| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Robert B. Jones: My Department is working with the Construction Industry Board in taking forward the recommendations in Sir Michael Latham's report, "Constructing the Team". The Government are also consulting on legislative proposals arising out of Sir Michael's recommendations, which are designed to address some of the causes of disputes in the industry.
Mr. Luff: Does my hon. Friend understand the concern of construction industry subcontractors such as Metal Constructions Ltd. in my constituency, which wants to see a construction contracts Bill in the next Session of Parliament? What reassurance can he give me to share with such companies, that the Government are committed in principle to legislate on issues identified in the Latham report?
Mr. Jones: I share my hon. Friend's concern for the position of subcontractors as, before entering the House, I spent my working life in the construction industry.I can confirm that the Government have made it clear that, provided there is a consensus in the industry on how to move forward, we will legislate. I am sure that my hon. Friend will understand that I cannot bind the Government over the contents of the Queen's Speech. We are making steady progress, which is due to the hard work of many people in the construction industry and, of course, Sir Michael Latham himself.
Central and Local Government
12. Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretaryof State for the Environment what action he willtake to improve relations between central and localgovernment. [28038]
Mr. Gummer: Last November, the Prime Minister and the chairmen of the local authority associations agreed written guidelines for the conduct of relations between local and national government. We are committed to seeing active and robust local government delivering quality services which their residents want and can afford.
Column 342
Mr. Nicholson: Does my right hon. Friend agree that the best way of countering the rubbish that we hear from both Opposition parties about regional assemblies is to improve further the relations between central and local government? Should that not include improving the co-ordination between the two tiers of central Government, where there are two tiers, central Government taking account of the functions that they devolve to local government, the outlawing of extremism, corruption and maladministration such as we have seen in Monklands and Hackney and, finally--building on my right hon. Friend's excellent decision last week in respect of Somerset--the relaxing of capping?Mr. Gummer: I hope very much that we can continue the good relationships that we have built up with local authorities. That can be achieved across the party-political divide by people who are concerned to give local authorities a proper role in the way in which the government of this country operates. It does not help to pretend that local authorities had powers taken away from them when their biggest challenge at present is the implementation of community care--a major new sphere in which they can operate in an enabling way. They have accepted the challenge gladly and with enthusiasm. It does not help to threaten local authorities, whether county, district or unitary, with yet another tier of local authority-- regional government--particularly without any reference to how it would be done and knowing it to be a party-political ploy.
Mr. Macdonald: What steps will the Secretary of State take to improve relations between the central Government and my local Western Isles council following its successful campaign to stop the dumping of the Brent Spar at sea? As the Government have been so completely wrong and so completely humiliated with regard to the Brent Spar, is it not time for an apology or perhaps a note of humility from the Dispatch Box?
Mr. Gummer: The solution to the Brent Spar problem is now less environmentally friendly. That is the issue, and Opposition Members will have to accept that fact.
Relations between central and local government--that is what the question is about--are for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Mr. McLoughlin: Bearing in mind the fact that central Government may have to supply some 90 per cent. of local government finance, will my right hon. Friend consider carefully whether it is time for his Department to issue to every household in the country the exact position in relation to the amount of funding going to each local authority? That will ensure that the position is readily understood, despite the misleading propaganda from local government.
Mr. Gummer: My hon. Friend has raised this matter before and he is right to press it. I hope that the simple performance indicators that we are now publishing will help in that direction. The truth is that good local government is extremely good, but there are many examples--as we have seen from the newspapers in the past few days--of where local government has been very bad indeed. Monklands is one such example. We must try to draw a distinction not only between local authorities that are manifestly operating in an unacceptable way but
Column 343
between those that are just badly run. I should have thought that Hackney and Haringey would be two very good ones to start with.Planning Policy
13. Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding his review of planning policy. [28039]
Sir Paul Beresford: The only review that my right hon. Friend proposes at the moment is to revise PPG6, on which he has received a number of representations.
Mr. Hanson: Is the Minister aware of the continued pressure from developers for out-of-town shopping? Will he take the opportunity today to assure the House that, in any future review, he will stick closely to the Government's position of opposing out-of-town shopping and not pander to developers?
Sir Paul Beresford: I am sorry, but the hon. Gentleman seems to have missed the various discussions and debates that have taken place. That is the reason for the revision and the rethinking of PPG6.
Mr. Mans: When my hon. Friend reviews planning policy, will he take careful note of the more silly structure plans of various counties, such as Lancashire? It is suggesting that another 66,000 houses should be built in the county in the next 10 years, particularly around small towns such as Garstang and Preeshall, which would completely alter the character of the villages and towns. Those houses are not wanted in the county by anyone who knows what is going on there.
Sir Paul Beresford: As my hon. Friend will know, I am abundantly aware of those points. I spent a rather enjoyable hour and a half one morning having them rammed down my throat. The only member of the Labour party present protested with a small voice, but it is his party that should get its act together on the issue.
Rats
14. Mr. Nigel Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received alleging failure to control rats by the water and sewerage companies. [28040]
Mr. Atkins: It seems singularly appropriate that rats should be answering a question about rats. My Department has received no such representations.
Mr. Griffiths: Has the Minister seen the report released in June by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health? It shows--if the Minister had chosen to inform himself, he would know this--that the number of rat infestations has increased by more than 40 per cent., that one in seven houses is now infested with rats and that the water companies have slashed the budgets of pest control officers. Is the Minister satisfied with those cuts, which have obviously been used to fund some of the boardroom bonanzas?
Mr. Atkins: According to the survey that was carried out, there has been an increase in the number of infestations from 4.4 per cent. to 4.8 per cent. I suggest that most of those are in Monklands.
Mr. Fabricant: What does my right hon. Friend intend to do about an infestation in Staffordshire that we do not
Column 344
enjoy? They moan about the standard spending assessment, they have more than £70 million held in reserves and they threaten school children with teachers losing their jobs? Should not we do something about the rats in Labour-controlled Staffordshire county council?Mr. Atkins: My hon. Friend has a point. However, there is a serious issue. Scare stories are being spread by the likes of the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths) to suggest that rats are on the increase. There has been a small increase in certain areas, but the problem must be viewed in proportion. According to the survey by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the number of rats has increased by 0.4 per cent. In those circumstances, the stories from Opposition Members are little more than scaremongering and my hon. Friend has a better point than the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South.
Mr. Banks: Since the Minister seems to know precisely the percentage increase, what is the United Kingdom population of rats?
Mr. Atkins: It depends whether they are rattus vulgaris or whether they are black rats. My comment about Monklands would apply to the black rats.
Regional Government
15. Mr. Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about regional government in the north- west. [28041]
Mr. Gummer: I have received no representations in favour of regional government in the north-west and I doubt whether anybody ever will.
Mr. Day: My right hon. Friend will know that in my eight years as Member of Parliament for Cheadle I have received no such representations from business men in my constituency or within the region and further, and that in my eight years as a vice-president of Stockport chamber of commerce I have received no such representations from businesses in Stockport requiring regional assemblies. Does he agree that the north-west is a powerhouse for exporters, high-tech industry and aerospace and is doing great stuff for Britain? Will he ensure that that remains so and never even consider the Labour party's ridiculous proposal for regional assemblies? What would they do other than get in the way of private industry?
Mr. Gummer: But I am sure that my hon. Friend recognises that we have had no requests from the Labour leader of Manchester council or from the Labour leadership in Lancashire for a regional assembly. Nobody wants a regional assembly, not even the Opposition, but they have to support it because it is the only way of ensuring that Scottish Members of Parliament can vote on English issues, while English Members of Parliament cannot vote on Scottish issues. We all know perfectly well why the Labour party is so silent, with the single exception of the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts), who is busy wanting regional authorities to make up for his very sad past. Labour Members are keeping quiet because they know that it has nothing to do with the governance of Britain, but concerns the Labour party's determination to fix the electorate.
Mr. Campbell-Savours: In so as far as many decisions relating to my constituency and the constituency of the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr. Day) are actually taken in
Column 345
the north of England--they are taken in Preston, Manchester and, in my case, Newcastle--surely there already is a regional tier of government?Mr. Gummer: No. Ministers are, perfectly properly, advised by civil servants, but Ministers take the decisions and are accountable to the House. The Opposition want not only Ministers responsible to the House but five tiers of government. The hon. Gentleman would not put up with it for a moment. He would insist that he had powers in the House. He should speak out in his own party against the silly devolution plans that it is putting forward.
Mr. Elletson: Will my right hon. Friend give the House his latest estimate of the cost to the taxpayer of an extra tier of local government in the north-west? Will he tell us how much more tax the people of Lancashire would have to pay for the privilege of being governed from Manchester?
Mr. Gummer: Now that we have the Labour party's scheme for the south -west we are applying it to the whole country and working out what it will cost. We will then be able to give my hon. Friend a much more detailed breakdown. I hope that my hon. Friend has noticed that, at the same time as advocating an extra tier of government that would increase costs for businesses, the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Ms Ruddock) is attacking the British tourist industry and making people afraid to go on holiday in Britain--because she does not even care about putting party political profit ahead of the people of Blackpool.
Council Homes
17. Mr. Austin Mitchell: 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 what were the figures for the period 1974 to 1979. [28043]
Mr. Curry: Twenty-seven thousand seven hundred and 460,900 respectively.
Mr. Mitchell: The Minister is telling us that, at a time of desperate and growing need for low-cost social rented housing, the number of starts and completions by councils is down by more than 90 per cent. Is he proud of that? Is he proud of the fact that councils will build only 1,000 new houses this year and that housing associations will build fewer than 20,000, at a time of need? Is he proud of the fact that, this year, there will be the lowest number of starts for low-cost rented housing for 50 years?
Mr. Curry: The hon. Gentleman has been in this place long enough to know that the earlier figure referred to local authority building at a time when local authorities were the prime new builders of social housing, whereas the latter figure refers to a period when that role has been largely taken over by housing associations. Last night the hon. Member for Greenwich (Mr. Raynsford) and I were at a meeting to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the National Federation of Housing Associations, whose members are now significant builders. He might have added that 260,000 new lettings in the relevant period came from housing associations.
The answer to the hon. Gentleman's question is therefore simple: the Government do not believe that new build should be undertaken predominantly by local
Column 346
authorities. We believe in diversification of tenure and in choice. We believe that housing associations are better placed, more skilful and more effective at delivering new housing than local authorities.Mr. Dobson: Will the Minister confirm that, taking council house building and housing association building for rent together, the total this year will be the lowest for the 50 years since VE day?
Mr. Curry: We have produced 180,000 new lettings in the past three years, and we will produce as many again in the next three years. What matters is letting, not building. It is nonsense to assume that the only house available is one built from scratch. What matters are properties coming to the marketplace for social letting. We have made significant achievements in that respect, and we shall continue to build on them.
Local Government Finance
18. Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received on changes to the capping criteria for local authority budgets. [28044]
Mr. Curry: I shall consider the capping criteria for 1996-97 in the context of decisions on next year's local government finance settlement.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: Does my hon. Friend agree that we should relax the capping criteria on local authorities, so that profligate and wasteful expenditure decisions by councils can be well and truly exposed and local people can make their decisions known via the local ballot box?
Mr. Curry: Any Government will seek to find ways in which people can distinguish at local level between those offering themselves for election, at the same time as making sure that Government's responsibility for overall economic policy continues. In the light of that, we shall consider the capping criteria next year.
Mr. Denham: Will the Minister confirm that on current projections Hampshire county council will be required to cut its budget by £38 million next year? Why, then, has he absolutely refused to meet representatives of the county council, the business community and local residents in Hampshire to discuss the crisis into which he is forcing the council? Is this not a case of "those who won't listen won't learn"?
Mr. Curry: Next year's budget for Hampshire county council has not been set; the capping criteria have not been set; decisions on the SSA have not been taken; and the budget has not been announced. When the hon. Gentleman talks about what might happen next year he is indulging in sheer fantasy.
Cement Kilns
20. Mr. Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the burning of secondary liquid fuel in cement kilns. [28046]
Mr. Atkins: I wrote to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 13 June welcoming the
Column 347
Select Committee's initiative on burning SLF in cement kilns. I said that the existing controls are sufficient to regulate cement kilns and SLF.I can assure the House that the trials are strictly controlled and that Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will stop any which endanger the environment. Permanent burning will be allowed only if HMIP is satisfied that the environment will not be adversely affected.
Mr. Bennett: Does the Minister accept that people who live close to cement kilns have suffered for a long time from pollution from the dust and that they are now extremely worried about the possible effects of burning this new fuel? Would it not be far better to reassure them by ensuring that
Column 348
the trials are short-lived and that no permanent permission for burning this new fuel will be given unless the same conditions apply as those for burning waste?Mr. Atkins: My hon. Friend the Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) has been particularly involved in pursuing me on a matter affecting his constituency directly, and the hon. Gentleman and the Select Committee have asked similar questions. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his Committee's report and, as he will know, I am in full agreement with some of the things that he said. The trials that are going on are being conducted by HMIP, which is a highly regarded and internationally renowned organisation. I must await its advice before I make any decisions.
Column 347
| Next Section (Debates)
| Home Page |