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Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the cost of lowering the maximum permissible annual increase in uniform business rate bills for Welsh businesses in (a) nominal and (b) real terms (i) for small businesses from 15 per cent. to 10 per cent. and (ii) for larger businesses, from 20 per cent. to 15 per cent. in 1992-93.
Mr. David Hunt : The cost of lowering the maximum annual transition increase by 5 per cent. for (i) small businesses and (ii) larger businesses whether in nominal or real terms, would be about £5 million in each case,£10 million in total.
Monmouth
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many inward investment projects have been attracted to Monmouth travel-to-work area since 1979 ; and if he will give details of those projects ;
(2) what proposals he has to attract business investment and quality jobs to the Monmouth travel-to-work area.
Mr. David Hunt : Comprehensive records are not available from 1979.
Wales has, however, secured record levels of inward investment in recent years and continuing efforts are made to draw to the attention of investors the advantages of locations throughout Wales. This includes targeted campaigns such as IT Wales and the financial services initiative. A range of assistance and considerable expert advice to aid industrial development is available from the Welsh Office and the Welsh Development Agency and tourism developments are encouraged by schemes operated by the Wales tourist board.
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what delegation he has agreed to meet concerning the application for assisted area status for the Monmouth travel-to-work area ; (2) when he proposes to meet a delegation on behalf of Monmouth borough council, Monmouth town council, Gwent county council and Monmouth chamber of commerce concerning the application for assisted area status for the Monmouth travel-to-work area ;
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(3) when he next proposes to meet representatives of the business community in Monmouth to discuss business investment.Mr. David Hunt : I have agreed to meet a deputation to discuss business investment in the area, including assisted area status, but the details have not yet been finalised.
Assisted Area Status
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the travel-to-work areas in south Wales which do not have assisted area status.
Mr. David Hunt : Taking the area south of that covered by the Development Board of Rural Wales, there are three travel-to-work areas which are not assisted areas. These are Carmarthen, Llandeilo and Monmouth.
Council House Sales
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the levels of debt that each district authority in Wales is required to redeem from capital receipts from the sale of council houses.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The table sets out for each authority the amount required to be set aside for credit liabilities from the sale of council houses up to 31 March 1991.
Reserved part of receipts from
council house sales up to
31 March 1991(<1>)
|£ 000
------------------------------------
Alyn and Deeside |3,813
Colwyn |2,324
Delyn |1,332
Glyndwr |2,230
Rhuddlan |2,859
Wrexham Maelor |10,904
Carmarthen |4,318
Ceredigion |5,372
Dinefwr |1,267
Llanelli |2,336
Preseli Pembs |5,674
South Pembrokeshire |4,582
Blaenau Gwent |6,223
Islwyn |6,894
Monmouth |4,362
Newport |10,453
Torfaen |6,395
Aberconwy |5,317
Arfon |4,293
Dwyfor |834
Meirionnydd |1,527
Ynys Mon |4,966
Cynon Valley |2,744
Merthyr Tydfil |3,185
Ogwr |6,724
Rhondda |621
Rhymney Valley |7,056
Taff-Ely |8,174
Brecknock |6,346
Montgomeryshire |7,584
Radnorshire |3,160
Cardiff |7,028
Vale of Glamorgan |18,922
Port Talbot |4,400
Lliw Valley |5,083
Neath |3,038
Swansea |4,838
|-------
Total Wales |187,178
<1> Including the reserved part of (
i) cash backed accumulated
receipts at midnight 31 March 1990
and (ii) in-year receipts 1990-91.
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Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has as to whether local authorities in Wales are investing their permitted level of capital receipts from the sale of council houses in new housing.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information requested is not held centrally.
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of 1990-91 capital receipts from the sale of council houses each local authority in Wales has actually spent on housing.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Authorities may apply the usable part of capital receipts to any capital purpose. The information requested is not held centrally.
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many houses he estimates could be constructed in each local authority in Wales if those local authorities were permitted to spend (a) 50 per cent., (b) 75 per cent. and (c) 100 per cent. of their 1990-91 capital receipts from the sale of council houses.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : It is not possible to make such estimates in view of factor cost variations and other considerations, including those related to sound financial and resource management.
Further Education
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make provision for special transitional arrangements, pending the setting up of the Further Education Funding Council for Wales, to enable suitable premises to be found for further education students and staff currently located at the Llandaf and Colchester avenue campuses of the Cardiff institute of higher education ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : My right hon. Friend the Minister of State has agreed to meet a deputation from South Glamorgan county council, South Glamorgan TEC and the Construction Industry training board to discuss the local authority's proposals.
Listed Buildings
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment has been made by CADW of listed buildings in Monmouth.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has a duty to compile a list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest for the guidance of local planning authorities. A detailed survey of Monmouth was undertaken in 1974 which identified 169 buildings. Since then, in response to inquiries made to the Department a further six buildings have been added to the statutory list.
Health Service
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the amount allocated by each district health authority in Wales to the extra-contractual budget.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Information relating to the reserves which each health authority in Wales has set aside in 1991-92 for extra contractual referrals is as follows :
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Budget for extra contractual referrals 1991-92 District health authority |£ million ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Clwyd |1.2 East Dyfed |1.2 Gwent |1.4 Gwynedd |1.2 Mid Glamorgan |1.3 Pembrokeshire |0.6 Powys |0.5 South Glamorgan |1.6 West Glamorgan |1.6 Source: Health authorities in Wales.
Sites of Archaeological Significance
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the duties of local authority planning departments with regard to development on sites of archaeological significance.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The desirability of preserving archaeological remains is a material consideration which local planning authorities are obliged to consider. To assist authorities we have made available guidance : planning policy guidance note 16 (Wales) archaeology and planning, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received regarding Monmouth's archaeological significance ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : No general representations have been received about the archaeological significance of Monmouth although I, and the Department, fully appreciate the importance of the town's archaeology.
Shared Ownership Accommodation
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of shared ownership houses and flats due to be completed by local authorities and housing associations in Wales in the current financial year.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Information about the intended tenure of local authority dwellings under construction is not available centrally. A total of 270 shared ownership dwellings are expected to be completed by housing associations in Wales in 1991-92. In addition it is estimated that 602 dwellings for flexible tenure for the elderly will be completed, many of which could be expected to be occupied on a shared equity basis.
Chippenham Mead, Monmouth
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received regarding proposed development of Chippenham Mead in Monmouth.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : My right hon. Friend has received four letters and a petition containing over 300 signatures, objecting to two proposed developments on, or adjacent to, Chippenham Mead village green, and asking for the two applications for planning permission to be called-in for his determination. These planning applications are for the proposed continuation of use of part of the village green for temporary periods for caravan rallies
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and associated parking of motor vehicles and the proposed construction of a supermarket and customer car park on Monnow street, Monmouth. These call-in requests are being considered and decisions on them will be reached shortly.My right hon. Friend is also considering a request from Monmouth borough council for his consent under the Commons Act 1899 to set aside part of the village green for the temporary parking of vehicles. So far he has received 52 letters on the proposals, 48 of which are objections.
Building Costs
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current average cost of building one unit of social housing in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The average cost of a housing association unit inclusive of private sector funding at tender approval stage this financial year, to mid-January, is £41,000.
ENVIRONMENT
Derelict Land Grant
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent in derelict land grant in Darlington since 1979 ; and how many acres have been restored as a result.
Mr. Yeo : Records for derelict land grant--DLG--payments towards reclamation schemes in Darlington, and the amount of land reclaimed, are not available for the full period covered by the question. However the expenditure incurred by Darlington borough council on DLG-supported reclamation, and the figures for the amount of land reclaimed are as follows :
Darlington borough council: derelict
land grant expenditure and land
reclaimed
|£ |Acres
----------------------------------------
1979-80 |n/a |n/a
1980-81 |213,864 |n/a
1981-82 |187,611 |n/a
1982-83 |582,334 |n/a
1983-84 |319,094 |12.97
1984-85 |254,514 |13.91
1985-86 |589,788 |6.79
1986-87 |536,772 |24.21
1987-88 |269,442 |1.24
1988-89 |284,697 |41.74
1989-90 |563,164 |18.43
1990-91 |529,567 |14.89
|------- |-------
Total |4,330,847|134.17
A further £32,697 has been spent by Durham county council in reclaiming 10.03 acres of land in Darlington.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is (a) the total acreage of national parks in England and (b) the current total acreage of designated environmentally sensitive areas in England ; and what will be the total acreage of environmentally sensitive areas in England when the further designations, recently announced, have been fully implemented.
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Mr. Baldry : The seven national parks in England cover 2,348,000 acres. The 10 existing ESAs in England cover some 956,300 acres. The total acreage of all ESAs is expected to be around 2,870,000 acres when the further designations, recently announced, have been fully implemented.
Local Government Finance
Sir David Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the 1992-93 precept per community charge payer proposed by Tadley town council in the borough of Basingstoke ;
(2) how many parish or town councils have proposed a precept of £29.88 or more per community charge payer for 1992-93.
Mr. Portillo : This information is not available to me.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will state the basis of the sum of £2,469,200,000 ascribed to debt charges in annex B of the Revenue Support Grant Distribution (Amendment)(No. 2) Report (England) H.C. 190.91/92 and the estimated total of all relevant local authorities receiving grant consequent to the report ;
(2) if he will state the basis on which he determined the formulae concerning the global sum and distribution of standard spending assessments, respectively for repayment of and interest on approved capital expenditure by local authorities, together with references to documents where such statements and formulae were publicly available.
Mr. Key : Total standard spending for 1992-93 represents the Government's view of the appropriate amount of revenue spending by local authorities to provide all services. Within that, the total amount allowed for the revenue consequences of capital spending represents the relative priority to be afforded to this type of expenditure, bearing in mind relevant factors such as likely movements in interest rates.
The method of distribution of the SSA element for debt charges is set out in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution (Amendment) Report (No. 2) (England). The basis of this approach is described in the publication by the Department of the Environment "SSAs Background and Underlying Methodology" ; copies of both documents are in the Library.
All 366 charging authorities receive revenue support grant.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from representative local authority organisations concerning the difference between the total of the standard spending assessments concerning capital charges and the amount they have, or are liable, to disperse in respect of their authorised borrowing requirements.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment announced his proposals for the 1992-93 revenue support grant settlement to the House on 26 November 1991. During the consultation period following that announcement representations on the capital financing element of standard spending
assessments--SSAs--were received from the Association of Metropolitan Authorities--AMA--and the Association of County Councils. Both associations commented on the
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proposed total within SSAs for capital expenditure financed from the revenue account. The AMA also questioned the total available for debt charges and the link with falling interest rates.Mr. Wells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, when he expects to announce the outcome of the consultation on the local government finance settlement for 1992-93 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heseltine [pursuant to his answer, 23 January 1992, c. 277] : Since the approval of the revenue support grant report, I have formed the view that fresh circumstances affecting the finances of local authorities have arisen. I have today laid before the House the "Additional Grant Report (England) 1992-93", which contains my determination of the total amount of grant to be paid to local authorities in England, and the basis on which it is to be distributed ; and I have placed in the vote office copies of a letter and table, showing individual grant entitlements, that is being sent to all local authorities today.
Standard Spending Assessments
Mrs. Currie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in rank order the SSA per head for the English shire counties for the forthcoming year, and for 1991-92.
Mr. Key : The SSA figures in pounds per adult are as follows for 1991-92 and 1992-93.
SSA per head of adult for English shire counties for
1991-92
Local authority |1991-92
|Total SSA
|(£ adult)
-------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland |964
Bedfordshire |851
Lanchashire |843
Humberside |839
Leicestershire |837
Buckinghamshire |833
Northamptonshire |813
Berkshire |805
Nottinghamshire |802
Kent |802
Durham |794
Shropshire |793
Cornwall |790
Isle of Wight |786
Hertfordshire |783
Essex |778
Cheshire |777
Cumbria |775
Lincolnshire |773
Cambridgeshire |772
Hampshire |763
Somerset |763
Wiltshire |753
Suffolk |752
Staffordshire |750
Avon |745
Derbyshire |743
Gloucestershire |743
Oxfordshire |742
Devon |739
North Yorkshire |739
Hereford and Worcester |737
Northumberland |735
East Sussex |734
Norfolk |729
Warwickshire |728
West Sussex |718
Surrey |699
Dorset |680
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SSA per head of adult for English shire
counties for 1992-93
-----------------------------------------------
Local authority |1992-93
|Total SSA
|(£ adult)
Cleveland |1,034
Bedfordshire |940
Buckinghamshire |912
Lancashire |912
Humberside |904
Leicestershire |902
Berkshire |889
Northamptonshire |881
Nottinghamshire |869
Kent |865
Isle of Wight |861
Hertfordshire |851
Durham |847
Essex |844
Shropshire |844
Cambridgeshire |842
Cornwall |840
Cheshire |837
Lincolnshire |830
Hampshire |829
Cumbria |828
Wiltshire |809
Staffordshire |807
Somerset |807
Gloucestershire |804
Suffolk |799
Avon |798
East Sussex |798
Derbyshire |795
Oxfordshire |794
Devon |792
North Yorkshire |789
Northumberland |787
Hereford and Worcester |785
Warwickshire |782
Norfolk |782
West Sussex |777
Surrey |759
Dorset |740
Montreal Protocol
Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will press for an emergency meeting of the Montreal protocol convention.
Mr. Trippier : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, South (Mr. Sumberg) on 11 February 1992, Official Report column 430.
Lead Pollution
Mr. Summerson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to reduce the amount of lead in the environment by reducing the proportion of lead that any product may contain.
Mr. Baldry : The Government's policy is to reduce man's exposure to lead wherever reasonably practicable. To this end, a number of measures have already been taken in the form of reductions in the amount of lead in petrol and encouragement in the use of unleaded petrol. Already in 1992 regulations to restrict the use of certain lead compounds in paints have been laid before Parliament. Further regulations to restrict the use of lead solders are currently being drafted. The Government are also continuing discussions with relevant bodies at both
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national and international level with the aim of identifying where additional measures to reduce man's exposure to lead are viable.Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sites of special scientific interest are currently designated.
Mr. Baldry : To date there are 3,559 sites of special scientific interest in England designated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Housing, Stockton
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses have been (a) constructed and (b) repaired using funds from the Housing Corporation in the Stockton, South constituency in the current financial year.
Mr. Yeo : The distribution of resources among local authority areas is a matter for the Housing Corporation. I have, therefore, asked the corporation to reply direct to my hon. Friend with the information he has requested. A copy of the reply will be placed in the Library of the House.
Animal Imports
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to implement the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species conference resolution 7.13, on welfare checks at the point of importation of all consignments of live animals.
Mr. Baldry : The steps the Government have taken to include requiring exporters of live specimens to transport the specimens in accordance with the International Air Transport Association live animals regulations, and the collection of information on the mortality of birds during transport. Compliance with the IATA regulations will become mandatory throughout the community from 1 January 1993 under EC directive 91/628 on the protection of animals during transport. We shall continue to press for further Community action. We are considering the need for other measures.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are taken to ensure the validity of declarations made by applicants for permits to import live animals to the effect that they have proper facilities for the accommodation of the species they wish to import and that the animals will be properly transported and cared for.
Mr. Baldry : It is an offence knowingly or recklessly to make a false declaration or provide false information for the purposes of obtaining an import permit. In the event of any doubt about the facilities available for accommodating an imported specimen, or the ability of an importer to care for a specimen adequately, the Department would pursue the matter in consultation with its scientific advisers. Follow-up action could, if appropriate, include asking for further details from the applicant or arranging for an inspection of the premises. If we were not satisfied that the appropriate standards were met, we would refuse to issue a permit.
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For certain species, the Department asks new traders and those who move premises to supply information about their facilities.Housing Associations
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent by housing associations in the Chelmsford parliamentary constituency in each year since 1979 ; and how many units of housing this has provided.
Mr. Yeo : The distribution of resources among local authority areas is a matter for the Housing Corporation. I have therefore asked the corporation to reply direct to my hon. Friend with the information he has requested. A copy of the reply will be placed in the Library of the House.
Housing, Liverpool
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to visit Liverpool in the near future ; and if, on his next visit to the city, he will meet residents of the Norris Green and Dovecot housing estates to discuss housing and environment matters.
Sir George Young : My right hon. Friend has no plans to visit Liverpool in the near future. I am visiting Merseyside on 26 February and spending some time in Liverpool and Wirral, where I will be speaking at a seminar. Either I or my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for housing, will be happy to consider a visit to these estates on a future occasion, once the city council has started to develop options for tackling the problems.
Travellers
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the twice-yearly count of gipsy caravans for each year since 1982 in (a) England, (b) Buckinghamshire, (c) south Buckinghamshire and (d) Wycombe.
Mr. Yeo : I am placing this information in the Library of the House.
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many gipsy caravans were shown as being in the county of Surrey in each of the twice-yearly counts carried out for his Department by local authorities in each of the past 10 years ; and how many of these were in the Boroughs of Woking and Guildford, respectively.
Sir George Young : I am placing this information in the Library of the House.
Business Rates
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates he has of (a) the yield from national non-domestic rates in England and Wales in (i) 1991-92 and (ii) 1992-93, (b) the yield from business rates in Scotland in (i) 1991-92 and (ii) 1992-93, (c) how the revenue between (a)(ii) and (a)(i), and (b)(ii) and (b)(i), respectively, breaks down in terms of the increases in poundage, changes in the commercial property base and changes in the valuations that have occurred.
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Mr. Portillo : The estimated amount which I expect to be paid by way of rates and contributions in aid of rates for Crown property in England in respect of 1991-92 and 1992-93 are shown in the table together with the detailed assumptions. These estimates of yield formed the bases of the distributable amount of non-domestic rates for 1992 -93 announced by my right hon. Friend on 6 November 1991.
|1991-92 |1992-93
|£ million|£ million
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated gross rate yield (aggregate
rateable value x multiplier) |13,369 |13,923
Additions to Gross rate yield
Enterprise Zones coming into rating |21 |56
Buoyancy between 1991-92 and 1992-93
(new and improved properties net of
demolitions etc.) |- |156
Net effect of transitional arrangements |49 |35
Reductions to Gross rate yield
Appeals in 1992-93 (gross of transitional
arrangements) |-176 |-168
Reliefs, allowance for losses on collection
etc. |-1,226 |-1,218
Net yield from ratepayers
(on an accruals basis, excluding the effect of
appeals determined in future years) |12,037 |12,784
The arrangements for non-domestic rates in Wales and Scotland are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland.
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of cancelling the first monthly instalment of uniform business rate bills for businesses in England and Wales in 1992-93 ; and what would be the equivalent cost to Scottish local authorities as a whole with respect to business rate bills.
Mr. Portillo : The total amount which would be forgone as a result of cancelling the April 1992 instalment in England would be approximately £1.28 billion. This estimate includes contributions in aid of rates in respect of Crown property. Non-domestic rates contributions in Scotland and Wales are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales respectively.
Local Councils (Survey)
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the survey carried out by the university of Aston business school on the work of parish and town councils.
Mr. Key : I refer the hon. Member to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Mr. King) on 13 February 1992, Official Report columns 572-73.
Leeds Development Corporation
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out by standard industrial classification the numbers employed in the area covered by the Leeds Development Corporation at its inception, and the latest available figures.
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Mr. Key : The information requested is not available. Leeds development corporation does not analyse employment numbers within its areas by standard industrial classification.
Water Companies
Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many shareholders there are in the 10 water companies in England and Wales.
Mr. Baldry : The companies themselves would be able to give the latest figures. However 1,096,025 shareholders paid the final instalment for the shares in July last year.
Poll Tax
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to have information in his Department on the level of the poll tax from most local authorities.
Mr. Key : Charging authorities are required to set their budgets for 1992-93 by 11 March and to set their community charges for 1992-93 on or before 1 April. We have asked them to report the community charges within seven days of setting them, or by 2 April 1992 at the latest.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment between which dates he estimates the majority of poll tax bills will be delivered by local authorities.
Mr. Key : An authority must set its community charge by 1 April and issue bills as soon as possible after the charge has been set.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has, at the latest convenient date, as to how much of the outstanding poll tax owed to local authorities is owed by people in receipt of poll tax rebate.
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