| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Redwood : Separate information for Wales on civil service, national health service, teachers and armed forces pension recipients is not readily available. Figures for the eight Welsh county councils, which include 77 other bodies whose superannuation funds are run by these councils, are given in the table.
Column 114
Pensions and Annuities, 1991-92
|Number at 31 March|Average
|1992 |Pension/annuity<1>
|(£ per person)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retired employees |36,952 |2,396
Dependants |8,128 |894
Source: Local Government Superannuation Funds returns.
<1> Excluding lump sums, transfers and refunds of contributions.
Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 11 June, Official Report, column 346-48, if he will list the urban investment grants given by the Cardiff Bay development corporation, over the past eight quarters broken down by the same statistical headings.
Mr. Redwood : The information is as follows :
Project--NCM relocation
Developer--ABP (Grosvenor Waterside)
Grant paid--£550,000 (January-March 1993)
Total grant approved--£2.5 million
Private investment--£14.5 million
Forecast permanent jobs--400
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many urban investment grants have been made in excess of £250,000 by the Cardiff Bay development corporation ; to which property developers or owners they have been made ; and how many other offers the corporation has made of over £250,000 which were not taken up.
Mr. Redwood : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the details of urban investment grants made by Cardiff Bay development corporation in the reply given today. The corporation has made no other offers over £250,000 which were not taken up.
Quarrying
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by mineral planning authority the number of quarrying prohibition orders that have been issued, the number of appeals that have been made against them, and the inspector's decision in each case, over the last 10 years.
Mr. Redwood : There has been one. The order was made by Mid Glamorgan county council in respect of Ewenny quarry at Bridgend. Two objections were made to the order and following a public inquiry the inspector recommended that the order be not confirmed. The former Secretary of State accepted that recommendation and his decision was issued accordingly. There is at present an application by the county council before the High Court challenging the decision.
European Parliamentary Constituencies
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects the review of boundaries for European parliamentary constituencies in Wales to be completed ; and what consultations he proposes to hold on the membership of the committee to conduct such a review.
Mr. Redwood : These are matters for my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary.
Column 115
Local Education Authorities
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the expenditure on administration by each local authority in each of the last three years.
Mr. Redwood : Information for 1989-90 and earlier years is not available on a consistent basis and is not yet available for 1992-93. The information available is given in the table :
Local education authority net current
expenditure on administration
£000
|1990-91|1991-92
----------------------------------------
Clwyd |5,992 |7,903
Dyfed |5,847 |5,370
Gwent |6,628 |6,821
Gwynedd |n/a |n/a
Mid Glamorgan |9,347 |9,459
Powys |2,290 |2,254
South Glamorgan |4,519 |5,406
West Glamorgan |5,245 |5,131
n/a=Not available.
Flooding, Llandudno
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people registered at the emergency centres during the recent flood at Llandudno ; how many were offered alternative accommodation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr.Redwood : Aberconwy borough council reports that some 3,800 people have so far registered at the emergency centres at Llandudno and Conwy. Of these, about 2,500 have been offered alternative accommodation, but the number requiring medium to long-term alternative accommodation is thought to be nearer 1,000. The borough council is, of course, continually updating these figures.
Linseed
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to ensure that Welsh linseed farmers will be paid the same as their English counterparts ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : Payment rates for linseed have been calculated under the rules of the arable aid payment scheme. The yield regions for future years are under discussion.
Craft Industry
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to help the craft industry in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The craft industry makes an important contribution to the economic and cultural life of Wales and a wide range of assistance is available from the Welsh Development Agency, Development Board for Rural Wales and the Welsh Arts Council
Public Bodies
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 17 June, Official Report, column 728, in which non- departmental public body each vacancy exists ; and for how long the vacancy has existed.
Column 116
Mr. Redwood : The information requested is shown in the following table. Since 11 June, two vacancies have been filled : one on the Sports Council for Wales and one on the Board of the Cardiff Bay development corporation.
Appointments made by the Secretary of State for Wales
Vacancies at 11 June 1993
NDPB |Number of vacancies|Date vacancy
|commenced
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agricultural wages committee and agricultural
dwelling house advisory committee:
-Clwyd |1 |February 1993
-Dyfed |1 |February 1993
-Glamorgan |1 |April 1993
-Gwent |1 |May 1993
Plant variety and seeds tribunal:
-Strawberries |1 |June 1993
Snowdonia national park
committee |1 |March 1993
Cardiff Bay development |1 |March 1993
corporation |<1>2
Sports council for Wales |<2>1 |April 1993
Gwent community health
NHS trust |1 |March 1993
Gwent FHSA |1 |November 1992
Clwyd North CHC |1 |April 1993
Cardiff CHC |1 |October 1992
Land authority for Wales |1 |April 1991
Housing for Wales |1 |April 1989
Welsh Development Agency |2 |December 1992
<1> One of these vacancies has now been filled.
<2> This vacancy has now been filled.
Strategic Planning Guidance
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answers of 27 May, Official Report, column 716, and 17 June, Official Report, column 726, what plans he has for arrangements for remuneration of the Assembly of Welsh Counties for its costs in (a) carrying out the strategic planning guidance exercise and (b) publicising it.
Mr. Redwood : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to him on 27 May.
ENVIRONMENT
Environmental Management
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to participate in the Institute of Waste Management conference in Torbay from 15 to 18 June ; and what recent meeting he has had with officials of the institute regarding the completion of waste management legislation.
Mr. Yeo : I addressed the opening session of the Institute of Waste Management conference on Tuesday 15 June. I shall be meeting representatives of the institute and of the National Association of Waste Disposal Contractors and local authority associations soon to discuss waste management licensing.
New Age Travellers
Mr. Aspinwall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what legal action he intends to take to remove (a) the new age travellers and (b) their vehicles trespassing on land at Gipsy lane, Burnett, Avon, owned by his Department ; and if he will make a statement ;
Column 117
(2) what measures he intends to take to protect the Wynne family from disturbance arising from trespass of vehicles occupied by new age travellers on his department's land adjacent to their home at Gipsy lane, Burnett, Avon ;(3) what discussions he has held with the chief constable of Avon and Somerset about removal of illegal trespassers from his Department's land at Gipsy lane, Burnett, Avon ;
(4) when he intends to introduce measures (a) to end the open-ended financial commitment to meet new age travellers' accommodation needs and (b) to give local authorities stronger powers to deal quickly with illegal camping.
Mr. Baldry : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State directed Avon county council in 1990 under the Caravan Sites Act 1968 to make additional accommodation available for gypsies as only one site had been provided in Avon at that time. It is for the council to comply with that statutory directon and determine where sites should be located.
I announced legislative proposals on 31 March 1993 to give local authorities stronger powers to tackle illegal camping and to repeal the duty to provide sites and the power to provide grant. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my right hon. Friend, the Member for Woking (Sir C. Onslow) on 31 March at column 291. But the duty remains in force until it is repealed and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State remains responsible for ensuring that Avon county council complies with the duty and the direction.
PSA services offered this surplus former Crown Suppliers depot at Burnett for sale on the open market in October last year and the council made an offer to purchase the property in order to develop it as a gipsy caravan site. Travellers have camped illegally on the site since the council's intentions became public.
PSA services, as current owner of the site is preparing to take action for possession under order 113 of the rules of the supreme court.
PSA services and its agents, Building Management South and West have liaised with the police on handling throughout, and have had discussions with Mr. and Mrs. Wynne about their position. I understand that a gated fence has been erected to prevent encroachment by the travellers on to Mr. and Mrs. Wynne's property. It is open to the council to apply for Exchequer grant to cover the capital costs of developing this site if it obtains planning permission to develop it as a gipsy caravan site. Gipsies are defined in the 1968 Act as
"persons of nomadic habit of life whatever their race or origin" and it is for the council to decide who is or is not a gipsy, and to ensure that sites are only provided for--and used by gipsies. The cost of providing an authorised site on this land for gipsies, as defined in section 16 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968, has been estimated by Avon county council as £795,500.
Methane Emissions
Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what prospects there are for reducing methane emissions from closed landfill sites ; and what licensing requirements he will make for (a) existing and (b) new landfill sites in respect of methane emissions.
Column 118
Mr. Yeo : The Government have published guidance on dealing with gas from closed landfill sites, and is undertaking further work on methods of controlling methane emissions. Resources are made available to authorities for investigation and remedial measures by means of supplementary credit approvals.
Conditions in individual waste disposal licences are a matter for waste regulation authorities. The Government issue guidance to authorities on the discharge of their licensing functions. In particular, revised guidance on landfill gas was issued as Waste Management Paper No. 27 in 1991 ; further guidance on licensing, which will deal with the need to control methane emissions, is in preparation.
Mr. Thomason : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research has been undertaken by his Department into methane gas emissions from landfill sites.
Mr. Yeo : The Department recently commissioned the Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU) of the Department of Trade and Industry to conduct a preliminary study on the subject. Their report was made available in draft form to the Watt committee and to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution for their study of waste incineration. The final report will shortly be available as a departmental research report.
The ETSU study showed that there is considerable uncertainty about the contribution of landfills to United Kingdom methane emissions. Preliminary estimates lie in the range of 0.6 to 5.3 Mt/year, with a best estimate of about 2 Mt/year. Given the level of uncertainty in the input level, it is not possible to predict the level of emissions to within a factor of two of the best estimate. There are two main sources of uncertainty : waste arisings data and information on the amount of methane oxidation that occurs close to the surface of a landfill.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the cost to the United Kingdom economy of implementing the carbon dioxide targets agreed at Toronto in 1988.
Mr. Yeo : No targets were agreed by the United Kingdom Government at Toronto in 1988.
Community Charge
Mrs. Currie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in rank order all local authorities in England showing receipts of community charge in 1992-93 as a percentage of the expected yield.
Mr. Baldry : I am arranging for the information requested to be placed in the Library of the House.
Landfill Directive
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive the revised version of the EC landfill directive from the European Commission.
Mr. Yeo : The European Commission has indicated that they expect to present their revised proposals for a landfill directive towards the end of June.
Column 119
Local Government Holidays
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many extra-statutory holidays, in addition to bank holidays, are enjoyed by employees in local government.
Mr. Curry : This is entirely a matter for local government. We understand from the Local Government Management Board (the employers organisation) that in addition to statutory and other general national holidays, national agew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 7 June, Official Report, column 113, if he will make a statement on the issues discussed and decisions taken at the Trondheim biodiversity conference in May.
Mr. Yeo : The Trondheim conference on biodiversity, convened by the United Nations Environment Programme, discussed a large range of issues associated with the provisions of the convention on biological diversity. This was one of a number of meetings being held to provide expert opinion which will inform the decisions to be made by the intergovernmental negotiating committee and in time by the conference of the parties to the convention.
Building Management South-East
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps he is taking to remedy the management and control weaknesses which have been identified by the investigation of his Department's internal audit and central inquiry unit into allegations of irregularities at BMSE contracting division ;
(2) if he will name the contractor whose activities have given rise to concern to his Department's internal audit and central inquiry unit during its investigation into allegations of irregularities at BMSE contracting division ;
(3) if he will place in the Library a copy of the findings of his Department's internal audit and central inquiry unit's investigation into allegations of financial
irregularities in the BMSE contracting division.
Mr. Curry : The following steps have been taken to remedy the management and control weaknesses identified by the internal audit and central inquiry unit investigations :
an experienced civil service senior manager was brought in to take overall charge of Building Management South East contracting division while a detailed recovery plan was prepared
the contracts of two members of staff have not been renewed a new financial controller has been appointed
a management action plan has been agreed and implementation of it is being monitored by the BMSE board
I do not propose to name the contractor whose activities have given rise to concern, as investigations into the case continue.
Column 120
It is not customary to place copies of internal audit and central inquiry unit reports in the Library. They are available to the staff of the Comptroller and Auditor General in the usual way.Waste Incineration
Mr. Thomason : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to respond to the Royal Commission on environmental pollution report on waste incineration ; and if he will indicate the nature of his proposed response.
Mr. Yeo : The Government have welcomed the report from the Royal Commission on environment pollution on the incineration of waste as a comprehensive and clear analysis of the role of incineration as a waste management option. It describes incineration in a positive and reassuring light and is likely to go a long way to offsetting public concerns about incineration. The Government will be making a full response to the commission's report in due course.
Community Care Housing
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that the Housing Corporation capital funding to meet community care housing needs is maintained at or above the 1989-90 levels ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to increase the Housing Corporation capital funding to meet community care housing needs for new schemes to allow new building levels to equal the 1989-90 level.
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will increase the proportion of Housing Corporation capital funding to meet new schemes for community care housing needs to levels at or above those given in 1989-90 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : The Housing Corporation continues to provide support for 3,000 special needs bed spaces a year, which attract revenue funding from the special needs management allowance. The corporation also provides capital support for further units of accommodation--up to 1,500 in the current year--suitable for people with special needs, but not requiring revenue support. No decisions have yet been taken about future levels of expenditure.
There are many ways of meeting the housing needs arising from community care, including general needs social housing funded by the corporation, in which tenants can receive non-residential care support. Overall, resources for the corporation's approved development programme have been doubled from £935 million in 1989-90 to over £1.8 billion this year.
The corporation's allocations to housing associations are made in response to the housing strategies prepared by local housing authorities. They in turn are consulted by the social services agencies about their community care strategies.
Column 121
Housing (Elderly People)
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the housing needs of people over 80 years in Stoke on Trent, North constituency and in the United Kingdom as a whole.
Mr. Baldry : The Department commissioned Ernst and Young management consultants to carry out an independent study of the housing needs of elderly and disabled people, including those aged 80 years and over. The study has been completed and a series of reports covering different elements of the programme of research is being prepared. The Ernst and Young study is restricted to England and will produce representative findings at national and regional levels. Separate studies of the housing needs of elderly and disabled people have been undertaken in recent years by the Scottish Office and the Northern Ireland Office.
Guidance to local housing authorities will be produced, using the Ernst and Young research, on methods for assessing the needs of elderly people and the comparative costs of different housing and care options to meet their needs. This guidance is referred to in paragraph 18 of the joint circular (10/92) issued by my Department and the Department of Health on housing and community care.
Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Bill (Advisory Body)
Mr. Waterson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to establish an advisory body in respect of the provisions of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Bill ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : I have announced that the Government are prepared to contribute, for up to three years, towards the cost of a body giving advice on the leasehold reform provisions of the Bill. The Leasehold Reform Co-ordinating Committee has prepared a scheme for an advisory agency and is presently seeking to attract funding from various professional bodies and other organisations.
Interim Development Orders
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to revoke all interim development orders which conflict with good environmental standards and sound environmental protection ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment gave on 22 January 1993 at columns 457-58 .
Nuclear Industry
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what procedures exist to ensure that the information supplied by BNFL in respect of applications for authorisation for proposed radioactive discharge limits fulfils the requirements of environmental assessment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 16 June 1993] : Details of the procedures used by Her Majesty's inspectorate of
Column 122
pollution and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to assess the radiological implications of the radioactive discharges proposed by BNFL in its applications for new discharge authorisations for Sellafield, including the thermal oxide reprocessing plant, are given in the explanatory memoranda which accompanied the public consultation documents. Copies of these memoranda are in the Library of the House.Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the application from BNFL for authorisation for proposed new radioactive discharge limits from the thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield fulfils the requirements of environmental assessment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 16 June 1993] : The information provided by BNFL in support of their applications for new radioactive discharge authorisations for Sellafield, including the thermal oxide reprocessing plant, was sufficient to enable Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to conduct detailed assessments of the radiological implications of the company's proposed discharges. These assessments confirmed that doses resulting from the proposed discharges would be well within national and international limits.
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made in accordance with EC directive 84/467 Euratom of the projected costs and benefits which will arise from the operation of the BNFL thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 16 June 1993] : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, together with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, is currently considering a report by Her Majesty's chief inspector of pollution and the MAFF inspectorates on the recent consultation on applications for revised authorisations under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 for radioactive discharges from the Sellafield site. The revised authorisations would take into account (amongst other things) the operation of the THORP plant.
Any decision on the applications will be made in accordance with national and EC law, including the relevant requirements of Directive 84/467/Euratom.
EDUCATION
Pupil Testing
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his present estimate of the costs of the testing of 14-year-old pupils under the arrangements required by his Department (a) by local education authorities and (b) by his Department ; and if he will express the figure for the confirmed expenditure as a sum per pupil involved.
Mr. Robin Squire : The Department provides support under the grants for education support and training programme for local authority expenditure on training for teachers about national curriculum assessment. In the financial year 1993-94, grant at the rate of 60 per cent. supports £17 million of expenditure for the in-service training of teachers. Over the last three years £50.6 million
Column 123
has been supported for this purpose. Information on the precise proportion of this expenditure which relates to the testing of 14-year-olds is not available.Tuition Fees
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to ensure that universities are not permitted to charge top-up fees for undergraduate courses ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : The Government have given maximum independence to universities and colleges to manage their own affairs. To intervene in the setting of tuition fees would cut across that principle and would exceed my right hon. Friend's legal powers. Public funding for higher education is sufficient. It totals over £4 billion in England and over £270 million in Wales in 1993-94.
EC Students
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps have been taken to obtain funding from the European Community or other member states in respect of the costs resulting from the enrolment of European Community students for third-level courses in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Boswell : Students from other EC member states attending designated courses of higher education in the United Kingdom qualify for an award covering their course fees up to a specified maximum, where they satisfy basic eligibility conditions similar to those for students who live in the United Kingdom. Reciprocal rights apply to United Kingdom students studying elsewhere in the EC. The Department regularly discusses the distribution of funds for the various EC student mobility programmes with the Commission and representatives of other member states.
| Next Section
| Home Page |