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Preston 132,166Burnley 91,446
Carlisle 102,878
Eastbourne 82,937
Great Yarmouth 88,799
Ipswich 114,806
Oxford 131,967
Worcester 104,934
Excluding all the districts listed above, the other districts in England have population ranging from 25,000 to 163,400. All population figures are the Registrar General's estimates for mid-1993.
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what compensation will be available for staff who are obliged to take lower paid jobs as a result of the reorganisation of local government in England and Wales. [18053]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: On 5 December 1994 my Department issued a consultation paper on proposals for compensating local authority staff who may be obliged to accept lower paid jobs as a result of local government reorganisation in England and Wales. Having carefully considered the responses, I intend shortly to bring forward draft regulations setting out a compensation scheme which will allow for staff to have their salary maintained for a transitional three-year period if they are appointed to a new job at a lower salary during the reorganisation period--between the shadow elections and 18 months after reorganisation in England; between shadow elections and 31 March 1997 in Wales.
By avoiding the need for redundancy payments and encouraging councils to restrain existing employees in new jobs, the scheme should benefit staff, employers and the taxpayer.
Departmental Annual Report
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the cost of producing and circulating the departmental annual report for each of the last 10 years in real terms. [16614]
Sir Paul Beresford: Departmental annual reports were published for the first time in 1991. The quantifiable costs to the Department, in the five years of publication, of producing and circulating the report have been as follows:
(£ real terms--1993 94 prices using GDP deflators)
1991: 21,724
1992: 45,700
1993: 56,473
1994: 67,774
1995: 51,938
These are the costs of designing and typesetting the report, and of purchasing copies for the Department's own use or for complimentary distribution.
Other costs include the staff time involved in drafting the report, which is not separately recorded, and the costs of printing and publishing, which have been borne by HMSO with the aim of recovering the outlay for sales revenue.
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the cost of producing and circulating the last departmental annual report; what was the circulation list; how many copies were produced; how many copies were sold; and at what price. [16613]
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Sir Paul Beresford: The quantifiable costs to the Department of producing and circulating the 1995 annual report, CM 2807, were £52, 977. Of this, £26,747 was for design, indexing and typesetting, and £26,230 was for purchasing copies for the Department's own use and for distribution free to interested bodies, including to Opposition spokesmen, the Environment Select Committee and the English local authorities. Of the 3,350 copies produced, 1,800 were bought by the Department.
Other costs include staff time in drafting the report, which was not separately recorded, and the costs of its printing and publishing, which were borne by HMSO with the aim of recovering the outlay from sales revenue. The cover price of the 1995 report is £18.60.
Council Tax, Gloucestershire
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of council tax set by local authorities in Gloucestershire for the financial year1994 95. [16260]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: The level at which an authority sets its council taxes is a matter for councillors to decide in the light of all its authority's circumstances. Only if an authority is designated under the "capping" provisions at section 54 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 would the Secretary of State take a view on whether an authority's budget requirement is excessive.
Hazardous Waste
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is his policy on other EU states exporting hazardous waste to the United Kingdom, with particular reference to mercury; what representations he has made in the last three years to other members states that they should treat such waste in their countries; and what measures he proposes to encourage other EU states to pursue a policy of dealing with their own waste material; [16224]
(2) what evaluation he has made of the incentives applying to countries who currently export hazardous waste to (a) become self-sufficient in dealing with hazardous waste and (b) develop suitable technology to effectively treat and render harmless hazardous waste. [16229]
Mr. Atkins: It has been the Government's policy since the 1990 environment White Paper, "This Common Inheritance", that developed countries should become self-sufficient in disposing of their own waste. The United Kingdom negotiated successfully for the principle of national self-sufficiency in waste disposal to be incorporated into the EC waste shipments regulation--259/93.
The Government have long made clear their intention to implement as far as possible national self-sufficiency in waste disposal. This policy aim is pursued in the draft management plan for imports and exports of waste, which has recently been the subject of public consultation and copies of which are in the Library. In particular, the draft plan proposes banning most imports of waste for disposal, except where the importing competent authority is satisfied that the exporting country does not have, and cannot reasonably acquire, the facilities to dispose itself of the wastes in an environmentally sound manner.
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All EC member states are required to implement Council directive 75/442/EEC, as amended, on waste. This requires member states to take appropriate measures to establish an adequate network of disposal installations, to enable the Community as a whole to become self-sufficient in waste disposal and the member states to move towards that aim individually.The UK and other EU states became parties to the Basel convention in 1994. Parties are under the general obligation to minimize the generation and transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, and to ensure the provision of adequate disposal facilities within their territory.
Lancashire Local Authorities
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the budget implications for Lancashire county council and the other Lancashire district councils for 1995 96 in respect of both income and expenditure; if Blackburn and Blackpool are to be given unitary status; and if he will make a statement. [16493]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: Our assessments of the need to spend and of the income from business rates and council taxes for Lancashire authorities for 1995 96 are as follows:
£ million
|
|assessment |income |income
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lancashire |845.369 |258.272 |185.846
Blackburn |17.221 |4.665 |2.931
Blackpool |18.596 |5.138 |3.476
Burnley |10.009 |3.059 |2.047
Chorley |8.192 |3.248 |2.403
Fylde |6.216 |2.465 |2.153
Hyndburn |7.600 |2.642 |1.795
Lancaster |14.236 |4.469 |3.161
Pendle |8.323 |2.872 |1.989
Preston |15.662 |4.421 |2.960
Ribble Valley |4.051 |1.731 |1.539
Rossendale |5.824 |2.201 |1.579
South Ribble |7.921 |3.461 |2.584
West Lancashire |10.004 |3.676 |2.742
Wyre |9.388 |3.476 |2.838
The Secretary of State has accepted the recommendations of the Local Government Commission that the existing two-tier system of local government for Lancashire should be retained. However, he intends to invite the commission to carry out further reviews of a small number of individual districts, including Blackburn and Blackpool.
Public Relations
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines his Department has issued to its agencies and other public bodies under its authority in respect of the employment of public relations companies and the procedures to be adopted in relation to requesting tenders for public relations companies. [16219]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Department issued guidance to its non- departmental public bodies in August 1990 on publicity and advertising. This included guidelines on the
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use of public relations consultants and I am placing a copy of this guidance in the House of Commons Library.General guidance for public bodies is contained in the Government publicity and advertising conventions, set out in annexes 1 and 2 to the National Audit Office report, "Publicity Services for Government Departments", House of Commons paper, 1 December 1989.
Property Services Agency
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what debt the Property Services Agency left upon its disbandment; how much of that was owed to private companies; how much of that debt is still owed; if he will list the companies that have made representations to Her Majesty's Government asking to be paid; how much each one is currently owed; when, and by whom, he expects the debts to be fully paid off; and if he will make a statement. [16518]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Property Services Agency ceased to exist on 31 March 1990, when its responsibilities were split between its successor organisations: PSA Services and Property Holdings. The operating activities of PSA Services were privatised or closed down over the period December 1992 to October 1993 and since then the remaining staff in PSA Services have been responsible for completing residual activities, including the personnel management of staff seconded to the privatised companies. Liability to pay works contractors generally transferred to client departments in the period prior to the sale of the PSAS businesses. Liability for outstanding payments to suppliers of services at the point of sale generally passed to the purchasers of the PSA Services businesses, while PSA Services retained liability for only a limited number of completed projects which were not sold. These cases are progressively being resolved. I would be happy to look into any specific problem that is brought to my attention.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what actions the Government are taking to support the CITES enforcement resolution; what financial, training and technical support the Government are giving to CITES enforcement measures; and if he will make a statement. [16939]
Sir Paul Beresford: We are actively implementing the enforcement resolution which was adopted by last November's CITES conference following a United Kingdom initiative. My Department has allocated £240,000 to fund the secondment of an officer from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to the CITES secretariat to strengthen its enforcement capacity. We will also participate in a new EC enforcement working group to improve CITES implementation in the Community. At home, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise plans further increase in its specialist CITES team. Last month, police visits to oriental pharmacies in London, Birmingham and Manchester resulted in the seizure of large numbers of products suspected of containing parts of endangered species like tigers and rhinos. Code-named "Charm", the operation was planned with the assistance of my Department.
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Limestone
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if the use of high-quality limestone for roadstone is in accordance with his policy objectives as set out in "This Common Inheritance"; [16895]
(2) if he will take powers to specify appropriate end uses for very high- quality limestones quarried in the national parks. [16894]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Government's objectives with regard to sustainable development of minerals resources is set out in minerals planning guidance note 6 issued in April last year. This gives the Government's aim that the best use should be made of the total aggregates resource by minimising waste, avoiding the use of higher quality materials where lower quality material would suffice, and encouraging the use of recycled and secondary materials in place of primary materials where possible. The Department aims to achieve these objectives by various means set out in MPG6, including undertaking research with the Department of Transport into the scope for further use of recycled materials in road construction and maintenance, and the setting up of an advisory service to inform and encourage the construction industry on the opportunities for use of alternative materials. It is not proposed to take powers to specify the end use of high-quality limestone since this would be unenforceable.
New Towns
Mr. Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contributions have been made by the Commission for the New Towns towards promotional activities in each local authority covered by a former new town development corporation since 1993 94. [16786]
Sir Paul Beresford: The information for 1993 94 is as follows:
Local authority area |Contribution
|(£'000)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Halton BC |159
Milton Keynes BC |1,178
Peterborough CC |40
Warrington BC |75
West Lancashire DC |25
No comparable figures are available for 1994 95 as 1993 94 was the last year of operation of the agreement under which the Commission for the New Towns made annual contributions to agencies set up to promote individual towns.
Council Housing
Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total number of council tenancies, the total amount of housing revenue account subsidy payable to that authority, and the total housing benefit element within the housing revenue account for each local authority in England, for each year since1990 91. [17043]
Mr. Curry: I have placed a copy of the information requested by the hon. Member in the Library.
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Houses in Multiple Occupation
Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he will make a statement on the conclusions of the consultation on the case for licensing houses in multiple occupation; and what legislation he proposes to introduce; [17027]
(2) how many responses his Department has received in respect of the consultation on the case for licensing houses in multiple occupation; and what proportion of these responses favoured the introduction of a national licensing scheme. [17028]
Mr. Curry: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Under- Secretary of State for the Environment, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Hertfordshire, West (Mr. Jones), to the hon. Members for Cardiff, Central (Mr. Jones) and for Sheffield Heeley (Mr. Michie) on 20 March 1995, Official Report , columns 57-58 .
Statutory References
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what statutory references to hon. Members have been made in legislation introduced by his Department, or its predecessors, since 1965. [17034]
Sir Paul Beresford: An analysis of all legislation introduced by the Department and its predecessors since 1965 for any reference to the type requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It would be extremely unlikely for reference to be made specifically to an individual hon. Member. Frequent references are made to officers of State, and occasional general references are made to persons who are members of one or other of the Houses of Parliament.
Lightbulbs
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many energy-efficient lightbulbs were subsidised by the Energy Saving Trust during the Little Bill-Large Savings campaign in October and November 1994. [17216]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: This is a matter for the Energy Saving Trust and the regional electricity companies. However, I understand that the subsidised sales figures for electronic compact fluorescent lamps during last year's promotion were 981,000. In addition the publicity generated by the promotional campaign resulted in additional sales of 500,000 electro- magnetic CFLs, which were not subsidised.
Child Care
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the child care or nursery facilities within his Department; and what is the breakdown in their use (a) by grade and (b) by gender. [15242]
Sir Paul Beresford: My Department provides 10 workplace nursery places in Westminster; three places at an inter-departmental nursery in Bristol and 12 places at the Building Research Establishment agency's own nursery in Garston. Some of these places are shared by staff who work part time. The breakdown of current nursery users by grade and gender is as follows:
Nurseries
Bristol BRE Westminster
Number |Gender |Grade |Number |Gender |Grade |Number |Gender |Grade
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 |1M/1F |EO |1 |F |G7 |1 |F |G7
1 |F |PS |4 |1F/3M |SSO |2 |F |HEO
2 |F |TYP |8 |5F/3M |HEO |1 |F/M |<1>HEO/G7
|1 |F |Graphics Officer|1 |F/M |<1>HEO/EO
|1 |F |EO |2 |F |EO
|1 |M |Photographer |1 |F |PS
|3 |2F/1M |AO |2 |1M/1F |AO
|1 |F |TYP
<1> Both parents work for the Department.
In addition to a holiday play scheme run by the Building Research Establishment, my Department supports interdepartmental holiday playschemes in Westminster, Birmingham, Bristol and Bedford. These schemes are open to the children of all staff. The take-up--by gender and grade of parent users --varies between location and holiday period. Available information on parents who have used the schemes in 1994 95 is as follows:
Use of playschemes in 1994-95 by grade and gender
Number |Grade |Gender
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1 |G5 |F
3 |G6 |M
7 |G7 |5M+2F
2 |SEO |<1>1F/1MG7
|<1>1F/1MHEO
1 |SLIB |F
7 |SSO |4F+3M
1 |HEOD |M
12 |HSO/HEO/HPTO |8F+4M
1 |LIB |F
9 |EO/S0 |F
1 |Graphics Officer|F
8 |AO |7F+1M
2 |PS |F
1 |AA |F
2 |TYPIST |F
<1> Both parents work for the Department.
Data cover all non-industrial staff in the DOE and its agencies.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Statutory References
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what statutory references to hon. Members have been made in legislation introduced by his Department, or its predecessors, since 1965. [17029]
Mr. Baldry: An analysis of all legislation introduced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Overseas Development Administration and their predecessors since 1965 for any references to hon. Members could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, it would be extremely unlikely for reference to be made specifically to an hon. Member though references are customarily made to offices of state.
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Child Care
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the child care or nursery facilities within his Department; and what is the breakdown in their use (a) by grade and (b) by gender.
Mr. Goodlad: The FCO has 10 places for the under-fives at nurseries in London and 22 places in a workplace nursery for staff working at Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes.
The places are allocated as follows:
Grade |Male |Female ------------------------------ DS5/HCS6 |1 |1 DS6/SEO |2 |- DS7/HEO |4 |2 DS9/EO |4 |5 DS10/AO |- |4 Note: Figures include four children with both parents employed by the FCO.
The FCO provides holiday playschemes in London and at ODA sites in East Kilbride and at NRI Chatham. Over the last 12 months play scheme places have been used by staff in the following grades:
Grade |Male |Female ------------------------------------ DS4/HCS5 |2 |- DS5S/HCS6 |2 |- DS5/HCS7 |6 |1 DS6/SEO |4 |2 DS7/HEO |8 |7 DS9/EO |4 |7 DS10/AO |3 |5 S2/PS |- |6 Support Grades |- |1
Former Prisoners of War
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 17 March, Official Report, column 779, regarding former British prisoners of war of Japan, what alternatives for compensation to direct payments from the Japanese Government are being discussed. [15813]
Mr. Goodlad: We have been in touch with the Japanese Government about the implementation in the UK of the "Peace, Friendship, and Exchange Initiative", as well as exploring what other possibilities may exist.
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Colombia
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received that British nationals are operating as mercenaries in Colombia. [16749]
Mr. David Davis: There were allegations in 1990 that a British citizen had renewed an association with drug traffickers in Colombia. We strongly condemn such alleged activities. There have been no allegations since 1990. We remain in close contact with the Colombian authorities about all security issues of mutual interest.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning the murder of trade union activists in Colombia between August 1992 and August 1993. [16750]
Mr. David Davis: I have seen various reports on these lines. The Colombian authorities are fully aware of the concern felt in Britain about human rights in Colombia.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department gives to encourage the activities of trade unions in Colombia. [16751]
Mr. David Davis: None. The embassy in Bogota maintains contact with a wide range of organisations in Colombia, including unions.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department gives to police forces in Colombia; and how much the support has cost in each year since 1990. [16452]
Mr. David Davis: Our aid includes non-lethal equipment, technical expertise and training to the Colombian law enforcement agencies combating the drugs trade.
The figures are:
1990: £3.5 million
1991: £2 million
1992: £432,000
1993: £286,000
1994: £271,000
Publicity
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his estimate of total departmental expenditure on publicity and advertising for 1994 95. [17191]
Mr. Goodlad: Total estimated expenditure on promotional material and recruitment advertising in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, diplomatic wing and Overseas Development Administration, for 1994 95 is £2,417,000.
Turkey
Mr. Dunnachie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the use by Turkish security forces of military equipment with special reference to helicopters and armoured vehicles, to commit human rights violations; and if he will make a statement. [17145]
Mr. David Davis: None. Proposed United Kingdom arms sales to Turkey, as to other countries, are considered on a case-by-case basis and are subject to stringent licensing procedures. Before a license is granted, a wide
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range of factors are taken into account, including an assessment of the recipient country's human rights records and of the use to which the equipment will be put. We do not grant licences for the sale of equipment which we believe is likely to be used for internal repression.HOUSE OF COMMONS
Parliamentary Pension Scheme
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Lord President of the Council when the Senior Salaries Review Body report on parliamentary pensions is to be published; when the Government Actuary's valuation report on the parliamentary contributory pensions fund will be laid before the House; and if he will make a statement. [17800]
Mr. Newton: In my letter of 29 September, I invited the Senior Salaries Review Body to undertake a review of the parliamentary pension scheme to assess whether the scheme was still in line with good current practice. This was the first of the regular reviews resulting from the review body's recommendation, in 1991, that it should review the scheme regularly at the time of the Government Actuary's triennial valuations of the parliamentary contributory pension fund.
The SSRB report has been published today, and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House. Copies are also available in the Vote Office. I am most grateful to the review body for its thoughtful and thorough report.
The SSRB has recommended that:
i) the existing accrual rate of fiftieths should apply to all service for currently sitting MPs in respect of their future pension entitlement, with appropriate augmentation for those who have been making up the shortfall voluntarily;
ii) the death in service gratuity should be increased to three times the Member's annual salary;
iii) the scheme should allow Members to nominate individuals, institutions and trusts to receive the death in service gratuity; iv) a formal dispute resolution procedure should be established involving three stages, with questions directed first to the fund secretary, secondly to the trustees themselves and, if still unresolved, referred to an independent expert such as the occupational pensions advisory service or the pensions ombudsman. The Government propose to accept all these recommendations, except the backdating of the fast rate of accrual introduced in 1983. A retrospective change of the kind suggested would not be justified. The Government Actuary's valuation report on the PCPF is today being laid before the House in accordance with section 3 of the Parliamentary and Other Pensions Act 1987.
Since the previous valuation in 1990, the fund has grown by about 38 per cent.: the market value at the valuation date was just over £150 million. Income from investments over the period has been less favourable than assumed in 1991, and the level of pensions increases has been slightly higher, although these are now decreasing. The overall financial position shows little change from 1990. The current valuation discloses a small excess of assets over liabilities of £1.1 million--which is less than one per cent. of the value of the fund--after taking account of the implementation of the benefit
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