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a statutory duty to undertake. Against this background, we expect to direct it to carry out only a few, if any, parishing reviews over the next few months.Mr. Cran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the Local Government Commission to complete all outstanding local government district and other reviews. [40594]
Sir Paul Beresford: We expect the Local Government Commission to complete the district reviews by 2 January 1996.
Local Authority Crematoriums
Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what reasons he was unable to lay an order before Parliament relating to the sale of local authority crematoriums prior to the summer adjournment of Parliament. [40568]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Approved Investments) (Amendment No.2) Regulations 1995 provide for increases in the usable proportion of local authorities' capital receipts from sales of shops and car parks, as well as of crematoriums. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Urban Regeneration announced the increases for shops and car parks on 23 March, and stated that they would apply from 1 September, so the regulations needed to come into effect by then. Discussions with local authorities were held before the regulations were laid, so as to ensure that the increases applied in as wide a range of circumstances as possible. The regulations were laid as soon as possible after those discussions.
Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines he will issue in respect of the commercial development of crematoriums sold off by local authorities following the order of 2 August. [40569]
Sir Paul Beresford: We have encouraged authorities in considering any disposals to take into account the need to ensure competitive pricing and continuing quality of service.
Rough Sleepers
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has of the number of people currently regularly sleeping rough in central London; what was the equivalent figure in previous estimates; and if he will make a statement. [41130]
Mr. Clappison: Independent street counts of people sleeping rough are undertaken twice yearly in central London, co-ordinated by Homeless Network, the umbrella organisation for voluntary sector agencies helping street homeless people in the capital. The information requested is:
|Number of people |Percentage sleeping
|sleeping rough in |rough for more than
|central London |one year
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 1995 |270 |66
November 1994 |288 |76
May 1994 |268 |72
November 1993 |287 |77
June 1993 |348 |74
It is, however, likely that people sleeping out for a period of time will occasionally make use of hostel, nightshelter or winter shelter accomodation.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the rough sleepers initiative contained in the housing White Paper will be funded from local authority housing budgets. [41051]
Mr. Clappison: Decisions on future public expenditure commitments cannot be made before the Budget statement by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 28 November 1995.
Biodiversity
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is his timetable for publishing the Government's biodiversity plan; [40909]
(2) what is his timetable for the biodiversity plan being approved by the relevant Cabinet committee; [40910]
(3) what representations he has received from other Government Departments about the biodiversity plan. [40911]
Mr. Clappison: The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to produce a national biodiversity plan when "Biodiversity: The UK Action Plan"was published in January 1994. The plan contains some 59 board targets including a commitment to develop specific costed targets for key species and habitats for the years 2000 and 2010. A biodiversity steering group, chaired by my Department, with members drawn from all sectors was established to take forward work under the plan. The steering group, which has consulted all the relevant Government Departments, will submit its advice to the Government in a report to be published in December this year. I expect a Government response to the report to be made by the spring of 1996.
Temporary and Part-time Staff
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff are currently employed in his Department and in related agencies on (a) temporary or casual employment contracts and (b) part-time employment contracts, given as an actual figure and as a proportion of the total work force; and what were the corresponding figures for five years ago. [41125]
Sir Paul Beresford: Breakdowns by Department and executive agency for 1 April 1995 of the number of permanent staff, the number of casual staff--normally those employed for a period up to 12 months, but, exceptionally, up to two years--and of the number of part-time staff are presented in the civil service staff in post summary table for 1 April 1995, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Estimates on a comparable basis for 1 April 1990 have also been placed in the Library of the House.
Farm Safety
Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met representatives of the Transport and General Workers Union to discuss farm safety; and if he will make a statement. [38930]
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Sir Paul Beresford: Since my Department took over responsibility for health and safety at work I have not met representatives of the Transport and General Workers Union. The Health and Safety Commission and Health and Safety Executive give advice and enforce the law in relation to farm safety. The Transport and General Workers Union is represented on the commission's agriculture industry advisory committee, which last met on 26 October.
County Hall
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the decision by the Shirayama Group to sell or lease county hall, London, to another hotel group; and how much is still owed by Shirayama from the original purchase price of the building. [41185]
Sir Paul Beresford: No. Proposals for the sale or lease of the Riverside building of county hall are a matter for the freehold owners, Shirayama. The terms of the sale, with which Shirayama has to date wholly complied, were that £50 million was to be paid on completion with a deferred payment of £10 million to be paid in the period 1997 to 2012.
Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements are in place to secure the balance of the purchase price of county hall from the by Shirayama Group in the event of the building being sold or leased to a third party. [41184]
Sir Paul Beresford: The deferred payment was secured by a legal charge on the Riverside building granted Shirayama in favour of the London Residuary Body or its successor.
Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what report has been made by English Heritage on the removal of the war memorial in county hall by the Japanese owners of the building; and if he will make a statement. [41188]
Sir Paul Beresford: None, as far as I know.
Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has happened to the book of remembrance previously located adjacent to the war memorial on the principal floor of county hall, London. [41183]
Sir Paul Beresford: I understand that the book of remembrance is now located at the headquarters of the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority on Albert embankment.
Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what applications have been made by the current owners of county hall, or their representatives, to remove or delist artefacts or listed features of the building. [41187]
Sir Paul Beresford: None, as far as I know.
Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when English Heritage last inspected county hall, London, and submitted a report to his office. [41189]
Sir Paul Beresford: On 19 October. There is no requirement to report to me.
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Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what licences have been applied for by the current owners of county hall, the Shirayama Group, in respect of sea mammals to be housed in the proposed aquarium on the site. [41186]
Sir Paul Beresford: I understand that the owners of county hall intend to open an aquarium on the site. If the proposed aquarium is to be open to the public for more than seven days a year, it would need to be licenced under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. It would be for the London borough of Lambeth to decide whether to issue such a licence. I understand that the council has not so far received an application from the Shirayama Group.
If the owners wished to import for display at the aquarium any species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild and Fauna and Flora, they would need to apply for an import permit from my Department, and, for some species, an exemption certificate permitting the display of such specimens. We have received no CITES applications from the group.
Particulate Matter
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the total and percentage source contributions to United Kingdom PM10 particulate matter from (a) diesel cars, (b) petrol cars, (c) petrol light goods vehicles, (d) heavy goods vehicles, (e) buses, (f) domestic heating, (g) bonfires, (h) power stations and (i) other industry. [41193]
Mr. Clappison: The most recently published UK inventory of emitted PM10 was published in the second report of the quality of urban air review group in December 1993, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. Of a total of approximately 250,000 tonnes of PM10 emitted in 1991, diesel cars accounted for 1 per cent., petrol cars 9 per cent., petrol light goods vehicles 1 per cent., heavy goods vehicles 12 per cent., buses 2 per cent., domestic heating 47 per cent., power stations 7 per cent., and other industry 18 per cent. No information is available on the contribution of bonfires. These proportional contributions apply to the whole of the UK and do not reflect the relative contributions in urban areas or in periods of elevated pollution levels.
Volatile Organic Compound Controls
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what basis small service stations will be excluded from the requirements of stage 1 VOC controls for petrol delivery; and when such controls will be introduced. [41192]
Mr. Clappison: Under the stage 1 of the EC petrol vapour recovery directive, member states are allowed to grant a derogation from the requirements of the directive to those service stations with an annual throughput of 100--500m /year--those below this threshold are exempt in any case--which are located in a geographical area or on a site where vapour emissions are unlikely to contribute significantly to environmental or health problems. The implementation date for all other existing service stations of this size is 2004 and as such there is a nine-year delay before the derogation takes affect.
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My Department is consulting industry and other interested parties on how this derogation should be applied.London Residuary Body
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 19 July, Official Report , column 1421 if he will list the outstanding responsibilities of the London Residuary Body. [41190]
Sir Paul Beresford: The outstanding responsibilities of the London Residuary Body are to distribute to the London boroughs any remaining sums outstanding, and to make arrangements for the transfer of any residue rights and liabilities to successor authorities.
Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to ask the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea to prepare the accounts of the London Residuary Body in 1995 96; and if he has set a date for the order to wind-up the London Residuary Body. [41180]
Sir Paul Beresford: The London Residuary Body has an arrangement with the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea to prepare the residuary body's final report and accounts for 1995 96. As to the winding up of the London Residuary Body, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 July 1995, Official Report column 1421 .
Archway Tower
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 6 July, Official Report column 334 , regarding the future of Archway tower, what discussions his Department has had with estate agents regarding the disposal of the lease; and if he will make a statement. [41070]
Sir Paul Beresford: Letting agents appointed by Property Holdings continue to pursue a number of avenues for disposal and are in discussion with the landlords.
Pollution (Central London)
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the results of research undertaken by Warren Spring Laboratory in 1993 into personal exposure to pollution in central London. [41191]
Mr. Clappison: The results of the research were published in Warren Spring Laboratory report IR 353(AP) in November 1992 and LR 982(AP) in April 1993. Copies are being placed in the Library.
Mesothelioma and Asbestosis
Sir Michael Shersby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, how the number of cases of mesothelioma and asbestosis reported in the London borough of Hillingdon exceeds the average figure for England as a whole during the past 25 years; and if he will publish the number of such cases reported for (a) Hillingdon and (b) England as a percentage of the population. [41074]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Health and Safety Executive maintains registers of deaths in Great Britain for which mesothelioma or asbestosis are mentioned on the death
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certificate. Mesothelioma and asbestosis crude death rates per million population for males and females are given for the London borough of Hillingdon and for England as a whole in the tables.
Mesothelioma
Year of deatCrude death rate
per million
population
|Hillingdon|England
--------------------------------------------
Males
1976-79 |15 |11
1980-83 |11 |15
1984-87 |33 |22
1988-91 |43 |29
Females
1976-83 |3.2 |3.0
1984-91 |4.2 |4.0
8
Asbestosis
Crude rate per
million population
Year of death |Hillingdon |England
--------------------------------------------------------
Males
1978-91 |16 |7.7
Females
1978-91 |0.60 |0.75
The mesothelioma register records a geographical code for area of usual residence at death from 1976 onwards, and the absestos register from 1978 onwards. The latest year for which complete data is available in 1991.
WALES
Measles-Rubella Immunisation
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what considerations led to the decision not to include details of each of the known side effects of immunisation in the booklet, "Measles--Why every child in school needs to be protected from measles this autumn, " which was distributed by the his Department in Wales. [40658]
Mr. Richards [holding answer 31 October 1995]: The content of the measles booklet was underpinned by research to establish what information parents regarded as most important. This research, conducted by the Health Education Authority, showed that parents were unaware of the seriousness of measles. The final leaflet which was approved by the Measles Immunisation Group, an expert committee comprising a wide range of NHS professionals, reflected parents' information priorities about the need for measles and rubella immunisation.
Side effects from measles-rubella vaccine are rare, but the more common ones are covered in the booklet. Doctors were given more detailed information on the full range of possible adverse reactions. Parents were advised to discuss any further concerns with their family doctor.
The measles booklet distributed in Wales was the same as that for the rest of the UK, except that it was bilingual.
Column 408
Fire Services
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales to what extent extra resources are made available to fire authorities with a coastline. [41146]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: There are no indicators specific to fire authorities with a coastline in the capital and revenue distribution formulae for 1995 96 and the proposed formulae for 1996 97.
Motorway Surfacing
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many miles of motorway there are in Wales, what percentage of them are surfaced by the new low-noise, no-spray tarmac and what plans he has for (a) all motorways (b) dual carriageways and (c) A roads to be so resurfaced. [41145]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: There are 78 miles of motorway in Wales, of which 7 per cent. is currently surfaced with the new porous material. Further lengths will be resurfaced where the cost can be justified. The dual carriageway section of the A4042 Llantarnam bypass currently being constructed will also have the new surface. There are no further plans to use such a treatment elsewhere on trunk roads.
Kidney Patients
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans there are to improve access to dialysis treatment for renal patients in mid -Wales; and if he will make a statement. [40919]
Mr. Hague: Though Wales has one of the highest access rates in Europe for renal dialysis, health authorities and NHS trusts will continue to assess the case for extra provision against need. In the case of Mid Wales, I understand that there is a possibility of introducing dialysis facilities at Bronglais general hospital, Aberystwyth along the lines of those currently being provided at West Wales general hospital, Carmarthen. There are also proposals to enhance the existing facilities at Shrewsbury.
Environmental Industries
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to promote the growth of the environmental industries sector in Wales. [40962]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Continual efforts are made to highlight opportunities in all industrial sectors through a programme of company visits and awareness raising seminars. A major business and environment campaign is planned which will, among other things, demonstrate business opportunities in the sector.
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the extent of the environmental industries sector in Wales; and if he will list the names of the companies involved. [40963]
Mr. Jones: This information is not readily available.
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Charter Trains
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the impact of increases in track access charges on special trains in and to Wales. [41466]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Charter train operators have had to face cost increases. In the past, British Rail provided these services on a marginal cost basis which in effect meant cross-subsidisation with taxpayers' money. Under the new arrangements, charges by Railtrack to charter train operators reflect the full cost of services provided.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Historic Buildings Council
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who are the current members of the Historic Buildings Council; what is their defined role and responsibility; who appoints each of them; and how often they meet. [39922]
Mr. Moss: The current members of the Historic Buildings Council are:
Mrs. P. Wilson (Chairman)
Mrs. D. Corcoran
Dr. M. Gould
Mr. S. C. McGuckian
Ms J. Pyne
Mr. D. Stelfox
Mr. T. Brown
Mr. C. Corry
Dr. P. Mowat
Mrs. F. Jay-O'Boyle
Mrs. J. Smyth
Mr. J. D. Thompson
The functions of the council are as follows:
(a) to give advice on the listing of buildings of special architectural or historic interest, or amendment of lists so compiled;
(b) to give advice on the designating of conservation areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearances of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance; (c) to keep under review, and from time to time report to the Department on the general state of preservation of listed buildings; (d) to advise the Department on such matters relating to the preservation of buildings of special architectural or historic interest as the Department may refer to it;
(e) to advise on applications for the exemption of listed buildings from capital transfer tax;
(f) to advise on the issue of certificates stating that buildings are not intended to be listed;
(g) such other functions as are conferred on it by any statutory provision.
All members of the Historic Buildings Council are appointed by the head of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. The Historic Buildings Council usually meets on a monthly basis.
Column 410
Private Patients
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 18 July 1995, Official Report, columns 1119-20, if he will now confirm and update the figures on private patient income. [39952]
Mr. Moss: The table shows income from private patients for each health and social services board for 1994 95. This information has been extracted from the 1994 95 accounts of the health and social services boards. These accounts are as yet unaudited and therefore the figures supplied may be subject to change.
In my previous reply, I provided unaudited figures for trusts for 1994 95. The trusts accounts have now been audited and I can now confirm these figures.
Private patient income for each health and social
services board-1994-95
|Total
|private
|patient
|income
Health and social |1994-95
services board
-------------------------------------------------------------
|£
Northern Board |314,791
Southern Board |23,343
Eastern Board |0
Western Board |179,037
Total - Northern Ireland |517,171
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list, by trust in each region, details of income from private patients for 1993 94 and 1994 95 (a) as a total and (b) as a percentage of total trust income. [39951]
Mr. Moss: The information requested for health and social services trusts for 1993 94 and 1994 95 years is outlined in tables 1 and 2. For the years in questions there were no trusts in either the Northern or the Western health and social services board areas.
Table 1: Private patients income 1993-94
|Total |Private patient
|private |income as a
|patient |Total |percentage of
|income |income |total income
HSS Trusts |£000 |£000 |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eastern Board Area
Belfast City Hospital |412 |78,765 |0.52
Eastern Ambulance |1 |6,491 |0.02
Greenpark |315 |41,414 |0.76
Royal Group of
Hospitals |1,308 |113,621 |1.15
Ulster, North Down
and Ards Hospitals |463 |48,951 |0.95
Southern Board Area
Craigavon Area
Hospital |227 |42,048 |0.54
Total-Northern
Ireland |2,726 |331,290 |0.82
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Table 2: Private patients income 1994-95
|Total |Private patient
|private |income as a
|patient |Total |percentage of
|income |income |total income
HSS Trusts |£000 |£000 |Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eastern Board Area
Belfast City
Hospital |426 |81,463 |0.52
Down and Lisburn |46 |75,649 |0.06
Eastern Ambulance |8 |7,052 |0.11
Greenpark |371 |44,953 |0.83
Mater Infirmorum
Hospital |16 |17,429 |0.09
North Down and
Ards Community |0 |31,485 |-
North and West
Belfast Community |0 |65,192 |-
Royal Group of
Hospitals |1,366 |121,370 |1.13
South and East
Belfast Community |27 |75,286 |0.04
Ulster North Down
and Ards Hospitals |413 |52,269 |0.79
Southern Board Area
Craigavon Area
Hospital |142 |42,791 |0.33
Craigavon and
Banbridge Community |0 |28,130 |-
Newry and Mourne |159 |39,344 |0.4
Total-Northern
Ireland |2,974 |682,413 |0.44
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