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Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 16 June 1992] : None.
Protective Equipment
Mr. Hawksley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what arrangements he has made to consult the industry on appendix 4, glove and arm protection in the use of personal protective equipment at the workplace directive ; where the section appears in the consultation document ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin I have been asked to reply.
Proposals to implement the use of personal protective equipment directive-- 89/656/EEC--were published by the Health and Safety Commission--HSC--on 6 December 1991 in its consultative document "Personal Protective Equipment at Work. Proposals for Regulations and Guidance". A copy is in the Library. The closing date for comments was 5 April 1992.
Within the consultative document, the HSC requested comments on the need for guidance in support of the regulations. It proposed that specific guidance on "Hand and Arm Protection" be prepared as appendix 4 to the supporting guidance. Both sides of industry will be further consulted following the preparation of such specific draft guidance.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Agencies
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list all the executive agencies that have been established to date and the number of staff currently employed in each case, in full-time equivalents.
Mr. Waldegrave : The current list of established agencies including organisations that are operating on next steps lines showing the staff employed in each case is as follows :
Agency |Staff<1>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Accounts Services Agency |90
ADAS Agency |2,500
Building Research Establishment |700
Cadw (Welsh Historic Monuments) |230
Central Office of Information<2> |670
Central Science Laboratory |370
Central Statistical Office |1,090
Central Veterinary Laboratory |590
Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment<3> |600
Civil Service College |230
Companies House<2> |1,070
Compensation Agency<4> |150
Defence Research Agency |12,150
Directorate General of Defence Accounts<3> |2,130
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency |4,580
Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency<4> |250
Driving Standards Agency |2,080
Duke of York's Royal Military School |100
DVOIT |590
Employment Service |38,400
Fire Service College<2> |160
Forensic Science Service |600
Historic Royal Palaces |330
Historic Scotland |630
HMSO<2> |3,250
Hydrographic Office<3> |860
Insolvency Service |1,470
Intervention Board |980
Laboratory of the Government Chemist |340
Land Registry |9,800
Medicines Control Agency |300
Meteorological Office |2,390
Military Survey<3> |1,300
National Engineering Laboratory |390
National Physical Laboratory |830
National Weights and Measures Laboratory |50
Natural Resources Institute |440
Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation<3> |1,510
NHS Estates |120
Occupational Health Service |100
Ordnance Survey |2,380
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland<4> |210
Patent Office<2> |1,080
Planning Inspectorate |630
Public Record Office |440
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre |60
Queen Victoria School |60
Radiocommunications Agency |520
RAF Maintenance<3> |13,300
Rate Collection Agency<4> |270
Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency |240
Registers of Scotland |1,280
Royal Mint<2> |1,020
Scottish Agricultural Science Agency |140
Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency |210
Service Children's Schools (North West Europe)<3> |2,300
Social Security Agency<4> |5,350
Social Security Benefits Agency |63,100
Social Security Contributions Agency |8,000
Social Security Information Technology Services
Agency |4,000
Social Security Resettlement Agency |520
Teachers' Pensions Agency |300
The Buying Agency<2> |110
Training & Employment Agency<4> |1,670
Transport Research Laboratory |580
United Kingdom Passport Agency |1,250
Valuation Office |5,200
Vehicle Certification Agency |80
Vehicle Inspectorate<2> |1,820
Veterinary Medicines Directorate |80
Warren Spring Laboratory |310
Wilton Park Conference Centre |30
72 in number |210,960
Customs and Excise<5> (30 Executive Units) |26,800
Inland Revenue<5> (34 Executive Offices) |62,100
Total:<6> |299,860
Total Civil Servants:<7> |290,490
<1> October 1991 figures for Civil Servants and Armed Forces
Personnel. Casuals are excluded. Part time staff are counted as
half units.
<2> Trading fund.
<3> Defence Support Agency.
<4> Northern Ireland Civil Service.
<5> Departments operating fully on Next Steps' lines. Staffing
figure for Inland Revenue excludes the Valuation Office which is a
free standing agency.
<6> Includes 8,070 Armed Forces personnel in Ministry of Defence
Agencies, and 1,300 locally engaged staff in Service Children's
Schools (North West Europe).
<7> Includes 7,900 Civil Servants in agencies of the Northern
Ireland Civil Service.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list all units of central Government that are currently under consideration for executive agency status, their parent Department, and the number of staff employed in each case, in full-time equivalents.
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Mr. Waldegrave : The current list of activities announced by Departments as under consideration for executive agency status, together with their parent Departments and staff employed is as follows :
Candidate name
-----------------------------------------------------
Army Logistics<2>
Chessington Computer Centre
Child Support Agency<3><4>
Common Services Division<2>
Defence Animal Centre<2>
Defence Operational Analysis
Centre<2>
Defence Postal Courier Service<2>
Defence Analytical Services
Agency<2>
Directorate Information
Technology Bureau Services<2>
Driver and Vehicle Licensing
Agency<3>
Equipment Test and
Evaluation<2>
Fuel Suppliers Branch
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Human Factors Research<2>
Meat Hygiene Service<5>
Ministry of Defence Police<2>
Naval Training<2>
National Health Service
Superannuation Branch
Office of Population Censuses
and Surveys<6>
Pesticide Safety Directorate
Property Division
Property Holdings Portfolio
Management
Royal Air Force Training<2>
Royal Parks
Scottish Office Superannuation
Scottish Prison Service
Social Security Child Support
Agency<7>
Valuation and Lands Office<3>
Youth Treatment Service
29 in number
Total<8>
Total civil servants<9>
<1>October 1991 figures for civil servants and armed
forces personnel. Casuals are excluded. Part-time
staff are counted as half units.
<2>May be launched as a Defence Support Agency.
<3>Northern Ireland Civil Service.
<4>Estimated to require 550 staff by April 1993. Of
these 120 will come from the Northern Ireland Social
Security Agency.
<5>Estimated to require 1,800 staff, drawn from a
variety of sources.
<6>Independent Government Department. Responsible
Minister: Secretary of State for Health.
<7>From early 1993 the agency is estimated to
require 4,500 staff, 1,500 of which will come from
the Social Security Benefits Agency.
<8>Includes 16,330 armed forces personnel in
Ministry of Defence candidates.
<9>Includes 600 civil servants in candidates of the
Northern Ireland Civil Service.
Many other areas are under internal consideration for executive agency status.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what central guidance has been provided to departments and agencies on the subject of market testing and contracting out ; and if he will place a copy of the guidance on the Library.
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Mr. Waldegrave : In addition to the White Paper "Competing for Quality : Buying Better Public Services" Cm 1730, central guidance is contained in the public competition and purchasing unit's note No. 34. I will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.Column 556
Permanent Secretaries
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list each permanent secretary, his or her current Department, the grade at which they entered the civil service, and the Department at which they began their civil service career.
Mr. Waldegrave : There are currently 23 permanent secretaries--Grade 1--in the home civil service. Details of their starting grade, Department first entered and current Department are as follows, although most have had wider experience :
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Name |Department first |Grade on entry
|entered
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sir Robin Butler |Her Majesty's Treasury |Assistant Principal |Cabinet Office
Sir Terry Burns |Her Majesty's Treasury |Chief Economic |Her Majesty's Treasury
| Adviser
Sir Derek Andrews |Ministry of Agriculture, |Assistant Principal
| Fisheries and Food | Fisheries and Food
Sir Anthony Battishill |Inland Revenue |Assistant Principal |Inland Revenue
Mr. Patrick Brown |Department of the |Principal |Department of Transport
| Environment
Sir John Caines |Ministry of Supply |Assistant Principal |Department for Education
Mr. John Chilcot |Home Office |Assistant Principal |Northern Ireland Office
Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield |Ministry of Housing and Local|Assistant Principal |Property Services Agency
| Government
Sir Christopher France |Her Majesty's Treasury |Assistant Principal |Ministry of Defence
Mrs. Barbara Mills |Serious Fraud Office |Grade 2 |Crown Prosecution Service
Mr. Peter Graham |Her Majesty's Treasury |Assistant |Parliamentary Counsel
| Parliamentary | Office
| Counsel
Sir Peter Gregson |Board of Trade |Assistant Principal |Department of Trade and
| Industry
Mr. Graham Hart |Ministry of Health and |Assistant Principal |Department of Health
| Social Security
Sir Russell Hillhouse |Scottish Education Department|Assistant Principal |The Scottish Office
Sir Geoffrey Holland |Ministry of Labour |Assistant Principal |Department of
| Employment
Mr. Thomas Legg |Lord Chancellor's Department |Legal Assistant |Lord Chancellor's
| Department
Sir Richard Lloyd-Jones |Admiralty |Assistant Principal |Welsh Office
Sir Malcolm McIntosh |Ministry of Defence |Grade 1 |Ministry of Defence
Sir James Nursaw |Home Office |Legal Assistant |Treasury Solicitor's
| Department
Sir Michael Partridge |Ministry of Pensions and |Assistant Principal |Department of Social
| National Insurance | Security
Sir Brian Unwin |Commonwealth Relations |Assistant Principal |Her Majesty's Customs
| Office | and Excise
Sir Clive Whitmore |War Office |Assistant Principal |Home Office
Mr. Richard Wilson |Board of Trade |Assistant Principal |Department of the
| Environment
NORTHERN IRELAND
Fair Employment
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how and where the post of Fair Employment Commission director was advertised and recruited.
Mr. Atkins : The post of chief executive of the Fair Employment Commission, was filled in 1989 following
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advertisements in the Belfast Telegraph, the Belfast Newsletter, the Irish News, The Guardian, the Irish Times, The Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Times.Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what factors other than religious discrimination contribute to apparent discrepancies in work patterns in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Atkins : The existence of religious discrimination in Northern Ireland was central to Parliament's acceptance of the need for strengthened legislation to deal with
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continuing inequalities in employment. It was, however, also accepted that other factors contribute to the differentials in employment and unemployment between Catholics and Protestants. The hon. Gentleman may find it useful to refer to the discussion on this complex matter in SACHR's "Report on Fair Employment" (Cm 237).Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list (a) the sectors of employment and (b) the individual companies or employers considered exempt for the purposes of fair employment monitoring.
Mr. Atkins : Only private sector concerns with 10 or fewer employees are exempt from the monitoring provisions of the Fair Employment (NI) Act 1989.
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the difference between a target and a quota when the FEC investigates or scrutinises the annual monitoring returns of a company and sets a target to balance the work force.
Mr. Atkins : Under fair employment legislation the promotion of affirmative action to secure change permits the setting of goals and timetables against which progress may be measured. Goals and timetables are targets that an employer would expect, and should make good faith efforts, to reach within a certain timescale. Quotas on the other hand reserve jobs or training places for people on the basis of religious belief or political opinion and are unlawful in Northern Ireland.
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will institute a survey of whether Protestant employers are more likely to discriminate than Roman Catholic employers.
Mr. Atkins : I have no plans to do so.
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the extent to which balance in the work force is an accurate measure of equality of opportunity and sectarian balance can be achieved by discrimination.
Mr. Atkins : Balance in a work force is no guarantee that equality of opportunity is being afforded to both sides of the community. It is for this reason that the law requires employers regularly to review not only the religious composition of their work forces but their employment practices.
Travellers
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the sites that have been provided for travelling people or itinerants.
Mr. Atkins : Fully serviced sites have been provided for travelling people by district councils in Coalisland, Newry and Omagh and two sites in Londonderry.
Two serviced sites in Belfast are due for completion by September 1992. In the interim, travelling people are being provided with basic amenities at these two locations.
A partly serviced site has also been provided in Tattykeel, Omagh.
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many travelling people or itinerants are presently residing on sites provided for their accommodation.
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Mr. Atkins : There are approximately 620 travelling people currently residing on sites provided by local councils.
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many travelling people or itinerants are known to be trespassing on (a) public land and (b) privately owned land.
Mr. Atkins : There are approximately 319 travelling people--75 vans- -on public land and 46--11 vans--on private land. Their locations are as follows :
|People|Vans
----------------------------------
Public land
Belfast |236 |51
Strabane |18 |7
Armagh |40 |11
Fermanagh |25 |6
Private land
Craigavon |16 |4
Magherafelt |30 |7
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of travelling people or itinerants currently residing in Northern Ireland ; how many are United Kingdom citizens ; and how many are immigrants from the Republic of Ireland.
Mr. Atkins : A survey of travelling people in Northern Ireland in 1988, indicated that there were 1,050 individuals. Their numbers have not changed significantly during the last 3 years.
It is estimated that 85-90 per cent. of those currently residing in Northern Ireland were born in Northern Ireland.
Market Testing
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list all those functions and areas in his Department and associated agencies that have been identified for market testing in the wake of the White Paper "Competing for Quality".
Mr. Mates : The proposals for market testing in Northern Ireland departments and agencies are under consideration and an announcement will be made shortly.
Homelessness
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the number of individuals registered under the homeless persons legislation as being homeless in Northern Ireland for each year since 1979, inclusive with the percentage increase or decrease on the previous year ; and if he will provide a breakdown by local authority.
Mr. Atkins : The information requested is not available prior to April 1989 when the homelessness provisions of the Housing (NI) Order 1988 came into operation. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive is the sole public housing authority in Northern Ireland, and I am advised by its chairman that the number of applicants accepted as being either homeless or threatened with homelessness since 1 April 1989 and the percentage increase on the previous year is as follows :
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Year |Number |Difference --------------------------------------------------------------- 1 April 1989 to 31 March 1990 |5,166 |- 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991 |7,219 |+39.7 1 April 1991 to 31 March 1992 |7,494 |+ 3.8
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was (a) the total expenditure and (b) the additional specific allocation for tackling homelessness which was provided in the latest financial year giving a breakdown by local authority.
Mr. Atkins : The Northern Ireland Housing Executive is the sole public sector housing authority in Northern Ireland. No resources are allocated to the executive specifically to tackle homelessness. However, its chairman has advised me that the executive spent £1.216 million on homelessness in 1991-92.
Cancer
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what were the cancer mortality rates in each electoral ward in the Southern health board area in each of the past 10 years ;
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(2) what were the average cancer mortality rates, in each health unit of management in Northern Ireland in each of the past 10 years.Mr. Hanley : This information is not available at electoral ward level. Figures at board level and figures based on the presently defined boundaries of health board units of management, are as follows :
Year |Rate per
|100,000 of
|population
---------------------------------
1982 |177
1983 |180
1984 |160
1985 |157
1986 |176
1987 |184
1988 |181
1989 |198
1990 |188
Note: Figures for 1991 are not
yet available.
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Cancer mortality rate per 100,000 of population
Health board area
Unit of management |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eastern
North-West Belfast and
South-East Belfast |260 |272 |291 |279 |280 |279 |277 |307 |294
North Down and Ards |196 |204 |200 |222 |196 |213 |224 |232 |221
Down and Lisburn |168 |175 |187 |176 |152 |186 |172 |179 |191
Northern
Bankside |161 |137 |174 |154 |161 |184 |166 |183 |165
Causeway |188 |196 |173 |185 |205 |193 |206 |216 |233
Loughside |174 |201 |195 |208 |201 |208 |223 |216 |225
Southern
Craigavon and Banbridge |155 |170 |170 |184 |156 |173 |180 |196 |193
Armagh and Dungannon |186 |174 |149 |164 |179 |204 |201 |188 |189
Newry and Mourne |196 |200 |162 |139 |197 |175 |161 |213 |182
Western
Foyle |150 |148 |160 |157 |167 |188 |181 |170 |168
Omagh and Fermanagh |142 |170 |189 |204 |178 |161 |237 |191 |202
Note: Figures for 1991 are not yet available.
International Fund for Ireland
Mr. Jenkin : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to meet the board of the International Fund for Ireland to discuss his Department's contacts with the fund ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mates : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with the chairman of the board of the international fund ; the last such meeting was on 8 June. The Government are conscious of the valuable work being carried out by the fund which is making a significant contribution to the economic and social regeneration of the areas in which it works. We look forward to maintaining close contact with the board which is performing such a significant role.
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ENVIRONMENT
Gravel Extraction and Waste Tipping
22. Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the local authority associations and European Community institutions about the environmental problems arising from the twin industries of gravel extraction and the tipping of waste.
Mr. Baldry : There have been no specific discussions about the environmental aspects of gravel extraction and subsequent landfilling of wastes, but there has been involvement with the local authority association and the European Commission in consideration of a draft Directive on landfilling of wastes.
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Water Regulation
25. Mr. Jenkin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what account the Office of Water Services takes of the level of investment in the water industry in its regulatory functions.
Mr. Maclean : As the water industry is engaged in a massive capital investment programme estimated to cost £28 billion, the Director General of Water Services, as the independent regulator, necessarily has a close interest in ensuring that the programme is carried out on time and in an efficient way.
Rented Housing
26. Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received over the shortage of affordable rented accommodation.
Mr. Baldry : I receive such representations fairly frequently. There are local shortages of rented housing in some parts of the country, and the Government have a major public expenditure programme, amounting to nearly £8 billion this year, to build new social housing, renovate existing housing, and help council tenants on low incomes to afford their rents.
Mortgage Repossessions
27. Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress of the schemes to assist home owners threatened with repossession by banks and building societies.
Sir George Young : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State and my right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretaries of State for Social Security and for Wales and I met the Council of Mortgage Lenders on 2 June to review progress with mortgage rescue schemes.
We were encouraged to hear the lenders' estimate that measures taken since December will save some 55,000 repossessions this year. Both mortgage lenders and the Government will continue to give priority to making rescue schemes work.
Earth Summit
24. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement outlining agreements reached at the Earth summit.
Mr. Howard : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Members for Edinburgh, East (Dr. Strang) and for York (Mr. Bayley).
28. Mr. Jon Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to meet Maurice Strong to discuss the outcome of the Rio de Janeiro summit.
Mr. Howard : I had very useful discussions with Mr. Strong while in Rio, but I have no specific plans at the moment to meet him again.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library copies of the official texts of the agreements reached at the United Nations conference in Rio de Janeiro.
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Mr. Howard : The climate change convention text is already in the Library ; the other texts will follow when official copies are available.
Compulsory Competitive Tendering
29. Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what savings have been made by local government as a result of the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering.
31. Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what savings have been made by local government as a result of the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : Research commissioned by the Department and carried out by the Institute of Local Government Studies at the university of Birmingham has found that annual cost savings of 6 per cent. of contract value have been achieved by local authorities as a result of competition for services under the Local Government Act 1988.
River Quality
30. Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of rivers in England are in good or fair condition ; and what is the European average.
Mr. Maclean : The 1990 river quality survey published by the National Rivers Authority shows that around 90 per cent. of river length in England and Wales is of good or fair quality. A review of river classification schemes across the European Community published in 1988 by the Water Research Centre showed that the average figure in the EC for rivers of comparable quality was 75 per cent.
Urban Programmes
32. Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what additional statistics he proposes to collect under the Government's review of inner cities and urban renewal programmes.
Mr. Redwood : Inner city policies and programmes are regularly evaluated. We will continue to assess them in the light of various pieces of information including existing statistics, the 1991 census of population, experience of the first two rounds of city challenge and results of current research assessing the impact of inner city policies generally.
Subsidiarity
33. Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will implement the principle of subsidiarity in the way the responsibilities of his Department are exercised and in the relationship between his Department and locally elected bodies.
Mr. Robin Squire : The Government are always guided by a proper interpretation of the rules of subsidiarity when conducting their relations with local government.
Poll Tax
34. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost to date of introducing, administering and collecting the poll tax, including the cost of Government-initiated relief schemes.
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Mr. Robin Squire : The cost of preparing for administering and collecting the community charge in England up to 1 April 1992 has been about £1.2 billion. Government relief schemes have reduced the burden of local domestic taxation to 15 per cent. of local government spending and have not added to overall public expenditure.Pollution Inspectorate
35. Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the work of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution ; and if he will arrange for hon. Members who wish to do so to visit the inspectorate.
Mr. Maclean : Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has a key role in protecting the environment by enforcing the industrial pollution control regulations. The system has been strengthened by the introduction of integrated pollution contol under the Environmental protection act 1990, and the inspectorate's manpower complement has been increased significantly, from 199 at the time of its setting up in 1987 to 377 today.
Where hon. Members are seeking factual information on particular cases dealt with by the inspectorate, I am happy to arrange for those hon. Members to meet the inspectorate.
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what powers of enforcement Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has with regard to integrated pollution control ; and what considerations are taken into account in determining the charges levied on industry for administering the inspectorate of pollution ; (2) how many staff are currently employed by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution ; what are the current operating costs of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution ; and what the figures were for the previous two years.
Mr. Howard : The enforcement powers of inspectors of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution--HMIP--in relation to integrated pollution control are contained in part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. They include powers to revoke an authorisation to carry on a process ; and to serve an enforcement notice to secure necessary improvements in the operation to a process, to serve a prohibition notice in relation to a process where there is considered to be an imminent risk of serious pollution.
It is an offence to operate a prescribed process without an authorisation or in contravention with the conditions within an authorisation, and to fail to comply with an enforcement or prohibition notice.
HMIP's fees and charges for pollution control are set so as to recover the inspectorate's costs relating to the carrying out of integrated pollution control and regulation of premises under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960, as required by the relevant legislative provisions--section 8 of the Environmental Protection Act and section 11A of the Radioactive Substances Act.
There are currently 308 staff in post in HMIP. The figures for the previous two years were :
1 April 1990 172
1 April 1991 226.5
HMIP's authorised complement for 1992-93 has been increased to 377.5. Recruitment of additional staff is in progress.
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In 1991-92, the operating cost of the inspectorate, on a full economic cost basis, was £20.5 million. For 1992-93, the forecast cost is £27.5 million, of which some £12.3 million relates to integrated pollution control and Radioactive Substances Act regulation and is recoverable through fees and charges. The increased total cost for 1992-93 is mainly due to the increase in staff in post and complement. Equivalent cost information for 1990-91 is not available.Water Charges
36. Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what monitoring the Director General of Water Services is undertaking of the charging policies of water companies.
Mr. Maclean : The director general monitors the charging schemes operated by water and sewerage undertakers to ensure that they do not give undue preference to or unfairly discriminate against any group or class of customer.
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