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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 23 October 1995
ENVIRONMENT
New Homes
Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the total number of new homes started by (a) local authorities and new towns and (b) housing associations in England in each year since 1974, and his estimate of the likely number of starts in 1995 and 1996. [37490]
Mr. Clappison: The number of new-build homes started in England between 1974 75 and 1994 95 by housing associations, local authorities and new towns is shown in the following table.
Number of new-build dwellings started, by tenure
|Housing |Local authorities
Year |associations |and new towns |Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1974-75 |12,300 |109,569 |121,869
1975-76 |22,020 |131,015 |153,035
1976-77 |25,481 |106,566 |132,047
1977-78 |26,076 |86,334 |112,410
1978-79 |16,713 |69,068 |85,781
1979-80 |14,275 |54,588 |68,863
1980-81 |11,051 |28,781 |39,832
1981-82 |13,005 |23,499 |36,504
1982-83 |14,191 |32,210 |46,401
1983-84 |12,259 |27,469 |39,728
1984-85 |10,751 |20,496 |31,247
1985-86 |10,465 |18,284 |28,749
1986-87 |10,619 |17,001 |27,620
1987-88 |10,073 |14,517 |24,590
1988-89 |11,973 |12,263 |24,236
1989-90 |11,516 |11,731 |23,247
1990-91 |14,183 |5,362 |19,545
1991-92 |20,072 |2,018 |22,090
1992-93 |30,361 |1,571 |31,932
1993-94 |33,107 |841 |33,948
1994-95 |30,946 |441 |31,387
This is, however, not the whole picture. In addition, new social lettings are provided through purchase and rehabilitation of existing properties, and released through home ownership grant schemes, which assist existing tenants to move on to their own properties. In 1995 96 we estimate that scheme starts will be made on over 50, 000 new social lettings, to be provided by housing associations and local authorities through new build, purchase or rehabilitation, or released by home ownership grant schemes.
We estimate that some 70,000 new social lettings, or completions, will be provided in 1995 96.
Plans for 1996 97 and beyond are under consideration as part of the current public expenditure round.
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Water Meters
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of domestic premises are fitted with water meters in each of the English regional water companies. [37995]
Mr. Clappison: In 1995 96 the proportion of metered water customers of the 10 water and sewerage companies is as follows:
|Households
|Percentage<1>
------------------------------------------
Anglian |16.8
Dwr Cymru |2.8
North West |4.9
Northumbrian |0.6
Severn Trent |8.2
South West |9.1
Southern |11.8
Thames |5.4
Wessex |9.7
Yorkshire |6.0
<1> Company estimates.
Mr.Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the policy of each of the English regional water companies on the use of water meters for domestic premises. [37996]
Mr. Clappison: Companies are developing their policies on the metering of domestic premises in the light of their particular circumstances. Most companies meter new and substantially converted properties. All companies operate voluntary schemes, which provide meters for those customers who are prepared to pay for their installation.
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's policy on using water meters as the basis for charging domestic customers for their water supply. [37994]
Mr. Clappison: It is for water companies to decide the basis on which they charge customers. However, the Government believe that metering is, in the long term, the best basis for paying for water in many circumstances and it is consistent with the sustainable use of our water resources. It is also fair and equitable in that it relates charges directly to the amount of water used, and provides an incentive to customers to use water efficiently. For water companies, metering can form an important part of a cost-effective approach to reducing imbalances between supply and demand. The Government wish to encourage companies and customers to consider switching to meters, but we are not forcing them to do so.
Improvement Grants
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people are waiting for (a) improvement grants and (b) disabled improvement grants as a percentage of the population for each county in England. [37905]
Mr. Clappison: This information is not readily available.
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Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sites of special scientific interest in England have been de-notified since 1981 on the grounds of a decline in their scientific interest. [38358]
Mr. Clappison: The information is not available in the form requested. Between 1 April 1984 and 31 March 1991 statistical information on damage on SSSIs in Great Britain is set out in the annual reports of the former Nature Conservancy Council. Since 1 April 1991 similar detail for England is contained in English Nature's annual reports. Copies of annual reports are in the Library.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) on what basis the company Instafibre was chosen as the sole vehicle for dealing with the discount voucher scheme operated under the Energy Efficiency Office's energy efficiency scheme; [38151] (2) what consideration and assessment was made of the impact of the discount voucher scheme operated under the energy efficiency campaign upon those companies who were not able to benefit from the discount vouchers; [38152]
(3) if the operation of the discount voucher scheme under the energy efficiency campaign was awarded on a lowest-tender basis; and if she will list (a) the details of the dates of the tender documents, (b) the number of respondents and (c) the way in which such tenders were invited and through which publications. [38154]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: The voucher book scheme being run as the current part of "Wasting Energy Costs the Earth" is a welcome contribution by business to encouraging action on energy efficiency among domestic householders. It involves the provision of discounts or special offers by manufactures, suppliers and trade associations at their own expense to complement the Government's own spending on the campaign.
The discount relating to cavity wall insulation is no longer to be provided solely by one company. It covers the major designers of fibre-based systems and installers who are members of the industry guarantee scheme or the National Cavity Insulation Association. In supporting the voucher scheme the Government took full account of the long-term benefits to all sectors of the energy efficiency industry from a stimulation of the market, and decisions on individual contributors were taken on a value-for-money basis throughout.
Drilling Wastes
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he will be putting forward in June at the North sea ministerial conference of the problems caused for wildlife by hydrocarbons in drilling wastes discharging from rigs. [37298]
Mr. Clappison: The next North sea conference will not be until a date in the period 2000 2002. The fourth North sea conference on June 9 1995 asked the Oslo and Paris commissions to introduce by 1997 a ban
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on the discharge of oil-contaminated cuttings except in exceptional circumstances and to investigate the need for, the environmental impact from and possible means of cleaning up seabeds contaminated by oily cuttings.Tenants
Mr. Gunnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the protection afforded to tenants who have signed what otherwise is a legally binding contract for a set period of tenure but who, in the event of a landlord defaulting on his mortgage payments, can be given two weeks' notice to quit by a mortgage company, following repossession of the property. [38096]
Mr. Clappison: I sympathise with tenants whose landlords default on their mortgages and who face eviction at short notice through no fault of their own. However, I do not believe that legislation is the appropriate solution to this problem. Granting such tenants statutory rights to occupation would lead to lenders restricting mortgage loans. It would also reduce the supply of properties available in the private rented sector.
Following our discussions with the Council of Mortgage Lenders, it is now a condition of granting a lender an order for possession that a letter has been sent to the occupier to forewarn tenants that they will have to leave.
Sea Birds
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what financial assistance has been offered to the RSPCA for decontamination of oiled sea birds following the dumping of oil off the Yorkshire coastline in September. [38494]
Mr. Clappison: My Department's scientific advisers, English Nature, worked closely with the RSPCA in monitoring the effects of this off-shore oil slick. No financial assistance was provided to decontaminate oiled sea birds.
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has of the (a) species and (b) numbers of each species involved as sea bird victims in the Yorkshire coastline oil slick of September. [38495]
Mr. Clappison: My Department's scientific advisers, English Nature, advise that between 21 and 26 September the numbers of sea birds recovered were as follows.
1138 Guillemot, 98 Razorbill, 12 Puffin and 4 other birds were recovered alive; 201 Guillemot, 29 Razorbill and 2 other birds were recovered dead.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Departmental Work
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the work of his Department since 1990. [38078]
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Mr. Hanley: I refer my hon. Friend to the departmental reports produced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office each year for the last five years, which are available in the Library of the House. Their reference numbers are as follows:
1991: Cm 1502
1992: Cm 1902
1993: Cm 2202
1994: Cm 2502
1995: CM 2802
Sudan
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the governing authorities in Sudan about progress towards peace and democracy; and if he will make a statement. [38144]
Mr. Hanley: On 13 September the Secretary of State raised with the Sudanese ambassador our concerns about Sudan's alleged support for extremist groups, its human rights record and the continuing civil war.
Pay Bargaining
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide in respect of his plan for pay delegation submitted to the Treasury (a) a description of the staff in each bargaining unit covered by the plan, distinguishing staff in headquarters functions, agencies and agency candidates, and in other identifiable business units and (b) proposals for trade union recognition in each bargaining unit and the negotiating machinery to be put in place in each bargaining unit. [38288]
Mr. Hanley: (a) The Foreign and Commonwealth Office envisages a single bargaining unit to cover all 5,440 headquarters staff and the 32 staff of the FCO's only agency, Wilton Park, at grades DS5S and below and their home civil service equivalents.
(b) The FCO proposes to recognise the Civil and Public Servants Association --CPSA--the National Union of Civil and Public Servants--NUCPS--the Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists--IPMS--and the Diplomatic Service Association--DSA--for pay bargaining purposes and to conduct negotiations with them through a single table structure.
Zimbabwe
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens are currently resident in Zimbabwe. [38017]
Mr. Hanley: The estimated size of the British community, which includes British nationals of all categories, is 20,000. Of these, about 6,000 are British citizens.
Bermuda
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to change Bermuda's constitutional status. [38012]
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Sir Nicholas Bonsor: There are no plans to change Bermuda's constitutional status.
Belarus
Mr. John D.Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit Belarus; and if he will make a statement about relations with that country. [38013]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor: I last visited Belarus in July and have no further plans to do so at present. Regular contacts take place at official level and help to develop further our good bilateral relationship.
Ireland
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the annual cost in each of the last five years of maintaining the diplomatic mission to the Republic of Ireland. [38014]
Mr. Hanley: Total operating costs of the British embassy in Dublin, including rented staff accommodation, for the last five financial years are as follows:
1990 91: £2,117,098
1991 92: £2,197,640
1992 93: £2,284,956
1993 94: £2,514,718
1994 95: £2,702,525
Former Yugoslavia
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at what level the United Kingdom is represented in each of the states of the former Yugoslavia. [38015]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor: The United Kingdom is represented at ambassador level in Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia and by a charge d'affaires in Belgrade.
Flag States
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions, in each year since 1990, his Department has made representations to flag states in respect of vessels which have been detected making alleged illegal discharges of oil or other pollutants by MPCU surveillance. [37241]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office made seven such representations to other flag states in each of the years 1990, 1991 and 1992, 14 representations in 1993 and five representations in 1994. It has so far made 14 representations in 1995.
Kenya
Sir Thomas Arnold: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received about human rights in Kenya. [37672]
Mr. Hanley: We occasionally receive representations from a variety of sources about human rights in Kenya. We have drawn our own concerns about aspects of the situation to the attention of the Kenyan authorities.
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Commonwealth Membership
Mr. Grocott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those countries currently applying for membership of the Commonwealth, indicating in each case the date when their application will be determined. [37917]
Mr. Hanley: There are no outstanding applications for Commonwealth membership. Mozambique and Rwanda have expressed interest in membership, but have made no formal application.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Sports Fatalities
Mr. Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many fatalities there have been in the United Kingdom over the last five years in (a) boxing, (b) mountaineering, (c) skiing, (d) motor racing and (e) horse-riding. [38047]
Mr. Sproat: No figures are held for Scotland or Northern Ireland. The most recent figures available are for the years 1986 to 1991. England and Wales
Fatalities in:
(a) boxing: 3
(b) mountaineering: 59
(c) skiing: 0
(d) motorsports: 72
(e) horseriding: 26
Historic Properties
Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what support is given to help private owners of homes that have a historic and architectural interest to retain and maintain their homes. [38369]
Mr. Sproat: The Government believe that so far as possible historic properties should remain in private hands and that their owners should be encouraged to retain and care for them. In addition to grants from English Heritage, and its sister organisations in the home countries, owners of outstanding historic buildings may take advantage of a range of tax measures, for example conditional exemption from inheritance tax and tax relief in relation to heritage maintenance funds.
Mr. O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) if she will list those private historic houses which have received grants during the past five years, giving the amount of grant paid to each house; [38368]
(2) how many historic houses have received repair and maintenance grants in each year since 1990. [38367]
Mr. Sproat: Government funding for the repair and maintenance of historic buildings in England is channelled through English Heritage, which does not hold information in the form requested. However, all repair grants offered by English Heritage to buildings and monuments of outstanding national importance are listed in their publications "Grants 1984 92", "Grants 1992 93" and "Grants 1993 94", copies of which I have placed in
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the Library. Private owners of listed buildings will also benefit from a significant proportion of English Heritage's conservation area grants, but a precise figure cannot be given as the minority of these are offered through schemes administered by local authorities. In 1994 95, English Heritage offered a total of nearly £60 million in grants, approximately half of which was for secular buildings and monuments and conservation areas. Local authorities may also themselves offer grants to private owners of historic houses.Gaelic Television
Mr. Macdonald: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what percentage of Gaelic television programmes transmitted by the BBC, are produced by independent television companies; what percentage of such Gaelic programmes produced by the independent sector are directly funded by the BBC; and if she will require the BBC, as part of the current charter review process, to ensure that a minimum of 25 per cent. of future BBC funding for Gaelic television will be allocated to commissions from the independent sector. [38308]
Mr. Sproat: I understand from the BBC that over 45 per cent. of Gaelic programming broadcast by BBC Scotland in 1994 95 was produced by the independent sector. Of this, over 83 per cent. was funded by the BBC. Along with all other terrestrial broadcasters, the BBC is required to meet a statutory quota of 25 per cent. independent production. It is for the broadcasters to commission programming to meet the quota.
London Film Commission
Sir Thomas Arnold: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement about the funding of the London Film Commission. [38080]
Mr. Sproat: On Thursday 19 October, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced the offer of a one-off grant of £100,000 to help the London Film Commission meet its set-up costs. The commission has already managed to secure commitments from both private and public sector sources to cover most of its running costs for the next four years, and prospects are good for any gaps in funding commitment to be made good. The commission should soon be ready to open its doors for business. A copy of the relevant DNH news release--No. DNH 188/95--has been deposited in the Library of the House.
Millenium Funding
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what estimates she has made of the future public revenue costs incurred if either the Welsh National stadium or the Cardiff Bay opera house receives millennium fund funding. [38049]
Mr. Sproat: The former Secretary of State issued a direction to the Millennium Commission to take into account the viability of projects and, in particular, the need for resources to be available to meet any running and maintenance costs associated with each project for a reasonable period. The costs of any project under consideration are, therefore, a matter for the Millennium Commission which is an independent body.
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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Legal Aid
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what has been the estimated cost so far to the legal aid fund of the cases of Gaudenzio Castelli v Westminster council and Jose Tristan-Garcia v Westminster council; and what will be the estimated cost of the appeal. [37415]
Mr. John M. Taylor: The only payment to date is £380 paid on account in respect of a disbursement in the case of Jose Tristan-Garcia v Westminster council. As no claim for costs has yet been received it would not be appropriate for me to speculate on the eventual cost of these cases.
PRIME MINISTER
Mr. David Hart
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Prime Minister if he was informed by the Secretary of State for Defence that he was appointing Mr. David Hart as his independent adviser. [38324]
Dr. Clark: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received from the British defence industry concerning the advice of Mr. David Hart within the Ministry of Defence on procurement contracts. [38325]
The Prime Minister: As far as I am aware, none.
Independent Advisers
Mr. David Clark: To ask the Prime Minister if his agreement is required for the appointment of independent advisers to the Secretary of State for Defence. [38326]
The Prime Minister: My agreement is not required for the appointment of unpaid independent advisers to Ministers.
National Crime Squad
Mr. Beith: To ask the Prime Minister whether the national police squad announced in his speech in Blackpool on 13 October will operate in Scotland or Northern Ireland. [38586]
The Prime Minister: My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary is consulting the police and others on the establishment of a national crime squad. An announcement will be made in due course.
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