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River Quality
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many rivers in Britain were found not to be conforming to the basic European standards of hygiene in the last year for which information is available; and if he will list them.
Mr. Atkins: No rivers in the United Kingdom are subject to European Union hygiene standards.
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Charging (Water and Sewerage)
Mr. Gareth Wardell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the expected date when he will announce his decision on the future charging arrangements for water and sewerage.
Departmental Responsibilities
Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the division of responsibilities and relationship between his departmental Ministers and agencies.
Sir Paul Beresford: The Secretary of State for the Environment is responsible for six executive agencies: Ordnance Survey; the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre; Security Facilities Executive; Building Research Establishment; the Buying Agency; and the Planning Inspectorate. The division of responsibilities and relationship between the Secretary of State and each of these agencies is set out in their respective framework documents. Copies of these documents are available in the House of Commons Library.
BATNEEC
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 20 December, Official Report , column 1104 , if he will qualify what constitutes BATNEEC, best available techniques not entailing excessive costs; when his Department first instigated this acronym; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins: Chapter 7 of the "Integrated Pollution Control: A Practical Guide", available in the Library of the House, provides guidance as to the meaning of BATNEEC. Guidance is issued by the Secretary of State and the chief inspector of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution as to BATNEEC standards for industrial processes falling within the local authority air pollution control and integrated pollution control systems respectively. The acronym derives from section 7 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, but has its origins in the concept of best practicable means first set in national legislation in the Alkali Act of 1874.
Regeneration Funding
Mr. Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total resources made available to (a) Nottingham city council and (b) Nottinghamshire county council for regeneration in each of the last five years by central Government programmes.
Mr. Curry: The following resources were made available to Nottingham city council and Nottinghamshire county council specifically for regeneration purposes in each of the last five years:
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Nottingham City Council
|1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93 |1993-94 |1994-95 |Total
|£k |£k |£k |£k |£k |£k
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Urban Programme |4,178.0 |3,783.0 |3,790.0 |2,694.0 |1,582.0 |16,027.0
Urban Partnership Fund |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |370.0 |0.0 |370.0
Derelict Land Grant |25.0 |139.0 |600.0 |360.0 |104.0 |1,228.0
City Challenge |0.0 |0.0 |7,585.0 |8,420.0 |7,580.0 |23585.0
Estate Action |934.0 |5,527.0 |5,083.0 |5,702.0 |7,108.0 |24,354.0
Flats over Shops Scheme |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |92.0 |80.0 |172.0
Compacts |0.0 |3.5 |77.8 |124.5 |104.9 |310.8
Teacher Placements |0.0 |2.4 |27.6 |37.7 |5.2 |72.9
Education Business Partnerships |0.0 |0.0 |19.0 |11.9 |4.8 |35.7
Total |5,137.0 |9,459.9 |17,182.5|17,812.0|16,569.0|66,155.4
In addition, the city council has received approval to £8.96m European regional development funds over the five-year period.
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Nottingham County Council
|1991-92|1992-93|1993-94|1994-95|1995-96|Total
|£k |£k |£k |£k |£k
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Urban Programme |672.0 |1218.0 |947.0 |531.0 |227.0 |3595.0
Urban Partnership Fund |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |65.0 |0.0 |65.0
Derelict Land Grant |1200.0 |1728.0 |2631.0 |2134.0 |2970.0 |10663.0
Coal Area Fund |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |384.0 |0.0 |384.0
<1>GEST 19 (for raising standards in
Inner City Schools) |0.0 |0.0 |300.0 |508.0 |173.0 |981.0
Compacts |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |50.0 |22.1 |72.1
Teacher Placements |0.0 |0.0 |20.8 |27.3 |18.9 |67.0
Education Business Partnerships |0.0 |0.0 |38.8 |93.9 |55.7 |188.4
Total: |1872.0 |2946.0 |3937.7 |3793.2 |3466.7 |16015.5
<1>GEST = Grant for Education Support and Training.
In addition, the county council has received approval to £14.21m European regional development funds over the five-year period.
Desulphurisation
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the number of days in 1993 and 1994 that power generation desulphurisation plant was switched off.
Mr. Atkins: Drax and Ratcliffe-on-Soar are the only two power stations fitted with flue gas desulphurisation equipment; installation of FGD at these stations is still in progress. The first two FGD units at Drax have been operational since February 1994. From then until the end of 1994 they have operated for 98 per cent. of the time that the boilers to which they are linked were operating. The FGD units were off-line for the remainder of the time primarily due to a shut-down for a planned inspection. The first FGD unit at Ratcliffe-on-Soar has been operational since March 1994. From then until the end of 1994 it has operated for 95 per cent. of the time that the boilers to which it is linked were operating. The FGD unit
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was off-line for the remainder of the time for inspection work and running repairs-fault rectification.Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list by power station the funds received from the European Economic Community for desulphurisation plant.
Mr. Atkins: I am not aware that the two generating companies in England and Wales have received any such funds.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which coal-burning power stations currently have desulphurisation plants.
Mr. Atkins: At present, flue gas desulphurisation equipment operates, or is under construction, for 4 GW of capacity at National Power's Drax power station and for 2 GW of capacity at Powergen's Radcliffe -on-Soar power station.
Dog Fouling
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the recommendations of the advisory group on litter concerning dog fouling; and what is his response.
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Sir Paul Beresford: The recommendations of the litter advisory group concerning dog fouling were published as a consultation document on 20 July 1994. The Government's response was set out in the reply by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, South (Sir G. Bright) on 14 December 1994, Official Report , column 664 .
Tyne and Wear
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made with the creation of an enterprise zone in the catchment area of the former Swan Hunter's shipyard following the Minister for Industry's statement to the House on 12 May 1993, Official Report , columns 801 809.
Sir Paul Beresford: Progress on proposals for new enterprise zone sites on Tyneside has been necessarily delayed during the period of uncertainty over the future of the Swan Hunter shipyards. The three local authorities concerned and the Tyne and Wear development corporation have now submitted a package of sites for consideration and this is being examined by the Government Office for the North East.
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the impact of a new enterprise zone in Tyne and Wear on (a) the work of the existing city challenge projects in inner west Newcastle and North Shields and (b) employment levels in the former shipbuilding communities of east Newcastle and Wallsend.
Sir Paul Beresford: No decision has been taken on the sites to be included in the proposals for a new enterprise zone in Tyne and Wear. As soon as agreement is reached, the relevant planning authorities will be asked to submit detailed economic analyses of their proposals.
Water Supply Disconnections
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many domestic properties had their water supply disconnected in Walthamstow in 1994; and how many of these were in properties which had water meters.
Mr. Atkins: Information on disconnections by local authority district and by charging method is not available centrally. The Director General of Water Services publishes information on disconnections twice a year, by water company area and by domestic and non-domestic customer. Information on disconnections in the six months to 30 September 1994 was published in an Ofwat news release on 15 November 1994, a copy of which is in the Library.
Erosion Review
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his review of erosion, deposition and flooding in Great Britain.
Sir Paul Beresford: It is expected that the review of erosion, deposition and flooding in Great Britain, commissioned by my Department, will be published in May 1995.
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Civil Servant Travel
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which airlines have been granted preferred carrier status for civil servant travel to overseas destinations
Sir Paul Beresford: My Department has not granted preferred carrier status to any airline.
Absenteeism
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the absenteeism rate for the Building Research Establishment in each year since 1991.
Sir Paul Beresford: The information available is:
6
|Proportion of
|working days
|lost through sick
|absences
Year |per cent.
------------------------------------------------------
1991 |2.0
1992 |2.0
1993 |2.1
1994 |2.1
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the absenteeism rate for the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in each year since 1991.
Sir Paul Beresford: The information is as follows:
|Number of |Number of
Year |staff employed|sick days
------------------------------------------------------------
1991 |67 |268
1992 |66 |<1>582
1993 |64 |<1>356
1994 |64 |<1>314
<1> These figures are distorted by the following individual
sick records:
Year |Number and reason |Days
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992 |1-Depression |124
|1-M.E. |106
|1-Pregnancy problems|98
1993 |1-Heart bypass |119
1994 |1-Depression |80
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the absenteeism rate for the Security Facilities Executive in each year since 1991.
Sir Paul Beresford: The Security Facilities Executive was established as an executive agency in October 1993. In its first year of operation the average sick absence rate to the nearest whole number of days was eight per person.
Geevor Tin Mine
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of the pollution threat caused by the flooding of Geevor tin mine in Cornwall; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins: The National Rivers Authority has monitored closely the level and quality of water in Geevor mine. In its view, the water now flowing from the mine has had a localised and limited impact, and is easily dispersed by the coastal waters.
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Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who currently owns and has responsibility for maintaining Geevor tin mine in Cornwall.
Mr. Atkins: The surface freehold of Geevor mine is owned by Cornwall county council. I understand that the underground workings of the mine were abandoned in 1991.
Dog Registration
Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations have been made to him since the 1992 general election in favour of the introduction of a dog registration scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Paul Beresford: My Department regularly receives representations on this issue. For example, in response to the advisory group on litter recommendations on dog fouling last year, we received 104 letters which supported the idea of dog registration. However, the Government's view has consistently been that dog registration would be bureaucratic and difficult to enforce and that the irresponsible owner would be very unlikely to register. Dog control legislation related to specific problems, as in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and elsewhere, is, we believe, the most appropriate way of tackling these issues.
Public Appointments
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.
Sir Paul Beresford: No central record is maintained of the sources of names of appointees and in some cases they may have been nominated from more than one source. However, from the information readily available, it appears that three of the individuals appointed during 1994 were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.
Albert Dock Development
Mr. Parry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next intends to visit the Merseyside development corporation to investigate complaints by residents about the Albert dock development; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Paul Beresford: I have no plans to visit the Merseyside development corporation for this purpose.
I am aware of the concerns of the residents of the Albert dock on some points and have written to the hon. Member. The corporation is continuing to work with the residents, long leaseholder and developer to find a way to resolve problems. In particular, the MDC has liaised with the leaseholder and the residents on the question of the unsatisfactory windows and is hoping to set up a meeting with the two parties on the other issues. A meeting between the developer and the residents has also enabled progress to be made on the question of the further development of residential accommodation.
Grand Regatta Columbus
Ms Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he plans to take with respect
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to the chairman and chief executive of the Merseyside development corporation following the publication of the third report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 1994 95, HC 94, on the grand regatta Columbus.Sir Paul Beresford: I have no plans to take action. I have every confidence that the chairman and chief executive of the Merseyside development corporation will take the necessary action to address the shortcomings in financial management highlighted in the PAC report. Indeed, they have been co-operating with the Department to that end since the publication of the NAO report on the grand regatta Columbus and fanfare for a new world concert in March 1995.
Council Tax
Mr. Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the impact of a significant event affecting the valuation of properties on valuation of properties for council tax purposes.
Mr. Curry: For council tax purposes, all dwellings are allocated to valuation bands according to the price that they might reasonably have been expected to have fetched had they been sold, subject to certain assumptions, on 1 April 1991. The listing officer will be prepared to review the banding where there has been a change in the physical state of its locality, for example where a major new road is opened, which has the effect of reducing the value of the dwellings in that area. The impact of such a "significant event" on the housing market will, of course, vary from case to case.
TRANSPORT
Merchant Navy Veterans
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement in respect of travel, accommodation and light refreshment expenses payable to Merchant Navy veterans for 1995 96; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris: The extent of future funding for Merchant Navy representatives on Remembrance Sunday has not yet been decided, but the Department will continue to meet reasonable travel and subsistence costs incurred by MN wreath layers.
Selby Bypass
Mr. Alison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many objections have been identified to the draft compulsory purchase orders for the projected Selby bypass; what public inquiry proceedings are expected in relation to the objections received; and when the inquiry will be held.
Mr. Watts: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to my right hon. Friend. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Michael Alison, dated 17 January 1995:
I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the draft Compulsory Purchase Order for the proposed A63 Selby Bypass scheme.
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To date, 10 objections to this draft Order have been received. Arrangements are being made for these to be dealt with, along with the 14 objections to the draft Supplement Side Roads Order, at a Public Inquiry starting on 30 May this year.I hope this is helpful.
Roads
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of (i) motorway and (ii) trunk roads are currently (a) open, (b) under construction, (c) at the planning inquiry stage or (d) under active consideration as part of the roads programme either (1) as new motorway- trunk road or (2) as existing motorway-trunk road being widened; if he will identify in each case the location and parliamentary constituency; which projects will now be subjected to further review arising out of his response to the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment report; and what new assessment will be used.
Dr. Mawhinney: The information, which covers England only, is in the following table:
|Miles of all
|Miles of |purpose trunk
|motorway |road
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) Open |1,905 |9,465
b) Under construction
(Start of works to |New |59 |24
completion) |Widening |14 |89
c) Planning Inquiry
Stage (Orders
Published to Start of |New |30 |43
Works) |Widening |193 |55
|
of the Road Programme |Widening |598 |176
The location of schemes in the national road programme is shown in the "Trunk Roads in England 1994 Review" published by my Department in March last year. Copies are in the Library of the House. I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to send the hon. Member details of the parliamentary constituencies in which those schemes fall. A copy of those details will be placed in the Library.
All schemes at the planning stage will be reviewed against the guidance issued to the Highways Agency with the Government's response to the SACTRA report.
Rail Track Sale (London)
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was raised from the sale of rail track from the area south-west of London Underground Leyton Central line station; what organisation received the profits from the sale; what has happened to the proceeds of the sale; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Watts: The Secretary of State is acquiring by compulsory purchase land and rights over land to the south-west of Leyton underground station extending to some 12 acres of former railway land in and around the Temple Mills area. Negotiations over the terms of purchase and compensation settlement continue.
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Double-decker Buses
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what EC regulations apply to the manufacture and use in the United Kingdom of double-decker buses; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris: The Road Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 require certain systems and components in vehicles to comply with the performance requirements of EC directives or United Nations Economic Commission for Europe regulations. We are currently awaiting an EC proposal for a draft directive on bus and coach construction.
A15 (Telephones)
Mr. Michael Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when work to install emergency telephones on the A15 Barnetby Top-Humber Bridge section will commence; and when it will be completed.
Mr. Watts: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Michael Brown, dated 17 January 1995:
John Watts, the Minister for Roads and Railways, has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about when work will begin, and be completed, to install emergency telephones on the A15 between Barnetby Top and Humber Bridge.
Work will start at the end of January and will take four weeks, subject to good weather.
Commercial Vehicles (Safety)
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many commercial vehicles were stopped and inspected; how many were found to be defective; and how many of those defective had defective brakes in (a) 1991, (b) 1992 and (c) 1993.
Mr. Norris: This is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 17 January 1995:
Vehicle Spot Checks
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of commercial vehicles stopped and inspected, how many were found to be defective and how many of those defective had defective brakes in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
The information requested is not available by calendar year and has been provided for the financial years (April to March) 1991 92, 1992 93 and 1993 94 and is shown in tabular form below.
Number of Vehicles Inspected during Roadworthiness Spot
Checks
|Heavy goods|Trailers |Buses and
|vehicles |(HGV) |coaches
------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |90,118 |22,565 |21,106
1992-93 |100,337 |26,033 |24,895
1993-94 |93,690 |26,645 |24,521
The inspections above revealed that the following number of vehicles had serious roadworthiness defects which resulted in prohibition action being taken.
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Number of immediate and delayed roadworthiness prohibitions
|Heavy goods|Trailers |Buses and
|vehicles |(HGV) |coaches
------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |14,075 |3,557 |2,552
1992-93 |14,678 |3,354 |2,289
1993-94 |14,888 |3,882 |2,419
The number of these vehicles inspected during roadworthiness spot checks, which had defective brakes, is not available for these inspections alone or in the form requested. The information available, provided below, shows recorded brake related defects as a percentage of all defects recorded from prohibition notices. The data is taken from roadworthiness spot check inspections and roadworthiness inspections done for operator licensing purposes. Data for 1991/92 is not available.
|Heavy goods |Buses and
|vehicles |Trailers (HGV)|Coaches
|per cent. |per cent. |per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1992-93 |30.5 |42 |19
1993-94 |32.5 |43 |19
The information on inspections does not include:
(i) roadworthiness enforcement activity on light goods vehicles; and
(ii) limited roadworthiness spot checks confined to vehicle lighting or exhaust emissions.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to remove any commercial vehicles found to have defective brakes from the roads (a) for three months for the first offence, (b) for 12 months for a second offence and (c) confiscation for the third offence by the same owners/operators.
Mr. Norris: No. Sanctions are properly a matter for the courts and the traffic commissioners.
Marine Pollution
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Marine Safety Agency will complete its survey of those ports which have facilities to accept chemical contaminated waste; if he will list the ports so designated; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris: This is an operational matter for the Marine Safety Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 17 January 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about ports which have facilities for accepting chemical contaminated wastes.
The Marine Safety Agency has a policy of constantly reviewing the provision of waste reception facilities at ports. This is in part to meet our commitment to ensure that the facilities are adequate under the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, know as MARPOL. The Department of Transport is also assessing the provision of facilities to assist in the development of measures following the recommendations in Lord Donaldson's report into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping "Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas".
At the moment we have two surveys in hand: a questionnaire survey of the types and capacity of reception facilities and an independent assessment of the adequacy of those facilities. The responses from the questionnaire survey were received in late 1994 and are currently being analysed. We also hope that the team of consultants carrying out the second assessment will have finalised
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their reports shortly. I will send you personal copies of both reports when they are available.
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