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38. Sir John Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what monitoring the Office of Water Services is carrying out over the level of water charges in the south-west.
Mr. Maclean : The Director General of Water Services monitors all water companies to ensure that they comply with the RPI plus K formula which is a condition of their licence, and that they do not give undue preference to or unfairly discriminate against any group or class of customer.
Environmental Protection Agency
37. Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to bring forward legislative proposals for the environmental protection agency.
Mr. Maclean : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff, Central (Mr. Jones) on 13 May, Official Report, column 125.
Data Protection
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's arrangements for consulting the Data Protection Registrar during the planning stage of any initiative involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal data ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : My Department observes the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Consultations with the Data Protection Registrar have taken place where necessary, and I am satisfied that arrangements are effective.
Uniform Business Rate
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list by local authority in England and Wales the current percentage rate of community charge outstanding in respect of the uniform business rate.
Mr. Robin Squire : Community charge is not payable in respect of the uniform business rate. Authorities in
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England collected 89 per cent. of their 1991 -92 budgeted community charge income by 31 March 1992 and 95 per cent. of their non-domestic rates income by the same date.I have today placed in the Library of the House collection figures for each authority in England. Figures for Welsh authorities are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average annual increase in uniform business rate in (a) the South Lakeland district area and (b) the rest of England and Wales for 1991 and the current year.
Mr. Robin Squire [holding answer 11 June 1992] : In each financial year the increase in the uniform business rate poundage is limited to the rate of inflation as measured by the retail prices index in September of the preceding year. This was 10.9 and 4.1 per cent. in 1991-92 and 1992-93 respectively.
In 1991-92 the annual increase in the aggregate rate bill for businesses in the South Lakeland district was 17.4 per cent. and for the rest of England and Wales it was 10.1 per cent. These figures take account not only of the increase in the poundage, but also of the transitional arrangements which are phasing in the effect of the 1990 reforms. For the current year, taking account of the changes to the transitional arrangements proposed in the Budget, we estimate the figures to be 2.8 per cent. and zero respectively.
Pollution
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to open records of pollutant discharges and offer environmental monitoring activities for public inspection.
Mr. Maclean : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 June 1992, Official Report, column 439.
Community Charge
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what purpose the community charge register has been used ; and what plans he has for using this register in the future.
Mr. Robin Squire : Charging authorities use their community charges register to determine individuals' liability for the community charge. Under the council tax authorities will not require a register of all adults, although they will generally wish to identify who is liable in respect of a property. In the initial stages the community charges register will help them to do this, but after 1 April 1993 it will quickly lose its relevance.
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had, since 1 January 1990, about purchases by local authorities of computer equipment and software for the administration of the community charge which failed to operate efficiently ; what estimates he has made (a) of the number of local authorities involved and (b) the extra costs incurred ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : My Department has not received any specific representations.
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Grant Settlement
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will announce the new grant settlement for 1993-94 for local authorities.
Mr. Robin Squire : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities on 21 May 1992, Official Report, column 195.
Council Tax
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he has given to ensure that local authorities use computer software for the administration of the council tax which is (a) efficient and cost effective and (b) compatible, as far as possible, with equipment used in the administration of the community charge.
Mr. Robin Squire : It is a matter for local authorities to decide which computer system they use to run the council tax. My Department has sponsored a detailed council tax computer system specification produced by the Local Authority Systems Alliance. This offers advice on all identified user requirements and addresses the varied application needs of authorities for in-house computer development, software house systems and package evaluation. A copy has been sent to all authorities.
Rent Control
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many lettings became available as the result of the abolition of rent control in June 1987.
Mr. Baldry : Rent control in England was ended, for new lettings only, when the relevant provisions of the Housing Act 1988 came into effect on 15 January 1989. The most recent figures available are from the 1990 private renters survey. By summer 1990 there were an estimated 480,000 lettings in the newly decontrolled sector in England, 130,000 of them in properties which had not been let to private tenants two years earlier.
Council House Sales
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what receipts have been received by the Easington district council in each year since 1987 through the sale of council houses, land and other buildings.
Mr. Robin Squire : The information is as follows :
Easington DC: Total sales
of fixed assets
|£'000
---------------------------
1987-88 |3,022
1988-89 |4,280
1989-90 |5,152
1990-91 |4,582
1991-92 |<1>3,925
<1> Provisional.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to review the regulations governing service charges to former council tenants ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : No changes are proposed. Council tenants who purchase their flats under the right to buy normally
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covenant in their lease to pay a reasonable contribution towards the costs of repairs and other services provided by the landlord. This follows private sector practice.The protections against unreasonable service charges in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 apply to all leaseholders, including former council tenants.
Local Government Commission
Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what review the Local Government Commission for England will be conducting of the functions of parish or town councils in respect of developing enhanced responsiveness to local needs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : The policy guidance to the Local Government Commission makes it clear that in considering whether options for changes to local government structure allow for the effective local discharge of functions or enhanced responsiveness to local needs, the commission should take into account the scope for delegations to parish councils.
Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what review the Local Government Commission for England will be conducting of parish, town and community boundaries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. and learned Friend may direct the Local Government Commission to review parish boundaries under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1992. He has not yet decided what parish reviews he will direct the commission to carry out.
Emissions
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many fossil-fuelled power stations have had their consent to emit sulphur dioxide reduced under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) when the review of existing consents for the emission of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide from all fossil-fuelled power stations will be completed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : No authorisations for fossil-fuelled power stations have yet been granted under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Two applications for authorisation, in respect of National Power's stations at Pembroke in Wales and Padiham in Lancashire, are currently being considered by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution. The company has agreed to extend the determination period for these applications until 30 September. The remaining applications for authorisation are the subject of appeals to my right hon. and learned Friend about commercial confidentiality. They cannot be determined until after the appeal decision, which will be made as soon as possible.
Planning and Compensation Act 1991
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what parts of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 remain to be implemented ; and if he will make a statement on the timetable for doing so.
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Mr. Baldry : The main provisions of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 have already been implemented. Following further public consultations, my right hon. and learned Friend proposes to make orders and regulations giving effect to the remaining provisions in the summer and autumn of 1992, as follows :
Early Summer
Notices etc. of applications for planning permission--(section 16) Land of interested planning authorities and development by them--(section 20)
Mid Summer
Remaining enforcement provisions--(sections 2, 4 (part) and 10) Demolition of buildings--(section 13)
Autumn
Remaining provisions on Planning obligations--(section 12, (Schedules 106A and 106B))
Simplified planning zones--(section 28).
EC Directives
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the environmental directives which have been issued by the European Community in the past 12 months ; and what estimate he has made of the number of companies each directive will affect.
Mr. Maclean : The following is a list of environmental directives issued by the European Community since 1 June 1991. Information on the numbers of companies affected by each directive is not collected centrally.
Directive No. Directive Title
91/332 Protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to shemical, physical and biological
agents at work.
91/325 Classification, packaging and labelling of
dangerous substances (12th adaption)
Classification, packaging and labelling of
dangerous substances (13th adaptation)
91/338 Restriction on marketing and use of certain
dangerous substances and preparations
(cadmium)
91/339 Restrictions on marketing and use of certain
dangerous substances and preparations (ugilec,
DBBT)
91/368 Noise from construction plants.
91/382 Worker protection from exposure to asbestos.
91/410 Classification, Packaging and labelling of
dangerous substances (14th adaptation)
91/414 Marketing of plant protection products.
91/441 Amending Directive 70/220 on air pollution by
emmisions from vehicles.
91/542 Amending directive 88/77 on air pollution by
emmissions from diesel engines.
91/632 Classification, packaging and labelling of
dangerous substances (15th adaptation)
91/659 Restrictons on marketing and use of certain
dangerous substances and preparations
(asbestos)
91/676 Protection of waters against nitrate pollution from agriculture.
91/689 Hazardous waste.
91/692 Standardising and rationalising reports on the
implementation of certain directives relating to
the environment.
92/3 Supervision and control of shipments of
radioactive waste between Member States and
into and out of the Community.
92/143 Aircraft noise.
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Homelessness
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total cost of providing bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless persons for each year since its introduction ; and if he will provide a breakdown by (a) region and (b) local authority.
Mr. Baldry : The available information for England is as follows :
Bed and breakfast accommodation for
homeless persons: England
|Net
|expenditure
|£ million
------------------------------------
1984-85 |15.7
1985-86 |33.9
1986-87 |75.5
1987-88 |104.2
1988-89 |90.2
1989-90 |72.6
Tables giving the readily available breakdowns by region and by local authority, covering 1988-89 and 1989-90, have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of individuals registered under the homeless persons legislation as being homeless in (a) England as a whole and (b) Great Britain as a whole for each year since 1979 inclusive, with the percentage increase/decrease on the previous year ; and if he will provide a breakdown by (i) region and (ii) local authority.
Mr. Baldry : The available information represents the numbers of households for whom local authorities accepted responsibility for securing permanent accommodation, under the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and the Housing Act 1985. Estimates of the total number of persons in these households are not available centrally.
The information for England is as follows :
Area |1981-82 |1982-83
------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |270,740,313
Berwickshire |1,736,410 |1,071,241
Ettrick and Lauderdale |1,930,934 |862,616
Roxburgh |2,570,770 |1,819,721
Tweeddale |182,369 |0
Clackmannan |2,147,161 |1,076,550
Falkirk |7,405,733 |2,332,707
Stirling |1,699,965 |2,084,321
Annandale and Eskdale |2,128,740 |2,165,266
Nithsdale |167 |0
Stewartry |907,271 |644,401
Wigtown |1,283,844 |706,107
Dunfermline |4,682,465 |1,066,384
Kirkcaldy |5,145,849 |1,086,904
North East Fife |1,638,051 |1,294,427
Aberdeen |15,943,354 |11,067,549
Banff and Buchan |7,263,703 |5,160,975
Gordon |3,978,506 |3,497,747
Kincardine and Deeside |1,560,876 |1,276,803
Moray |5,940,323 |3,593,247
Badenoch and Strathspey |728,343 |788,938
Caithness |1,465,128 |1,275,977
Inverness |2,727,857 |2,146,783
Lochaber |3,032,425 |2,159,828
Nairn |421,400 |321,677
Ross and Cromarty |7,022,763 |5,453,354
Skye and Lochalsh |529,686 |493,778
Sutherland |868,436 |746,097
East Lothian |5,276,934 |3,246,785
Edinburgh |13,159,819 |3,634,000
Midlothian |2,996,048 |1,415,486
West Lothian |3,648,917 |0
Argyll and Bute |4,701,905 |4,320,106
Bearsden and Milngavie |323,733 |0
Clydebank |5,493,742 |3,437,156
Clydesdale |967,369 |0
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth |196,930 |0
Cumnock and Doon Valley |1,370,804 |260,995
Cunninghame |4,589,542 |1,163,360
Dumbarton |1,969,444 |0
East Kilbride |163,983 |0
Eastwood |25,857 |0
Glasgow |73,746,536 |58,216,532
Hamilton |5,424,230 |2,410,259
Inverclyde |7,430,226 |4,758,521
Kilmarnock and Loudoun |3,153,819 |465,719
Kyle and Carrick |4,695,393 |1,422,812
Monklands |7,110,570 |5,030,562
Motherwell |9,595,022 |5,146,117
Renfrew |3,655,844 |0
Strathkelvin |2,573,744 |1,871,611
Angus |4,180,266 |1,907,296
Dundee |8,839,410 |2,841,393
Perth and Kinross |2,189,491 |0
Orkney |1,809,766 |1,330,683
Shetland |4,389,022 |4,144,073
Western Isles |2,119,420 |2,121,418
A new reporting system was introduced for non-metropolitan districts from the fourth quarter of 1980 and for the other authorities from the third quarter of 1982. As a result figures for 1979 to 1982 are not strictly comparable with those for later periods.
From the second quarter of 1991 the definition of acceptances was altered to exclude intentionally homeless and all the figures have been adjusted to the new basis.
Regional estimates on the old basis for each quarter of 1984 and 1985 appear in table 1 of "Homeless Households
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Reported by Local Authorities in England : Supplementary Tables". Results for subsequent quarters of 1986 to 1990 inclusive appear in table 1 of various issues of "Local Authorities' Actions Under the Homelessness Provisions of the 1985 Housing Act : England, Results for ... Quarter 19 , Supplementary Tables".Regional estimates on the new basis for 1991 appear in the information bulletin "Households Found Accommodation Under the Homelessness Provisions of the 1985 Housing Act : England : Statistics for the First Quarter of 1992". It is not appropriate to calculate percentage changes between figures on the old basis and the new basis. Estimates adjusted to the new basis, from 1984 onwards, will be published later this year.
Copies of all these publications and the list of relevant issues for regional estimates for 1986 to 1990 are available in the Library.
I have also placed in the Library tables giving the information actually reported by individual local authorities in England for each year from 1981 to 1991 inclusive. Information for the years 1979 and 1980 is available in edition no. 54, table 14, edition no. 61, table 11, and edition no. 62, table 13, of "Local Housing Statistics : England and Wales", copies of which are in the Library.
For information about Wales and Scotland I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland.
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