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Mr. Baldry : The Department does not publish performance indicators for building control. Under the terms of the Local Government Act 1992 it is the Audit Commission which is charged with the responsibility to decide, in consultation with the Department, on what indicators it may select for publication. Although the commission collects a wide range of information on local services, there are, at present, no plans for including the building control service. However, with the Department's encouragement, the local authority associations have drawn up a levels of service document on a voluntary basis and appropriate publication is currently under consideration.
Strychnus Potatorum Tree
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research he has commissioned on the use of the strychnus potatorum tree for cleaning up readioactively contaminated land.
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Mr. Yeo : No such research has been commissioned.
Housing Ombudsman (Reports)
Mr. Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to make report recommendations of the housing ombudsman legally enforceable.
Sir George Young : A housing association tenants' ombudsman has recently been appointed and the new service will be fully operational next month. The Housing Corporation will use its statutory powers to issue management guidance to housing associations so that they will be expected to co-operate with the ombudsman and to carry out his recommendations in relation to specific cases. If an association did not co-operate or comply, this would be reported by the ombudsman to the Housing Corporation, which would then be able to use its statutory powers of regulation to address any issues of mismanagement.
Bathing Beaches
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the use of EC cohesion funds by member states to clean up bathing beaches to meet standards required under EC directives.
Mr. Yeo : The cohesion fund assists the poorest member states to improve their transport and environment infrastructure, including sewerage systems. We contribute only 5 per cent. of the cohesion fund, substantially less than France, Germany or Spain. We benefit from the EC structural funds and expect to receive about £10 billion from 1994-99. Investments in sewerage improvements can be supported by these funds.
Countryside Survey
Mr. Hawkins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the results of the countryside survey 1990.
Mr. Yeo : The countryside survey 1990 will be published on 17 November. The countryside survey is one of the most comprehensive surveys of the British countryside that has ever been carried out. It is also the first survey to be based on the integration of information from satellite imagery and traditional field survey methods. The United Kingdom is the first country to undertake a national survey of this kind.
The primary aims of the survey were to provide information on the stock of land cover, landscape features and habitats in Great Britain in 1990, to identify change in these by reference to earlier data, and to establish a new baseline for the measurement of future change. The main focus was on the rural environment. The survey was undertaken by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology and the Institute of Freshwater Ecology. The main funding was provided by the Department of the Environment, the Natural Environment Research Council and the Department of Trade and Industry through the British National Space Centre.
The survey is a testament to the Government's commitment to reporting on the state of the countryside. The survey data will now be available for further research on the causes and consequences of countryside change.
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Urban Regeneration Agency
Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the urban regeneration agency will be established.
Mr. Gummer : The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 gave statutory authority for the establishment of the urban regeneration agency. The agency will be launched on 10th November. Parliamentary approval to the new expenditure will be sought in a winter supplementary estimate for the urban aid and derelict land reclamation, England vote (class VII, vote 3). Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £9 million will be met by a repayable advance from the Contingencies Fund.
Swinden Quarry
Mr. Nigel Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he is making for ministerial decisions relating to Swinden quarry.
Mr. Gummer : Swinden quarry is in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Planning. In these circumstances, I will take responsibility for all ministerial decisions.
Legal Services
Mrs. Lait : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the Government's proposals for a de minimis threshold for compulsory competitive tendering of legal services.
Mr. Baldry : Competition provides many benefits to local authorities, including better managed services, higher quality work and significant financial savings. However, the Government recognise that it also brings with it additional administrative requirements which need to be taken into account.
My hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Planning told the House on 15 June 1993, in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Clifton-Brown), Official Report, column 543 , that the Government intended to apply the principle of a de minimis threshold to corporate and construction-related services as part of their decision to implement CCT for these services. He made it clear that, for the white collar services, an authority also needs to retain a satisfactory number of good quality staff to carry out work which is not suitable for compulsory competitive tendering. He indicated that we would discuss with local authority representatives the most appropriate threshold for each of the white collar services.
Following discussions on the threshold for legal services, the Government have concluded that local authorities should be permitted to carry out up to £300,000 of legal work a year using their own staff without being required to award that work through competition. This is broadly equivalent to the cost of employing six qualified legal staff, and will ensure that all authorities continue to have the legal skills necessary to serve local people effectively. Those authorities exempted from CCT will nevertheless be free to tender services voluntarily. Many will, no doubt, take the opportunity to improve services and reduce costs by giving private sector legal services the chance to tender for work.
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The Government intend to consult on the proposed competitive regime for local authority legal services, including details of this proposed de minimis threshold. Consultation will begin in December, and the Government will make final decisions in spring next year.Housing, Lancashire
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to encourage the renovation of property in those areas of Lancashire where house prices are so low as to make renovation uneconomic.
Sir George Young [holding answer 22 October 1993] : It is for local authorities to determine the most satisfactory course of action for dealing with unfit properties. Exchequer subsidy is available to help the costs associated with the option of reduction, clearance and closure.
Council Housing (Replacement)
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total expenditure provided in direct grant from central Government to local authorities for council house replacement since the introduction of the right to buy.
Sir George Young [holding answer 26 October 1993] : The provision of new social housing is now mainly the responsibility of housing associations, with local authorities increasingly concentrating on the management of their existing stock and on their broad enabling role. Central Government support to local authorities for these activities is provided through credit approvals. The amounts provided since 1981-82 are given in the table below. The figures for 1990-91 and subsequent years are not directly comparable with those for earlier years because of the revisions to the capital finance system introduced in April 1990. Local authorities can supplement these resources with spending from usable capital receipts and from revenue.
Local authority credit
approval allocations<1>
|Numbers
------------------------
1981-82 |1,795
1982-83 |2,192
1983-84 |2,233
1984-85 |1,852
1985-86 |1,605
1986-87 |1,459
1987-88 |1,400
1988-89 |1,331
1989-90 |1,095
1990-91 |1,561
1991-92 |1,705
1992-93 |1,538
1993-94 |1,375
<1> Allocations for the
years up to and
including 1989-90 are
final allocations, i.e.
the initial allocation
plus any increases made
in-year. The allocation
figures for 1990-91 and
subsequent years are
the credit approval
provision figures for
those years.
Rented Public Housing
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of gross domestic product was dedicated to building public sector houses for rent, annually, for each year since 1979.
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Sir George Young [holding answer 26 October 1993] : The provision of new social housing is now mainly the responsibility of housing associations, although the houses they build are not public sector. Local authorities, on the other hand, are increasingly concentrating on the management of their existing stock and on their broad enabling role. To reflect this, gross capital expenditure through the Housing Corporation on new provision for rent rose from £484 million in 1981-82 to £2,231 million in 1992-93.
Reliable outturn information on housing expenditure by local authorities is available only on a financial year basis. Estimates of gross domestic product in England are not available for financial years. The cash figures are given :
Expenditure by local authorities
and new towns on houses built
for rent
|England
|cash value
|£ million
---------------------------------
1978-79 |1,674
1979-80 |1,214
1980-81 |1,121
1981-82 |816
1982-83 |710
1983-84 |692
1984-85 |748
1985-86 |586
1986-87 |466
1987-88 |462
1988-89 |580
1989-90 |705
1990-91 |447
1991-92 |252
1992-93 |116
Packaging
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to place a legal obligation upon companies not to mislead consumers about their environmental performance on packaging.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
Most environmental claims are already within the scope of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. We intend to amend the Act in a number of respects as soon as parliamentary time permits, and have made it clear that environmental claims will be addressed.
Improvement and Repairs Grants
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each year since 1979 the number of improvement or repairs grants made, the number of applications unmet, the value of each grant and total spending thereon in cash in contract prices.
Mr. Gummer : I will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he makes, and from what source, of the cost of the backlog of repairs and maintenance required to bring (a) private housing and (b) public rented housing to an acceptable standard.
Mr. Gummer : I will write to the hon. Member.
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Forests
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the analysis in, and conclusions of, the latest annual EC-United Nations report on the state of Europe's forests (a) in so far as it relates to United Kingdom forests and (b) in regard to pollution arising from the United Kingdom affecting forests abroad.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 3 November 1993] : I have been asked to reply.
The Forestry Commission assessed the condition of nearly 9,000 trees of five tree species--oak, beech, Scots pine, Norway spruce and Sitka spruce-- in 1992, as a contribution to the 1993 report on forest condition in Europe produced jointly by the Commission of the European Communities and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (EC/UN-ECE).
In Britain, Scots pine and oak showed a decline in crown density compared with that in the previous year, the crown condition of Norway spruce was little changed, while that of Sitka spruce and beech had improved. In contrast, the EC/UN-ECE report concluded that, in Europe as a whole, all five species showed a decline in crown density.
The EC/UN-ECE report made no comment on the effect of air pollution from the United Kingdom on forests in Europe. However, there has been a significant reduction in emissions in the United Kingdom since the European Community's large combustion plants directive was implemented and, in comparison with 1980, we are committed to reducing emissions of sulphur dioxide by 60 per cent. over the next 10 years and of oxides of nitrogen by 30 per cent. over the next five years.
WALES
Ewe Premiums
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many farmers in Wales are currently eligible for ewe annual premium payments ; how many claims for payment have been received ; how many have been paid ; and when those outstanding claims will be paid.
Mr. Redwood : We estimate from the pattern of claims usually received that about 17,500 farmers in Wales are eligible for sheep annual premium ; 17,445 eligible claims were received in 1993 of which 8,603 have been paid. All outstanding claims will be paid as soon as possible.
Mr. Hanson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects the completion of payments for the ewe premium scheme for 1993-94.
Mr. Redwood : The combined payment of the first and second instalments are well advanced and should be virtually completed this month. The final payment will be made in the spring of 1994 when the full rate of premium for the year has been calculated.
Public Appointments
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many persons were listed in the Welsh Office register for public appointments in each of the last five years ; how many in each year were below 40 years of age ; and how many in each year were women.
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Mr. Redwood : The departmental register of candidates for public appointment is a running list to which names are frequently added. Information is not available on a calendar year basis, nor is information on the age of candidates recorded centrally. Currently there are 4,096 names on the register, of which 1,135, 27.7 per cent., are women.
Morriston Hospital, Swansea
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the membership of the project board established to manage the development of cardiac services at Morriston hospital, Swansea ; and when a detailed timetable for the project will be finalised.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The project board comprises three
representatives from Morriston hospital, including the unit general manager, and one each from West Glamorgan health authority and my Department. The timetable will be finalised shortly.
Magor to Castleton Relief Road
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received regarding the Magor to Castleton M4 relief road ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Many views have been received about proposals for the M4 Magor to Castleton relief road. An announcement will be made in due course following completion of the detailed consideration of all comments.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list each NHS trust in Wales with the date when it first became operational.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The details are as follows :
Trust |Operational date 1
|April
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Pembrokeshire NHS Trust |1992
2. Glan Clwyd District General Hospital NHS Trust |1993
3. Wrexham Maelor Hospital NHS Trust |1993
4. Clwydian Community Care NHS Trust |1993
5. Powys Health Care NHS Trust |1993
6. Glan Hafren NHS Trust |1993
7. Gwent Community Health NHS Trust |1993
8. Llandough Hospital NHS Trust |1993
9. Bridgend and District NHS Trust |1993
10. Swansea NHS Trust |1993
11. Llanelli Dinefwr NHS Trust |1993
12. Carmarthen and District NHS Trust |1993
13. Ceredigion and Mid Wales NHS Trust |1993
14. South and East Wales Ambulance NHS Trust |1993
Home Helps
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will establish a standard scale for the means testing of clients by county councils in Wales for home help.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : This is a matter for local authorities. I am, however, considering whether further guidance to local authorities on the principles to be applied in determining discretionary changes for home care services is necessary.
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Schools Technology Initiative
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money his Department has allocated to each secondary school for the schools technology initiative for (a) grant-maintained 11 to 18 schools, (b) grant-maintained 11 to 16 schools, (c) local authority 11 to 18 schools and (d) local authority 11 to 16 schools.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Strategies have been approved for the following schools in each of the categories as follows :
(a) Grant-maintained 11-18 schools
£245,000 to Bishop Vaughan Grant Maintained School
(b) Grant-maintained 11-16 schools
None
(c) LEA-Maintained 11-18 schools
£1,403,000 for 6 schools as follows ;
(1) £250,000 to Bedwas Comprehensive School
(2) £210,000 to Morriston Comprehensive School
(3) £244,000 to Queen Elizabeth Maridunum School
(4) £237,000 to Ysgol David Hughes
(5) £223,000 to Cynffig Comprehensive School
(6) £239,000 to Ysgol Morgan Llwyd
(d) LEA-Maintained 11-16 schools
£245,000 to Risca Comprehensive School
In addition to the above, £212,000 was approved for Denbigh technological and vocational education centre within Clwyd education authority.
Grant-maintained school strategies are funded by capital grant and LEA maintained schools by local authority capital credit approvals.
Llandudno General Hospital
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement regarding the future of the acute unit of Llandudno general hospital.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Llandudno general hospital is an integral part of the Gwynedd acute health unit which has applied for NHS trust status from April 1994. The application explicitly notes a commitment to maintaining and developing the services provided at Llandudno general hospital. My right hon. Friend expects to announce his decision on the application very shortly.
Special Education Schools, Powys
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement regarding the future of Cyfronydd and Bryn Llywarch special education schools in Powys.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The proposals by Powys county council to close Cyfronydd and to change the character of Brynllywarch school are before my right hon. Friend for determination. A decision will be issued as soon as possible.
Libraries
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many public libraries in Wales are open for 60 hours a week or more.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Public Library Statistics for 1991-92, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
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Departmental Advisers
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many special advisers are currently employed by his Department ; at what cost ; what is the duration of their appointment ; and what are their qualifications and duties in each case.
Mr. Redwood : I appointed Mr. Hywel Williams from 18 October 1993 to advise on a range of subjects for as long as is considered necessary.
He is the only such adviser employed by the Welsh Office. We do not reveal the salary nor the costs of an individual appointment. I issued a press notice on October 21 with information about Mr. Williams and enclose a copy.
Estuarial Crossings
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which estuarial crossings have received central Government assistance in the form of grant, loan or debt write-off or suspension ; and how much assistance has been given, and in what form, in each case.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Dyfed county council received a £4 million interest-free loan from the Government in 1979 to assist with the capital costs of the Cleddau bridge. Some £2 million of transport grant has been made available to West Glamorgan county council and Dyfed county council since 1987-88 towards the cost of the Loughor bridge. Prior to this, the scheme was financed largely by the authorities under the then transport supplementary grant block arrangements.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which estuarial crossings are the responsibility of (a) central Government, (b) local authorities and (c) private owners ; and which of these are (i) subject to tolls and (ii) not subject to tolls.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Available information is as follows :
Estuarial crossings |Responsibility |Tolled --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conwy Crossing |Central Government |No Cleddau Bridge |Local Authority |Yes Loughor Bridge |Local Authority |No Penmaenpool Bridge (Dolgellau) |Local Authority |Yes Porthmadog Cob |Private Owner |Yes Briwet Bridge (Penrhyndeudraeth) |Private Owner |Yes Barmouth Bridge (Footbridge) |Private Owner |Yes
Suicide
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many suicides were reported of patients receiving (a) in-patient and (b) out- patient psychiatric care in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information is not available centrally in the form requested.
Mental Health Services
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the south Glamorgan health authority regarding the Health Advisory Service report on mental health services in South Glamorgan ; and what advice he has given on the guidelines for publication of HAS reports.
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Mr. Gwilym Jones : The Health Advisory Service review was commissioned by South Glamorgan health authority following discussion with the Welsh Office. The final report of the review, conducted jointly with the social services inspectorate (Wales), is currently awaited. The report will be published in the usual way, that is the health authority and county council will have available printed copies supplied by the Health Advisory Service. Copies will also be available from the health advisory service and the social services inspectorate (Wales).
Local Government Finance
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 27 October, Official Report, column 640-42, if he will provide similar figures for capital allocations for local authorities in 1993-94 with an explanation of the effect of (a) the transfer-out of further education and (b) the revised presentations of Welsh Office credit approval support for European regional development fund related schemes.
Mr. Redwood : The information requested is giving in the following tables. The effect in 1993-94 of the transfer of provision for further education to the Further Education Funding Council was to transfer Government support of £8.9 million from local authorities. In addition to the sums shown and in accordance with the Government's agreement with the European Commission, supplementary credit approvals will be issued to local authorities to cover all expenditure funded by ERDF grants.
Table 2: New Control Total (NCT) and Assumed
Gross Expenditure
(AGE) for 1993-94
(£ million)<1>
|NCT |AGE
-------------------------------------------------
Education |40.1 |48.9
Personal Social Services |12.2 |14.5
Transport |96.1 |107.0
Other Local Services |41.4 |114.4
Housing |263.9 |305.5
Urban Programme<2> |29.9 |29.9
|-------|-------
Total |483.5 |620.1
<1> Excluding Law and Order.
<2> Including Rural Initiative.
Table file CW931104.011 not available
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