---

Opencast Coal Mining

Mr. Trotter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has yet reached a decision on whether to review the planning guidelines on opencast coal in minerals planning guidance--MPG--3 ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Baldry : My Department and the Welsh Office have recently completed a wide-ranging consultation exercise on the practical operation of the planning guidelines for opencast coal in MPG3. Copies of a summary of the responses have been placed in the Library.

---

Column 851

The Government are concerned to ensure that the highest environmental standards apply to the minerals industry generally. Whilst I am satisfied that the guidelines in MPG3 have generally worked well, in the light of the responses to consultation, I have concluded that the guidelines will need revision to reflect changes in the legislative and policy framework since 1988. In addition, the Government announced on 9 March their intention to bring forward amendments to the General Development Order 1988, to revise British Coal's permitted development rights for underground working and opencast coal exploration. I believe that it would be right for revised guidelines to deal with all aspects of coal extraction, including deep-mined coal and the disposal of colliery spoil. I therefore propose to bring forward draft revised planning guidelines on coal extraction generally for public consultation in the autumn.

Housing Management

Mrs. Lait : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for developing pilot schemes for compulsory competitive tendering of housing management ; and if he will make a statement.

Sir George Young : Compulsory competitive tendering for housing management can make a major contribution to improving the service provided by local authorities to their tenants, and it is therefore important that central and local government co-operate closely in developing effective procedures. I have already invited six local authorities, Newham, Westminster, Rochdale, Derby, East Staffordshire and Mid Suffolk, to be pilot authorities. My Department will be discussing with the authorities over the coming months how this project should be carried forward. I expect to invite further authorities to participate in due course.

Mole Valley District Council

Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what use he intends to make of his sanction powers under part I of the Local Government Act 1988 in relation to Mole Valley district council.

Mr. Robin Squire : On 6 February 1992, my right hon. and learned Friend served two notices under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1988 on Mole Valley district council, setting out his view that in 1991-92 the authority had acted anti-competitively in carrying out work falling within the defined activities described in section 2(2) (f) and (ee) of the Act-- ground maintenance work and the management of sport and leisure facilities respectively.

My right hon. and learned Friend has now considered the responses which the authority has made to the section 13 notices, but he remains of the opinion that the authority acted in an

anti-competitive manner in awarding this work to its own work force. He has concluded that the authority's action is such as to justify further use of sanction powers. He has therefore today made two directions under section 14 of the 1988 Act. The effect of the direction given in relation to ground maintenance work is to prohibit the authority from carrying out the work in question beyond 1 July 1993. The direction given in respect of the management of sport and leisure work permits the authority's direct service organisation to bid for the work in a retendering exercise to be completed by 1 July 1993, but requires the authority to seek the

---

Column 852

Secretary of State's consent if they propose that their in-house work force should carry out the work beyond that date.

Endangered Species

Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made on the recommendation from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee that a number of species of endangered animals and plants should be added to schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Maclean : Following recommendations made by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and consultation with other bodies, I have decided that we should add the following species of animals to schedule 5-- protected animals--of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and also amend schedule 8--protected plants--of that Act as follows : Animals to be added to Schedule 5

3 species of beetle (Graphoderus zonatus, Hypebaeus flavipes and paracymus aeneus)

Lesser silver water beetle

Mire pill beetle

High brown fritillary butterfly (already partially protected) Northern hatchet shell

Lagoon snail

De Folin's snail

Tentacled lagoon worm

Sussex emerald moth

Pink sea fan

Lagoon sea slug

Sturgeon

Plants to be added to Schedule 8

Blackwort

Snow caloplaca

Tree catapyrenium

Laurer's catillaria

Slender centaury

Upright mountain cladonia

Meadow clary

Lizard crystalwrt

Broad leaved cudweed

Shore dock

Marsh earwort

Norfolk flapwort

Pointed frostwort

Dune gentian

Early gentian

Blunt leaved grimmia

Elm gyalecta

Northroe hawkweed

Shetland hawkweed

Weakleaved hawkweed

Churchyard lecanactis

Tarn lecanora

Copper lecidea

Arctic kidney lichen

Ciliate strap lichen

Coralloid rosette lichen

Earlobed dog lichen

Forked hair lichen

Golden hair lichen

Orange fruited elm lichen

River jolly lichen

Scaly breck lichen

Stary breck lichen

Lindenberg's leafy liverwort

Alpine copper moss

Baltic bog moss

Blue dew moss

Blunt leaved bristle moss

Bright green cave moss

---

Column 853

Cordate beard moss

Cornish path moss

Derbyshire feather moss

Dune thread moss

Glaucous beard moss

Green shield moss

Hair silk moss

Large yellow feather moss

Multifruited river moss

Millitmetre moss

Knothole moss

Nowell's limestone moss

Rigid apple moss

Round leaved feather moss

Schlricher's thread moss

Triangular pygmy moss

Vaucher's feather moss

Welsh mudwort

Stalked orache

Lapland marsh orchid

Caledonia pannaria

New Forest parmelia

Oil stain parmentaria

Perfoliate penny cress

Alpine moss pertusaria

Southern grey physcia

Ground pine

Ragged pseudocyphellaria

Rusty alpine psora

Spiked rampion

Western rustwort

Serpentine solenopsora

Bearded stonewort

Turpswort

Plants to be deleted from Schedule 8

Recurved sea lavender

St. David's sea lavender

Purple spurge

I will be placing an order before Parliament shortly which will bring these changes into effect. Further consideration is being given to three other recommendations made by the JNCC concerning the giant goby, the basking shark and the wild cat hybrid.

---