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Column 188
Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the figures for housebuilding in the public sector in the current year to the latest available date ; what was the comparable figure for 1978-79 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : Provisional estimates are that in England, during the nine months April to December 1991, 5,500 dwellings were completed for local authorities, new towns and Government Departments and 11, 900 for housing associations. In April to December 1978 the equivalent figures were 64,500 and 15,700. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given today to the hon. Member for Wentworth (Mr. Hardy) by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning.
Rural Housing
Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will encourage the Housing Corporation to direct a higher proportion of its funds to rural areas.
Mr. Yeo : The Housing Corporation's rural programme is being steadily expanded from 1,500 homes this year to 1,850 in 1992-93 and 2,250 in 1993-94. In addition, the corporation has undertaken to make good this year and next a shortfall of over 700 homes against its target for 1990-91.
Air Quality
Mr. O'Hara : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on air quality.
Mr. Trippier : I refer the hon. Member to chapter 11 of the White Paper "This Common Inheritance" (Cm 1200) and to chapter 8 of "This Common Inheritance : The First Year Report" (Cm 1655). These give a full account of our progress in improving air quality and our commitments to further action.
Local Authorities (Unitary Plans)
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the development of unitary plans by local authorities.
Sir George Young : One unitary development plan has been adopted. Other metropolitan authorities have plans in preparation.
Heveningham Hall
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement on Heveningham hall.
Mr. Heseltine : No. I have nothing to add now to my answer to the hon. Member on 10 December, column 367.
Redundant Farm Buildings
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue guidance to local planning authorities to allow for the granting of a greater proportion than hitherto of applications making use of redundant farm buildings.
Mr. Yeo : Guidance on the re-use of farm and other rural buildings is in planning policy guidance note 7, "The
Column 189
Countryside and the Rural Economy", published in January 1992. This states that proposals should not be rejected unless there are specific and convincing planning reasons that cannot be overcome by attaching reasonable conditions to the planning permission. Unlike the first edition of PPG7, it says that it should not normally be necessary to consider whether the building is no longer needed for its present purposes.Mixed Housing Developments
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to promote mixed housing developments of both public and private housing on local authority land ; in what proportions ; what the position was in each of the last 10 years ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : Right to buy, estate action, city challenge, housing action trusts and other initiatives introduced by this Government are already successfully promoting diversification of tenure in areas of local authority housing. Increased competition for housing investment programme resources and the requirement to develop housing strategies will further encourage local authorities to mix the tenure of estates. Details of sales of local authority land and buildings can be found in the quarterly housing and construction statistics published by my Department.
Recycling
Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representation he has received from the Association of District Councils about recycling.
Mr. Baldry : The Government have frequent contact with local authorities and the local authority associations on a wide range of matters concerning recycling.
Council Estates
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the Government are encouraging tenant participation in the management of council estates.
Sir George Young : The Department has increased its grants for the promotion and development of tenant management initiatives on local authority estates by over a third since last year. In addition, it has contributed towards the costs of developing the new national certificate in tenant participation and is grant-aiding moves to establish a national housing and tenant resource centre. Last week it began a national distribution of the tenant participation video and leaflet which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched with the council tenants charter.
East Thames Corridor
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the environmental impact of the development of the east Thames corridor.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend has appointed consultants to examine the opportunities for development in the east Thames corridor. They are considering also the potential for the environmental enhancement of the corridor and taking account of the need to conserve areas of historical and environmental sensitivity.
Column 190
Planning and Development
Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next intends to meet the European Commissioner for environmental matters to discuss planning and development matters.
Mr. Yeo : I discuss a wide range of issues, including planning and development matters whenever I meet the Commissioner. Following our meeting on 21 January, no further meeting has yet been arranged.
Compulsory Competitive Tendering
Mr. Carttiss : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the estimated savings made by local authorities as a result of compulsory competitive tendering ; and what further savings could be made through its extension.
Mr. Key : Research has shown average savings of 6 per cent. in the annual value of contracts for all services subject to competition under the Local Government Act 1988. Higher average savings, in the range of 10 to 15 per cent. of annual value, have been achieved in the case of refuse collection and building cleaning. The Government believe that the demonstrable gains in efficiency and value for money stimulated by the introduction of competition should be extended to a wider range of local services.
SSAs
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the counties which have obtained a higher standard spending assessment settlement per unit of population in the current year than Warwickshire ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : The following counties have a higher standard spending assessment expressed in pounds per adult than Warwickshire for 1991-92 : Avon, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hereford and Worcester, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk and Wiltshire.
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will now direct his officials to have talks with local government officers in Warwickshire about the county's financial situation ;
(2) what advice or assistance is available to county councils which represent to him that the results of the standard spending assessment formula are disadvantageous to them.
Mr. Portillo : When the provisional standard spending assessments were announced on 26 November, local authorities were invited to make representations up to 31 December. Ministers met delegations from local authorities up to 9 January.
The final standard spending assessment formulae for 1992-93 have now been approved by the House. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear his intentions with regard to charge capping. It is now for
Column 191
Warwickshire and all other authorities to determine their budgets for 1992-93. It would not be appropriate for the Department to become involved in budgeting decisions. Any authority designated for capping will have the opportunity to make representations if it decides to challenge the level of the cap proposed by the Secretary of State.Housing Revenue Accounts
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table of all local authorities in England, grouped regionally, showing the estimated notional deficit or surplus on their housing revenue account for 1991-92, if expenditure on rent rebates and subsidy towards those costs were excluded from the calculation of housing revenue accounts subsidy for that year but rents, debt repayment and management and management expenditure remained the same.
Mr. Yeo : I have arranged for the information to be placed in the Library of the House.
Pipelines
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the laying or construction of notifiable pipelines is granted permitted development rights under the Town and Country Planning and General Development Order 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : Public gas suppliers within the meaning of section 7 of the Gas Act 1986 have permitted development rights under part 17F of schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988, including the laying underground of notifiable pipelines.
SSSIs
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sites if special scientific interest have been denotified in each yeaer since 1981 ; what was the total hectarage involved in each year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : The information is not available in the form requested. Since 1981, the total area of land de-notified in England, primarily as the result of boundary amendments to existing SSSIs is 12,699.8 hectares involving 440 SSSIs.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sites of special scientific interest were visited under the site integrity monitoring programme for the latest 12-month period for which figures are available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : In England, 1,597 SSSIs were visited in the period from 1 April to 31 December 1991. The aim is for all SSSIs to be covered by site integrity monitoring, with a visit to each site at least every three years.
Urban Programme Support, Hackney
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the projects in the London borough of Hackney which have received inner cities partnership or urban programme support in each year since 1987 -88, showing in each case the level of support and the benefits obtained for local people.
Column 192
Mr. Key : The Department has approved more than 400 projects under the Hackney urban programme--formerly called Hackney inner-city partnership --since 1987-88. Individual projects started each year within the Hackney urban programme (UP) are listed in annual reports available from Hackney council. Further details on UP funded projects are also available from the council.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the per capita levels of revenue support for the 10 local authorities which benefit most (a) in 1990-91, (b) in 1991-92 and (c) in 1992-93.
Mr. Key : The information requested is as follows :
1990-91 revenue support grant per capita for the 10
local authorities
which benefit most
Local authority |1990-91
|revenue support
|grant
|(£ /per capita)
---------------------------------------------------------
City of London |9,153
Tower Hamlets |824
Hackney |804
Lambeth |708
Westminster |689
Islington |633
Newham |621
Southwark |579
Isles of Scilly |573
Hammersmith and Fulham |560
1991-92 revenue support grant per capita for the 10
local authorities
which benefit most
Local authority |1991-92
|revenue support
|grant
|(£ /per capita)
---------------------------------------------------------
City of London |9,420
Tower Hamlets |968
Hackney |939
Lambeth |844
Westminster |781
Islington |755
Newham |736
Southwark |681
Isles of Scilly |608
Hammersmith and Fulham |636
1992-93 revenue support grant per capita for the 10
local authorities
which benefit most
Local authority |1992-93
|revenue support
|grant
|(£ /per capita)
---------------------------------------------------------
City of London |10,771
Tower Hamlets |1,154
Hackney |1,127
Lambeth |1,014
Westminster |959
Islington |942
Newham |940
Southwark |841
Isles of Scilly |853
Hammersmith and Fulham |821
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the per capita levels of housing revenue support for the 10 local authorities which benefit most (a) in 1990-91, (b) in 1991-92 and (c) in 1992-93.
Column 193
Mr. Yeo : The information requested on housing revenue account (HRA) subsidy paid to English local housing authorities is shown in the following tables.
|HRA subsidy |HRA subsidy
|claimed |claimed per
|1990-91 |dwelling
|1990-91
------------------------------------------------------------
Islington |139,842,857 |3,546
Lambeth |123,663,328 |2,493
Hackney |118,239,274 |2,549
Manchester |116,383,231 |1,233
Camden |107,762,567 |3,143
Birmingham |101,344,460 |907
Southwark |100,665,746 |1,723
Tower Hamlets |97,382,040 |2,307
Liverpool |76,015,000 |1,264
Haringey |71,166,800 |3,008
|HRA subsidy |HRA subsidy
|claimed |claimed per
|1991-92 |dwelling
|1991-92
Manchester |139,755,197 |1,519
Islington |138,230,866 |3,553
Lambeth |136,532,184 |2,886
Hackney |117,054,424 |2,591
Southwark |112,149,017 |1,948
Tower Hamlets |108,001,909 |2,621
Camden |107,920,526 |3,299
Birmingham |107,433,312 |978
Liverpool |82,944,395 |1,424
Sheffield |77,842,210 |1,035
|Estimated |Estimated
|subsidy claims|subsidy claims
|for 1992-93 |per dwelling
|for 1992-93
Lambeth |133,037,277 |2,797
Islington |130,173,124 |3,336
Manchester |129,492,486 |1,414
Hackney |120,192,731 |2,728
Southwark |110,043,144 |1,954
Birmingham |107,543,367 |996
Camden |103,147,677 |3,124
Tower Hamlets |100,361,349 |2,557
Sheffield |83,720,944 |1,153
Liverpool |85,589,876 |1,464
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the difference between the standard spending assessments relating to capital charges allotted to local authorities and the amount which they needed to disburse on such expenditure for the year 1991-92, where that difference exceeded £1 million, together with the name of the local authority and the excess amount so paid.
Mr. Key [holding answer 17 February 1992] : The capital financing element of the 1991-92 SSAs totalled £2,950.7 million. The latest information available to my Department indicates that local authorities have budgeted to spend £2,973.3 million on capital financing in 1991-92.
The table shows the capital financing SSA element, the equivalent budgeted net revenue expenditure on capital financing, and the difference between these two amounts in 1991-92 for those local authorities where the difference exceeds £1 million.
Column 193
£ million
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bath |0.662 |5.664 |5.002
Bristol |3.245 |9.069 |5.824
North Bedfordshire |0.697 |-0.507 |-1.204
Bracknell Forest |0.455 |-2.006 |-2.461
Newbury |0.718 |2.001 |1.283
Slough |0.812 |-1.928 |-2.740
Windsor and Maidenhead |0.783 |4.639 |3.856
Milton Keynes |2.082 |3.891 |1.809
Wycombe |0.828 |14.573 |13.745
Huntingdonshire |0.641 |5.317 |4.676
Peterborough |1.041 |2.224 |1.183
Vale Royal |0.598 |-1.047 |-1.645
Warrington |1.200 |2.860 |1.660
Hartlepool |1.342 |3.057 |1.715
Langbaurgh-on-Tees |1.522 |3.533 |2.011
Middlesbrough |2.555 |4.147 |1.592
Stockton-on-Tees |1.392 |2.505 |1.113
Kerrier |0.665 |1.896 |1.231
Chesterfield |0.617 |4.441 |3.824
Derby |1.849 |3.722 |1.873
East Devon |0.688 |-0.537 |-1.225
Plymouth |2.206 |3.869 |1.663
Teignbridge |0.660 |1.924 |1.264
Bournemouth |1.578 |10.155 |8.577
Christchurch |0.456 |-0.737 |-1.193
West Dorset |0.886 |-1.108 |-1.994
Derwentside |0.702 |1.937 |1.235
Wear Valley |0.459 |2.815 |2.356
Brighton |1.375 |3.838 |2.463
Hastings |1.404 |2.926 |1.522
Basildon |1.007 |6.971 |5.964
Braintree |0.562 |2.144 |1.582
Brentwood |0.409 |2.979 |2.570
Chelmsford |0.894 |3.911 |3.017
Colchester |1.087 |-0.192 |-1.279
Epping Forest |0.829 |2.021 |1.192
Harlow |0.643 |2.325 |1.682
Southend-on-Sea |1.447 |3.055 |1.608
Thurrock |0.670 |5.033 |4.363
Stroud |0.505 |4.225 |3.720
Portsmouth |2.126 |-9.601 |-11.727
Southampton |1.814 |5.477 |3.663
Winchester |0.578 |2.354 |1.776
Hereford |0.276 |1.436 |1.160
St. Albans |0.714 |-0.375 |-1.089
Three Rivers |0.495 |-0.643 |-1.138
Watford |0.506 |-1.854 |-2.360
Welwyn Hatfield |0.799 |3.196 |2.397
Glanford |1.041 |2.286 |1.245
Great Grimsby |0.627 |1.650 |1.023
Kingston upon Hull |4.230 |8.561 |4.331
East Yorkshire |0.427 |1.593 |1.166
South Wight |0.767 |-0.933 |-1.700
Ashford |0.479 |2.655 |2.176
Canterbury |1.336 |3.224 |1.888
Maidstone |0.804 |3.229 |2.425
Rochester upon Medway |1.061 |3.064 |2.003
Sevenoaks |0.530 |-0.716 |-1.246
Swale |0.753 |3.406 |2.653
Tonbridge and Malling |0.595 |3.554 |2.959
Blackburn |2.396 |3.458 |1.062
Pendle |0.629 |1.726 |1.097
Preston |1.946 |4.754 |2.808
Charnwood |0.745 |2.378 |1.633
Leicester |4.281 |9.229 |4.948
Melton |0.182 |1.635 |1.453
East Lindsey |0.643 |2.413 |1.770
Breckland |0.534 |1.671 |1.137
Great Yarmouth |0.752 |2.001 |1.249
Norwich |1.055 |3.273 |2.218
South Norfolk |0.538 |-0.629 |-1.167
Daventry |0.207 |2.369 |2.162
South Northamptonshire |0.350 |-1.349 |-1.699
Alnwick |0.325 |1.833 |1.508
Wansbeck |0.597 |2.523 |1.926
Harrogate |0.802 |3.215 |2.413
York |0.606 |4.053 |3.447
Ashfield |0.576 |2.577 |2.001
Gedling |0.737 |1.789 |1.052
Mansfield |0.725 |2.503 |1.778
Newark and Sherwood |0.765 |3.611 |2.846
Oxford |0.923 |3.613 |2.690
South Oxfordshire |0.746 |-0.804 |-1.550
The Wrekin |0.930 |2.595 |1.665
Cannock Chase |0.530 |1.894 |1.364
Stafford |0.666 |2.767 |2.101
Stoke-on-Trent |2.166 |11.217 |9.051
Forest Heath |0.288 |1.779 |1.491
Ispwich |0.892 |2.687 |1.795
Mid Suffolk |0.590 |1.731 |1.141
St. Edmundsbury |0.430 |-1.001 |-1.431
Suffolk Coastal |1.093 |-1.258 |-2.351
Waveney |1.067 |2.122 |1.055
Elmbridge |0.581 |3.551 |2.970
Reigate and Banstead |0.714 |-2.903 |-3.617
Woking |1.025 |10.740 |9.715
Nuneaton and Bedworth |0.634 |1.725 |1.091
Adur |0.343 |1.382 |1.039
Crawley |0.471 |-0.660 |-1.131
Thamesdown |0.859 |10.655 |9.796
West Midlands Fire and Civil Defence Authority 2.4.171 1.495
London Fire and Civil Defence Authority |9.904 |7.431 |-2.473
Merseyside Police Authority |2.037 |4.353 |2.316
Northumbria Police Authority |1.719 |4.071 |2.352
West Midlands Police Authority |3.524 |5.403 |1.879
Bolton |16.615 |13.095 |-3.520
Bury |9.607 |7.782 |-1.825
Manchester |42.724 |75.611 |32.888
Oldham |19.536 |17.586 |-1.950
Stockport |16.008 |17.973 |1.965
Tameside |12.615 |13.922 |1.307
Trafford |15.349 |14.342 |-1.007
Knowsley |12.494 |9.846 |-2.648
St. Helens |17.123 |15.208 |-1.914
Sefton |18.438 |16.502 |-1.936
Wirral |22.341 |26.153 |3.812
Barnsley |12.735 |17.167 |4.433
Doncaster |15.466 |11.728 |-3.739
Rotherham |13.959 |16.313 |2.354
Sheffield |32.735 |41.411 |8.676
Gateshead |19.877 |15.810 |-4.066
Newcastle upon Tyne |25.938 |32.542 |6.605
North Tyneside |15.495 |13.820 |-1.675
South Tyneside |16.415 |15.200 |-1.215
Sunderland |25.182 |21.689 |-3.493
Birmingham |71.763 |113.620|41.857
Coventry |21.379 |40.177 |18.798
Dudley |20.101 |21.865 |1.764
Sandwell |18.171 |20.454 |2.283
Solihull |9.610 |6.973 |-2.637
Walsall |18.409 |25.934 |7.524
Wolverhampton |19.009 |22.525 |3.515
Bradford |38.682 |32.836 |-5.846
Calderdale |10.910 |11.958 |1.049
Leeds |43.218 |57.969 |14.751
Wakefield |19.577 |10.542 |-9.035
City of London |7.830 |34.187 |26.357
Camden |16.359 |27.100 |10.741
Greenwich |15.130 |12.613 |-2.518
Hackney |20.546 |25.132 |4.587
Hammersmith and Fulham |15.629 |19.803 |4.174
Islington |16.970 |29.109 |12.139
Kensington and Chelsea |13.704 |9.049 |-4.655
Lambeth |22.365 |27.102 |4.736
Lewisham |18.535 |9.645 |-8.890
Southwark |19.799 |13.142 |-6.657
Tower Hamlets |21.624 |14.954 |-6.670
Westminster |20.610 |7.252 |-13.357
Barking and Dagenham |7.031 |10.626 |3.595
Barnet |13.980 |7.549 |-6.431
Bexley |15.095 |12.508 |-2.588
Brent |20.414 |25.137 |4.723
Bromley |16.370 |24.579 |8.209
Croydon |18.222 |2.944 |-15.278
Ealing |19.662 |16.636 |-3.027
Enfield |19.757 |22.897 |3.141
Haringey |18.095 |29.877 |11.782
Harrow |16.484 |11.588 |-4.896
Havering |12.520 |8.121 |-4.399
Hillingdon |19.779 |14.824 |-4.955
Hounslow |12.888 |14.833 |1.945
Kingston upon Thames |10.446 |4.808 |-5.638
Merton |12.619 |15.451 |2.833
Newham |23.586 |26.883 |3.297
Redbridge |13.107 |8.551 |-4.556
Richmond upon Thames |8.501 |5.769 |-2.732
Sutton |10.796 |8.537 |-2.258
Waltham Forest |17.567 |13.658 |-3.909
Avon |33.924 |23.976 |-9.948
Bedfordshire |21.280 |26.002 |4.722
Berkshire |34.934 |42.389 |7.455
Cambridgeshire |31.314 |14.716 |-16.598
Cheshire |41.132 |42.558 |1.426
Cleveland |29.774 |34.493 |4.719
Cornwall |26.796 |17.680 |-9.116
Cumbria |24.068 |20.300 |-3.768
Derbyshire |48.043 |31.389 |-16.654
Devon |44.846 |34.906 |-9.940
Dorset |27.321 |3.291 |-24.030
Durham |26.357 |21.714 |-4.643
East Sussex |35.141 |28.812 |-6.329
Essex |72.777 |52.976 |-19.801
Gloucestershire |25.277 |19.714 |-5.563
Hampshire |70.469 |48.033 |-22.436
Hereford and Worcester |26.628 |18.375 |-8.253
Hertfordshire |38.813 |19.762 |-19.051
Humberside |44.489 |36.293 |-8.196
Kent |80.388 |37.764 |-42.624
Lancashire |74.180 |80.534 |6.354
Leicestershire |44.072 |32.800 |-11.272
Lincolnshire |26.760 |29.963 |3.203
Norfolk |30.299 |20.136 |-10.163
Northamptonshire |31.375 |23.460 |-7.915
Northumberland |14.538 |7.790 |-6.748
North Yorkshire |31.015 |20.297 |-10.718
Nottinghamshire |38.133 |46.284 |8.151
Oxfordshire |18.875 |16.056 |-2.819
Shropshire |22.566 |16.809 |-5.757
Somerset |22.065 |19.731 |-2.334
Staffordshire |47.723 |38.649 |-9.074
Surrey |38.025 |53.235 |15.210
Warwickshire |16.392 |14.551 |-1.841
West Sussex |27.975 |16.436 |-11.539
Wiltshire |25.388 |15.057 |-10.331
NB-The expenditure figures for the metropolitan districts include
expenditure by the metropolitan transport authorities and the
metropolitan
waste authorities. The expenditure figures for the London boroughs
include expenditure on waste regulation and disposal.
Council House Sales
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the total capital receipts available to local authorities from the sale of council houses in the last 12 months ; and what was the total for the immediately preceding 12-month period.
Sir George Young : Receipts from the sale of council dwellings constitute the large majority of housing capital receipts. Our current estimate of usable housing capital receipts available to authorities from sales and disposals in 1991-92 is about £450 million (projected from the half-year data available). The value of 1990-91 usable housing capital receipts, reported by authorities, is £625 million. In addition to spending from usable receipts, councils may also finance expenditure from new borrowing, authorised by credit approvals, and by contributions from revenue accounts, and many also have unspent usable receipts from previous years.
Service Pensioners
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he gives guidance on local authorities' employment policies, to seek to prevent the councils as employers from discriminating against prospective employees on the ground that they are in receipt of a pension as a result of having served in the armed forces ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will introduce proposals for legislation making it illegal for local authorities to discriminate against job applicants because they are in receipt of a pension as a result of having served in the armed forces ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) if he will list all those local authorities who have an official policy of discriminating against job applicants on the ground that they are in receipt of a pension from the armed forces.
Mr. Key : Local authorities are responsible for their own recruitment policies. Like other employers, they are free to employ whom they wish, subject to the provisions of general employment law.
Column 200
My Department holds no records of local authorities which discriminate against job applicants receiving pensions from the armed forces. Any legislation on this issue would be a matter for the Department of Employment. There are no plans to introduce legislation or provide guidance in this area.Section 7 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 requires that, subject to other employment law, all appointments to local authority posts are made on merit. Within the terms of the selection criteria applied by local authorities, a successful applicant must be capable of meeting the requirements of the post applied for.
Assured Tenancies
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of short assured tenancies for the year 1991.
Mr. Yeo : The numbers of assured shorthold tenancies can only be estimated from survey evidence. The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys 1990 private renters survey estimated that there was a total of 136,000 assured shorthold tenancies in mid-1990. This is the most recent figure available.
Empty Properties
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the number of empty properties in the private sector.
Mr. Yeo : Estimates of empty dwellings reported by English local authorities in their annual housing investment programme returns for April 1991 amounted to some 640,000 dwellings, or 4.2 per cent. of the private housing stock.
Large Markets
Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to exclude large commercial markets from permitted development as defined in schedule 2, part 4 of the Town and Country Planning : General Development Order 1988, S.I. 1913.
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Mr. Yeo : My right hon. Friend has no plans to make such an exclusion.Lead Water Pipes
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will assist households on low incomes with the costs of replacing lead water supply pipes in dwellings.
Mr. Yeo : My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales and I have today written to local authority associations, the water industry, and other organisations, seeking their views on proposals to extend minor works assistance, under the provisions of part VIII of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. We propose that local authorities be given wider scope in providing discretionary assistance to meet the cost of replacing lead water supply pipes to all owner occupiers or tenants on income-related benefits.
This will complement the action water companies are taking to reduce plumbosolvency in water supplies and replace their section of lead service pipes. Where lead levels in water nevertheless remain high because of lead plumbing in houses or flats, the local authority will be able to help all those least able to meet the costs of these works, especially families with young children. This is intended to encourage modernisation of homes and protect public health while at the same time targeting resources where they are most needed. A copy of the consultation paper has been deposited in the Library.
African Elephant
Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received in respect of proposals to move the African elephant from appendix I to the convention on international trade in endangered species to appendix II ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : I have held a number of meetings with a wide variety of elephant interest groups and independent experts.
The Government have repeatedly stated their full and unflinching commitment to maintaining the current ban on trade in elephant products as long as it is necessary to ensure the survival and recovery of African elephant populations. Moreover, there is no question of our agreeing to any changes which would not meet the stringent conditions specified when the ban was agreed in 1989. We are not convinced that the time is right for a resumption in the trade in elephant products. We therefore intend to press strongly at the forthcoming conference of the parties to CITES in Kyoto for the retention of African elephants in appendix I to the convention.
Pollution Victims
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will name the parties to whom his Department has sent, and with whom his Department has consulted on the OECD produced recommendations on compensation for victims of accidental pollution.
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Mr. Baldry [holding answer of 14 February 1992] : The OECD council has not yet adopted the draft recommendation on compensation of victims of accidental pollution. Officials from the Department of the Environment, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Health and Safety Executive have contributed to the OECD's work and in doing so have maintained contact with representatives of British and European insurers.
Property Services Agency
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are being taken to offer employees of the Property Services Agency in Northern Ireland redundancy in anticipation of the privatisation of the Property Services Agency ; whether the Property Services Agency in Northern Ireland will remain a separate entity after privatisation : and what steps he is taking to enable employees to make a considered decision upon the option of redundancy prior to the availability of details of the privatisation proposals.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 18 February 1992] : PSAs work in Northern Ireland is handled by the PSA building management (BM) business. Ministers will review BM's progress towards privatisation later this year. It is therefore premature to speculate on the form which privatisation might take, and whether Northern Ireland should remain a separate entity.
In order to reduce manpower levels and thereby enable the PSAs businesses to compete more effectively, a voluntary early retirement/severance (VER) scheme, open to all non-industrial staff was launched throughout PSAs in late 1990. The benefits paid to those accepted for VER are the same as those which would be provided on compulsory redundancy. Officers who are uncertain whether to apply can request an estimate of their financial entitlements before making up their minds. Decisions on whether to offer VER, are taken in the light of business operational needs.
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many meetings or other discussions his officials have had with local government officers in Warwickshire about the county's standard spending assessment in 1991 and 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : Warwickshire have had the opportunity--in common with all other authorities--to make written representations on our settlement proposals and to request meetings with Ministers. Officials have not met officers from Warwickshire to discuss the authority's SSA although regular meetings are held with the local authority associations to discuss general SSA issues. Warwickshire did, however, meet me and officials in the context of community charge limitation for 1991-92 and my hon. Friends representing Warwickshire constituencies have frequently taken the opportunity to discuss the methodology underlying standard spending assessments with Ministers in this Department.
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HOUSE OF COMMONS
Disability
Mr. McMaster : To ask the hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, what percentage of the work force of the House are disabled.
Mr. Beith : The number of registered disabled persons employed by the Commission represents 0.6 per cent. of the total House of Commons staff. That figure does not include registered disabled persons employed by Members or organisations in the House for which the Commission does not at present have responsibility.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Clerk's and Library Departments
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission how many staff in the Clerk's Department and in the Library Department are at grade 5 or above.
Mr. Beith : The relevant figures are 34 and five respectively.
DEFENCE
Gibraltar
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance has been given to Gibraltar, in each of the last three years, to train workers made redundant by the run down of the dockyards ; whether training and re-training places are open to all those previously employed in the dockyards, regardless of nationality ; what representations he has received on these matters ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The Gibraltar dockyard ceased to operate under MOD management on 31 December 1984. With effect from 1 January 1985 the dockyard passed to the Government of Gibraltar and was operated on its behalf by Gibraltar Shiprepair Ltd. The provision of assistance and training for staff made redundant since the transfer is not, in consequence, a matter for the Ministry of Defence.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the WE177s withdrawn from (a) Royal Navy and (b) RAF service will be dismantled or put into storage.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced in the House on 14 October, Official Report, column 58, that we would be making a substantial reduction in the numbers of free- fall WE177 bombs in the coming years and that in normal circumstances WE177s will not be deployed at sea. All WE177s withdrawn from service will be dismantled.
Scottish Battalions
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the permanent establishment of the battalion to be formed by the amalgamation of the 4 (Volunteer) Parachute battalion and the 15 (Volunteer) Parachute
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battalion ; what will be the minimum size of each of the five detachments of the Scottish company within the amalgamated battalion ; and what level of funding and logistical support will be provided to each of the five Scottish detachments.Mr. Archie Hamilton : The permanent establishment will be 490, conforming to the new standard being adopted by all 36 Territorial Army infantry battalions. Rifle companies of the new battalion will have the same formal establishment as those of the remainder of the Territorial Army infantry, increased by an allowance for recruits and where support elements of the battalion are allocated to the company. The Scottish Company of the new battalion will be able to overbear. The size of each detachment will reflect the ability of the company and its detachments to recruit and retain personnel.
In line with the remainder of the Territorial Army, the Scottish Company of 4 para will be properly supported and funded to carry out the roles requested of it. It is envisaged that detachments will be based on shared Territorial Army centres at their current locations, enabling them to draw upon shared facilities and administrative support.
HEALTH
Bed Availability
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he proposes to take on bed availability following the recent report by the Audit Commission.
Mr. Dorrell : We expect NHS managers to review local services in the light of the Audit Commission's report on the use of medical beds in acute hospitals and the further detailed work the Audit Commission will carry out in all health authorities and NHS trusts over the next 12 months.
Hospital Beds
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to collect statistics on the occasions when no beds are available, other than through the accident and emergency units, in each hospital and district health authority.
Mr. Dorrell : There are no plans to do so. It would not be appropriate to collect this information centrally. We expect managers at local level to monitor bed use and availability.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he proposes to ensure fair and open competition in the NHS and the NHS trusts for potential female applicants for senior management posts ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The NHS is committed to equal opportunities in employment. The Department launched an initiative in June 1991 to put women's employment issues on the main NHS managerial agenda. In order to take full advantage of the potential of women in the NHS, the NHS management executive has signed up as a campaign member of Opportunity 2000. Among the
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