) four years and (d) five years.Mr. Yeo : PSA Services' policy is to make payment promptly as soon as this is due under the terms of the contract ; payment will normally be made within 30 days of the presentation of a valid invoice.
Final accounts on major projects often contain claims by contractors for additional costs claimed to be outside the contractor's control. Substantiating these claims can be a slow process. Interim payments are made as sums are justified, but overall the average settlement figure is only 20 per cent. of the original amount claimed. Because of the complex nature of contractors' claims it is not possible to say with any accuracy how much will eventually be paid to contractors for claims currently being discussed and negotiated.
Business Rates, Southend
Mr. Channon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average cost for an appeal against business rate valuations in Southend.
Mr. Heseltine : In England the average cost in 1990-91 to the Inland Revenue Valuation Office of handling proposals by ratepayers to alter rating lists is estimated at approximately £230. Separate figures for Southend are not available.
The average cost to the Essex valuation and community charge tribunals-- VCCT--of dealing with all types of appeal is estimated at approximately £100 per appeal cleared in 1990-91.
These costs are not, of course, borne by the appellant, though in the case of appeals beyond the VCCT to the Lands Tribunal costs may be awarded.
Indonesia
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department first contacted the director general of the Forestry Protection and Nature Conservation Authority in Indonesia requesting information on CITES annex C2 species ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : We have had no direct contact with the Indonesian authorities. I understand that the European Commission wrote to them in 1987, and again in 1988, 1990 and, most recently, on 2 December this year. Officials from the Commission and the CITES secretariat have also discussed wildlife issues with the Indonesian authorities.
Opencast Mining
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of appeals for opencast sites his Department has granted since 1980 to British Coal and private companies, the names of the companies, and the location of the sites.
Mr. Yeo : The information requested is available only in respect of decisions issued since 1 April 1987. The Department's records show that the number of planning appeals granted for opencast sites in each financial year were as follows :
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Planning |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91 |<1>1991
Authority
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Barnsley |- |- |1 |- |-
Bolton |1 |- |- |- |-
Derbyshire |2 |2 |2 |2 |-
County Durham |3 |3 |3 |3 |4
Gateshead |- |- |- |1 |-
Huntingdon |- |- |- |1 |-
Lancashire |- |1 |- |- |-
Leeds |- |- |1 |- |-
Norfolk |- |- |1 |- |-
North Tyneside |- |- |- |1
Northumberland |1 |1 |- |1 |1
Staffordshire |- |1 |- |- |-
Wakefield |- |- |- |- |2
|-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |7 |8 |8 |9 |7
<1> 1 April 1991-30 November 1991
Details of companies involved and the precise location of each site are not immediately available. I will write to the hon. Member when the information has been collected.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what initiatives his Department has undertaken to encourage construction firms (i) to ensure maximum standards of energy efficiency in buildings and (ii) to use energy efficient materials ; (2) if he will review all aspects of the Building Regulations and codes of practice with a particular view to improving the long-term durability of construction and energy efficiency ;
(3) if he will make it his policy to adopt new standards for house building and introduce a requirement for all newly built, converted or renovated properties to undergo energy audits.
Mr. Yeo : The Building Regulations and codes of practice are kept under review. The Department supports a programme of research at the Building Research Establishment and elsewhere with annual expenditure of £10 million.
Provisions in the Building Regulations for higher standards of energy efficiency came into force in April last year. The Government are committed to seeing how these standards could be further strengthened, including improved provisions when properties are converted or renovated.
A Government "standard assessment procedure" for comparing home energy labels was introduced on 18 December. It is our intention that this system should be developed to enable it to be incorporated into the Building Regulations when these are next amended.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department has any plans to carry out an audit of low-income households to identify the steps needed to make homes energy efficient.
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Mr. Yeo : The 1991 English house condition survey will include an "energy audit" of dwellings in the sample and record achieved room temperatures and fuel consumption. It will provide an estimate of the energy efficiency of the housing stock, including the homes of low-income households, and the measures needed to make dwellings energy efficient.
A13, Havering
Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce the decision of the public inquiry on the routing of the A13 trunk road through Havering.
Mr. Yeo : The decision will be announced when the inspector's report has been considered in conjunction with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.
Defective Housing
Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what funds he has made available to enable London boroughs to buy back from right-to-buy owners houses found to have concrete cancer.
Mr. Yeo : Authorities may choose whether to repurchase or repair dwellings designated under housing defects legislation. Annual housing investment programme HIP--allocations take account of numbers of unreinstated designated dwellings reported by authorities. Recently announced 1992-93 HIP allocations for London boroughs included £56.7 million for specified capital grants, of which £3.7 million was allowed for housing defects obligations. These are notional, indicative figures, and authorities may spend more, or less, according to their statutory obligations. Exchequer contributions are paid to meet 75 per cent of the net cost of repurchases or repairs.
Standard Spending Assessment, Shropshire
Mr. Biffen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total and percentage increase over the previous year for the standard spending assessment for Shropshire for 1990-91, 1991-92, and 1992- 93 in respect of education, personal services, and total expenditure.
Mr. Portillo : The information requested is shown in the following table. The increases for 1990-91 are based on a comparison with 1989-90 grant-related expenditure assessments adjusted to take account of changes in authorities' responsibilities between the two years. Those for 1992-93 are based on the provisional standard spending assessments announced on 26 November 1991.
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Changes between years in the standard spending assessments for Shropshire
Education Personal social servicesAll services
Year |£ million|Per cent. |£ million|Per cent. |£ million|Per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90-1990-91 |6.048 |5.0 |3.048 |15.4 |13.609 |7.0
1990-91-1991-92 |17.274 |13.5 |4.808 |21.3 |33.698 |16.1
1991-92-1992-93 |8.522 |5.9 |2.505 |9.2 |13.945 |5.8
Waste Incinerators
Dr. Kumar : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to release the results of the linked planning inquiry into the siting of merchant chemical waste incinerators on Teesside and Tyneside.
Mr. Baldry : My right hon. Friend will release the results of the three linked incinerator inquiries on Teesside and Tyneside, along with his decision on the applications, as soon as it is practicable to do so.
Mental Handicap
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of the Mencap document regarding the charging for, and provision of, day care centre and educational facility plans for mentally handicapped people.
Homelessness (Manchester)
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance his Department proposes to give to those charitable organisations which provide shelter to homeless people in the Greater Manchester area over the Christmas period.
Mr. Yeo : In 1991-92, the Government are providing £4.5 million in grants to voluntary organisations throughout England for practical projects to prevent and relieve homelessness. This will rise to £6.1 million in 1992-93--an increase in real terms of around 30 per cent. Among the projects currently funded are three in Greater Manchester--Hulme Action Research Project, SHADES City Centre Project and the Selcare Trust.
The concentrations of rough sleepers in individual local authority areas outside London are comparatively small and I would expect individual local authorities to make emergency provision for people sleeping out in their areas.
Woolwich Common Estate
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much is to be spent on improvements to the Woolwich Common estate ; how much is Government funded ; when the homes were built ; and what the spending is, averaged across the number of dwellings and the number of residents.
Mr. Yeo : I recently approved, under the 1991-92 estate action programme, a scheme on the Woolwich Common estate totalling £9.910 million. Estate action resources will contribute £5.527 million or 56 per cent. of the total scheme costs and will help to improve the living conditions in 688 of the 1,350 dwellings on the estate. The best estimate that we have of the number of residents affected is 2, 000. Woolwich Common was built in four phases between 1968 and 1981. Under the proposed scheme a 93-dwelling Bison tower block, built under phase I, will benefit from improved heating, insulation and communal facilities. The security problems of 488 low-rise flats, which were among the last buildings to be constructed on the site, will also be addressed. The scheme also involves reroofing and rewiring these dwellings and others. The average costs per unit for all dwellings included in the scheme is £14,500.
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The scheme will be completed over four years and is the second phase of a large-scale programme of works on the estate which has already attracted £3.5 million in estate action funding.Council Tenants (House Purchases)
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which inner London boroughs have not applied for central funds to give help equivalent to the right-to-buy discount to council tenants who wish to purchase a home elsewhere.
Mr. Yeo : In 1991-92, 28 London boroughs are running approved cash incentive schemes and are issuing grants under section 129 of the Housing act 1988 to enable council tenants who could not otherwise do so, to buy a home in the private sector. All are utilising resources made available under the 1991-92 homeless initiative. The five London housing authorities that have not applied to operate a scheme are Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, City of London, Greenwich and Newham.
Council Tax
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether landlords of houses in multiple occupation will be liable for the council tax.
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