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Test Ban Treaty
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards a comprehensive test ban treaty which allows the conducting of hydro-nuclear
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explosions in a laboratory; and if he will make a statement.Mr. David Davis: The United Kingdom remains committed to negotiating a comprehensive test ban treaty. We intend to abide by the terms of the treaty when it enters into force. At the same time, the United Kingdom, like the other nuclear weapon states, will need to take the necessary steps to fulfil our responsibility to ensure the safety and reliability of our nuclear weapons.
Turkey
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Turkish authorities over the seizure by Turkish customs officials in December 1993 of lorries owned by the haulage company, Ralph Davies International; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Davis: Our embassy in Ankara have been in frequent contact with lawyers acting on behalf of Ralph Davies International and with the appropriate authorities in Turkey. We recently discovered that the court hearing had exceeded the 12-months period after which goods detained by Turkish customs can be sold. We therefore made representations to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on 25 January urging that any proposed sale of the vehicles be put on hold pending the outcome of legal representations.
Mr. Zia Farooqi
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the issue of a visa to Mr. Zia Farooqi, a leading member of the Pakistani Sunni organisation; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry: No representations have been received.
Gibraltar
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the names and the dates when Ministers from his Department have visited Gibraltar during each of the last five years.
Mr. David Davis: During the period 1990 94, the following Ministers from this Department visited Gibraltar:
23 25 January 1990, right hon. Francis Maude MP, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
26 28 July 1991, right hon. Tristan Garel-Jones MP, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
30 November 1 December 1993, right hon. David Heathcoat-Amory MP, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
Temporary Contracts
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many employees in (i) his Department and (ii) all executive agencies supervised by his Department have been employed on temporary contracts of (a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration for the current year and each of the past five years, in each case specifying what percentage of the respective total workforce these employees constituted.
Mr. Goodlad: There are no employees on temporary contracts of 51 weeks.
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The information requested at (b) is not readily available but will be provided to the hon. Member shortly.Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people he expects to employ in (i) his Department and (ii) all executive agencies for which he is responsible on temporary contracts of (a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration in the next three years, in each case specifying the number of employees who had previously been employed in a similar position on the same contract.
Mr. Goodlad: We have no specific targets.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for the current year and each of the past five years, how many employees in (i) his Department and (ii) all executive agencies for which his Department is responsible who have been employed on temporary contracts of (a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration are re- employed in the same or similar position at a later date.
Mr. Goodlad: We do not employ staff on temporary contracts of 51 weeks.
It is not unusual for casual staff--that is, those employed on renewable monthly or quarterly contracts of less than 51 weeks duration--to be re- employed in the same or similar position following a short break.
It is not Foreign and Commonwealth Office policy to terminate contracts and re-appoint as a means of denying employment rights. Information for the preceding five years is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what positions in (i) his Department and (ii) all executive agencies for which his Department is responsible are filled by employees who are employed on temporary contracts of (a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration.
Mr. Goodlad: There are no positions filled by employees on temporary contracts of 51 weeks duration.
Positions filled by casual employees, that is, those employed on renewable monthly or quarterly contracts of less than 51 weeks duration include language teachers, escorting officers, library assistants, translators and interpreters, statisticians, technical archivists, scientific officers, professional advisers and some administrative and support grade posts.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the full terms of employment as specified to employees in his Department and all executive agencies for which he is responsible who are employed on a temporary contract of (a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration.
Mr. Goodlad: The terms and conditions of employment vary according to the type of appointment. Model letters of appointment are available for viewing in the Libraries of both Houses.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance has been issued in respect of the recruitment and appointment of non-permanent employees in (i) his
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Department and (ii) all executive agencies supervised by his Department.Mr. Goodlad: We have not issued specific guidance in respect of recruitment and appointment of non-permanent employees but follow the guidelines laid down by Her Majesty's Treasury.
ENVIRONMENT
Council Rents
13. Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average rent for a council tenancy in England; and what were the equivalent figures for 1978 79 in actual and real terms.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: The average weekly local authority rent in England in 1994 95 is estimated to be £35.68. In 1978 79, it was £5.90, which is £17.20 at today's prices using the gross domestic product deflator.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average rent for a council tenancy in England; and what were the equivalent figures for 1978 79 in actual and real terms.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Urban Regeneration to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris) on 12 January, Official Report, column 173.
Local Government Finance
21. Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to set final capping limits for local authority spending.
Mr. Curry: We cannot take decisions on capping principles or on designation of individual authorities until after authorities have set their budgets and notified my Department by the end of this week. I expect to designate authorities under the capping procedures at the end of this month or early next.
Sir Anthony Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what amount was gained by (a) Bedfordshire and (b) Cambridgeshire through area cost adjustment over the last 10 years; (2) what consideration he has given to reform of the area cost adjustment system for local government finance; and if he will make a statement;
(3) if he will list the detailed criteria used in determining the area cost adjustment formula and the counties receiving it; and if he will make a statement;
(4) what was the financial effect of the area cost adjustment as between Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire in the current financial year.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: The methodology that is used to calculate the area cost adjustment is set out in the departmental publication "Standard Spending Assessments: Guide to Methodology 1994 95 edition". A copy of this publication was placed in the Library. The main change introduced for 1995 96 is the replacement of judgmental factors in the calculation by detailed data from the new earnings survey.
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We are currently considering with the local authority associations what programme of work should be undertaken on standard spending assessment methodology in 1995. We have indicated that we wish to consider the case for a change in the boundaries of zones used in the area cost adjustment and have commissioned research as a part of this work.All London authorities, Isles of Scilly and Isle of Wight councils and authorities within the following counties currently receive area cost adjustments: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.
Cambridgeshire does not receive area cost adjustment. The other figures requested are:
a. In 1994 95 the county councils for Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire received the following contribution to their total standard spending assessment from area cost adjustment:
Bedfordshire: £22.830 million
Hertfordshire: £59.778 million
Oxfordshire: £21.320 million
b. Since 1990 91, the first year of standard spending assessments, Bedfordshire county council has received the following contribution to its total standard spending assessment from area cost adjustment: 1990 91: £9.777 million
1991 92: £13.302 million
1992 93: £16.505 million
1993 94: £20.263 million
1994 95: £22.830 million
1995 96: £17.456 million
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the accumulated financial reserves (a) of the London Borough of Ealing and (b) all other local authorities on 1 April 1994 and at the latest estimate; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: I have placed the information in the Library of the House.
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the purpose of designating local authorities for capping.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: The twin purposes of capping are to ensure that all local authorities play their part in the restraint of public expenditure, and to protect council taxpayers from high council taxes.
Mrs. Jane Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to set final capping limits for local authorities.
Mr. Curry: We cannot take decisions on capping principles or on designation of individual authorities until after authorities have set their budgets. I expect to designate authorities under the capping procedures at the end of this month or early next.
House Repossessions
Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the number of households likely to lose their home through repossession for mortgage arrears in the next 12 months.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: The Government do not make predictions about future levels of repossessions, but I am pleased to note from the latest figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders that the number of properties taken into possession in 1994 was the lowest since 1990 and 35 per cent. lower than the peak in 1991.
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Noisy Parties
27. Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to curb noisy parties.
Mr. Atkins: Local authorities have powers to deal with noisy parties, but there are many who believe that controls on neighbour noise should be strengthened and we will very shortly be consulting on specific proposal to do this.
Special Protection Areas
29. Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has to report on the designation of special protection areas for ornithological purposes and special areas for conservation for other wildlife conservation interests with respect to the European habitats directive.
Mr. Atkins: The Government are making excellent progress on classifying special protection areas for birds. Twenty-three SPAs have been classified in the last 12 months, bringing the UK total to 102. We expect to announce more classifications shortly. Following advice from the statutory nature conservation agencies, I will shortly be consulting on a list of possible areas which could qualify for submission to the European Commission as candidate special areas of conservation.
Negative Equity
30. Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest estimate of the number of households in negative equity.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: Estimates of negative equity vary. Based on Department of the Environment house price data, in the fourth quarter of 1994 an estimated 677,440 households in the UK were affected by negative equity. This is over 40 per cent. lower than the peak in the fourth quarter of 1992.
Global Warming
31. Mrs. Gorman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the most recent advice he has received on global warming; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Paul Beresford: The most recent, and most authoritative advice, is contained in the interim reports produced by the
intergovernmental panel on climate change in 1992 and 1994. They confirm the IPCC's previous predictions of an underlying global warming rate of 0.3 deg C per decade during the next century due to greenhouse gas emissions from human activity.
Uniform Business Rate
32. Mr. Rathbone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what submissions he has received regarding the uniform business rate for 1995 96; and what conclusions he has drawn from them.
Mr. Curry: I have received many representations on this issue. That is only to be expected, since there have been major changes in the market for rented property since the previous revaluation was carried out and rateable values have changed correspondingly. There would have been a great many more had we not taken steps to phase in the impact of the revaluation gently through a transitional scheme.
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Standard Spending Assessments, Derbyshire
33. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received this year regarding the standard spending assessments for Derbyshire; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer: My hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Urban Regeneration met a delegation from Derbyshire county council on 3 January to discuss the impact of the 1995 96 local government settlement on the county. He also met a wider delegation from the east midlands counties, including Derbyshire, that day.
Lavatory Cisterns
34. Mr. Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has considered the impact on the environment of different types of lavatory cisterns; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins: My Department has commissioned research into the efficiency and effectiveness of various types of flushing mechanism and WCs which use lower volumes of water.
Council House Building
35. Mr. Olner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many homes have been built by local councils in England over the past five years; and how this compares with the figures for the period 1974 to 1979.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: It is estimated that local authorities completed 27,700 dwellings in the five years up the end of 1994. They completed 460,900 dwellings in the five years from the end of 1974 to the end of 1979.
Housing associations are now the main providers of new social housing. Local authorities' primary housing tasks are the efficient management of their own stock of housing and enabling other organisations to provide new housing.
Councils (Political Publicity)
36. Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines apply to councils devoting spending to propagating political arguments.
Mr. Gummer: Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986 prohibits local authorities from producing party political publicity, and we have issued under section 4 of that Act a code of recommended practice on local authority publicity, a copy of which I have placed in the Library.
Homelessness
37. Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to introduce legislation to change the provisions of part III of the Housing Act 1985 in respect of homelessness.
Mr. Curry: I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave the hon. Member for Newham, North-East (Mr. Timms) on 28 November 1994, Official Report , column 479 .
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London Docklands Development Corporation
Ms Gordon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of homes which have been developed on sites owned by the London Docklands development corporation, broken down by borough; how many of the homes in each borough have been for housing association development for rent and how many for shared ownership; what has been the total subsidy made by the London Docklands development corporation to social housing development in each borough in the urban development area in each year, since its inception, and what is the projected subsidy for the next three years; and what is the future role of the London Docklands development corporation in terms of social housing development.
Sir Paul Beresford: The information is given in the tables:
By local authority |Number
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homes completed in the UDA
Newham |4,639
Southwark |6,310
Tower Hamlets |6,511
Total |17,460
Housing association homes by tenure
Rent
Newham |1,618
Southwark |1,469
Tower Hamlets |922
Total |4,009
Shared Ownership
Newham |229
Southwark |256
Tower Hamlets |225
Total |710
Total Social Housing Subsidy
(including refurbishment of Local
Authority dwellings).
By Year and Local Authority
(projected to 1997-98)
£ million
|LBN |LBTH |LBS
------------------------------------
1981-82 |0.001 |- |-
1982-83 |0.062 |- |0.328
1983-84 |0.712 |- |0.379
1984-85 |0.305 |- |-
1985-86 |0.121 |- |0.093
1986-87 |0.489 |0.068 |1.137
1987-88 |0.301 |0.353 |1.601
1988-89 |2.764 |0.028 |4.746
1989-90 |0.282 |0.055 |1.461
1990-91 |20.726|10.880|4.885
1991-92 |6.262 |5.321 |1.879
1992-93 |2.264 |5.411 |0.556
1993-94 |1.261 |4.227 |0.035
1994-95 |0.011 |2.847 |0.600
1995-96 |0.950 |2.323 |0.900
1996-97 |1.500 |0.037 |-
1997-98 |1.000 |- |-
Totals |39.010|31.550|18.600
Note:
In addition, the LDDC spent £90
million to provide 568 socially
rented dwellings for the Limehouse
link rehousing scheme.
LDDC Strategy
The corporation's continuing strategy is to secure a range of new housing for all sections of the community.
Social housing packages currently planned in partnership with the Housing Corporation, local authorities, housing associations and developers include:
100 dwellings for rent, shared ownership and self-build on five sites in the Isle of Dogs
230 dwellings for rent as part of phase 1 of the west Silvertown urban village; 60 dwellings within phase 2.
Local Authority Mortgage Interest Rates
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if Liverpool city council, when it sold its mortgages in 1985 and in 1992, was required to apply the Department's upper levels of statutory interest rates to mortgages; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: No. The statutory provisions governing local authority mortgage interest rates do not apply where a mortgage has been transferred to a commercial lender.
Westminster City Council
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding the actions of Westminster city council and the right hon. Member for Westminster, North(Sir J. Wheeler) during the transfer of Walterton and Elgin community homes under the provisions of the Housing Act 1988; and what plans he has to undertake any investigation or action as a result of these representations.
Planning Permission
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in what situations he expects local authorities to grant planning permission contrary to the major policies in their statutory plans.
Sir Paul Beresford: Section 54A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 states that where, in making any determination under the planning Acts, regard is to be had to the development plan, the determination shall be made in accordance with the plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Fire Safety
Mr Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many deaths there were in fires in houses in multiple occupation in each of the years 1990 to 1994; what proposals he has regarding certification of fire safety in houses of multiple occupation; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: Statistics are available for deaths from fire in England and Wales. The Home Office statistics do not correlate exactly with the definition of houses in multiple occupation in section 345 of the Housing Act 1985. The best estimate for multi-occupied houses, excluding shared houses--that is, by students or families taking in lodgers--is as follows:
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