---

Energy Savings Trust

Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current level of funding for the Energy Savings Trust; and what is the projected funding for each year up to 2000. [8024]

Mr. Robert B. Jones: Last autumn my right hon. Friend confirmed the Government's plan to provide £25 million for the Energy Saving Trust in 1996-97. He intends to provide £15 million in 1997-98 and £10 million in 1998-99, reflecting his intention that the trust should increasingly work with the market and lever in private finance. In the current financial year, the Government expect to provide £446,000 towards the trust's running costs and around £2 million via the trust to support the local energy advice centre pilot study.

These funding arrangements reflect the trust's role as a catalyst, stimulating investment in energy efficiency and the development of self-sustaining markets for energy efficient goods and services.

I understand that the trust oversaw total expenditure of £21.5 million between 1993 and 1995 and expects to expand its operations in future years.

9 Jan 1996 : Column: 5

Local Services (Funding)

Mr. Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what extra funding, excluding the metropolitan railway grant, and care in the community adjustments he proposes to make available to each metropolitan district council next year, over that of the current year, in the form of revenue support grant and non-domestic rates, which will be available for each of these councils to fund local services. [7811]

Sir Paul Beresford: The table sets out the amount of revenue support grant and non-domestic rates which it is proposed each metropolitan district council will receive in 1996-97, in comparison with the amount each district received in RSG, NDR, metropolitan railway grant and community care special transitional grant in 1995-96. For 1996-97, the MRG and 1995-96 STG have been incorporated into authorities' standard spending assessments, and so will attract RSG. The 1996-97 figures do not include the additional resources available for community care, to be funded through the 1996-97 STG.

In addition to these grants, local authorities may raise revenue through the council tax and other local sources of income.

Local Authority	1995-1996 RSG, NDR, MRG and STG £ million	1996-97 RSG, and NDR £ million	Change Percentage	Change Percentage
Greater Manchester(2)
Bolton	160.167	159.327	-0.389	-0.5
Bury	91.042	91.527	0.485	0.5
Manchester	372.765	369.848	-2,918	-0.8
Oldham	149.413	149.501	0.088	0.1
Rochdale	133.318	130.672	-2.647	-2.0
Salford	152.279	151.556	-0.723	-0.5
Stockport	130.305	128.150	-2.156	-1.7
Tameside	127.053	126.977	-0.076	-0.1
Trafford	115.707	115.757	0.050	0.0
Wigan	167.614	166.764	-0.850	-0.5
Merseyside
Knowsley	123.928	125.232	1.304	1.1
Liverpool	375.694	384.800	9.105	2.4
St. Helens	109.194	111.534	2.341	2.1
Sefton	168.637	171.759	3.121	1.9
Wirral	202.471	209.620	7.149	3.5
South Yorkshire
Barnsley	124.237	127.573	3.335	2.7
Doncaster	183.386	187.720	4.333	2.4
Rotherham	155.713	159.978	4.266	2.7
Sheffield	318.635	321.283	2.648	0.8
Tyne and Wear
Gateshead	129.627	129.702	0.076	0.1
Newcastle Upon Tyne	191.110	190.940	-0.170	-0.1
North Tyneside	115.089	115.698	0.609	0.5
South Tyneside	101.544	102.876	1.331	1.3
Sunderland	193.367	195.019	1.652	0.9
West Midlands
Birmingham	765.414	778.022	12.608	1.6
Coventry	192.253	195.367	3.114	1.6
Dudley	158.566	161.400	2.834	1.8
Sandwell	199.842	201.327	1.485	0.7
Solihul	97.332	98.577	1.245	1.3
Walsall	175.272	177.150	1.878	1.1
Wolverhampton	167.501	168.497	0.996	0.6
West Yorkshire
Bradford	342.353	344,751	2.398	0.7
Calderdale	116.226	118.512	2.286	2.0
Kirklees	220.667	222.269	1.602	0.7
Leeds	424.628	430.867	6.239	1.5
Wakefield	180.651	182.566	1.916	1.1

(2) Greater Manchester districts have opted out of railway support in 1996-97. For these authorities, the 1995-96 figures do not include the MRG. However, it is not possible to adjust the 1995-96 figures to remove the amount of RSG which Greater Manchester authorities also received for supporting rail services. Consequently, the amount of external support for greater Manchester districts appears to fall from 1995-96 to 1996-97.

9 Jan 1996 : Column: 6

Local Authority Debt

Mr. Dunn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which are the 20 local authorities with the highest debt levels in England; and in each case what is (a) the total amount of debt and (b) the debt per head of population. [7938]

Sir Paul Beresford: The information requested is as follows:

Authority	Total debt(3) at 31 March 1995 £ million	Debt at 31 March 1995 per head of population £
Birmingham	1,287.8	1,277
Manchester	1,172.9	2,720
Lambeth	905.2	3,472
Islington	880.1	5,024
Southwark	805.8	3,522
Liverpool	798.7	1,685
Hackney	765.9	3,979
Sheffield	758.6	1,431
Leeds	688.9	951
Tower Hamlets	653.5	3,831
Haringey	557.1	2,624
Camden	543.3	2,977
Newham	542.5	2,392
Lewisham	519.7	2,144
Brent	471.2	1,927
Greenwich	468.6	2,208
Newcastle upon Tyne	442.0	1,559
Kent	429.5	278
Salford	425.4	1,844
Bradford	412.9	857

(3) Includes both short-term borrowing and long-term borrowing. All local authority borrowing is subject to general statutory controls and to the specific limits imposed by central Government on individual authorities.

EC Habitats Directive

Mr. Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will make further nominations for special areas of conservation to the European Commission under the EC habitats directive. [8198]

9 Jan 1996 : Column: 7

Mr. Gummer: As indicated in my written reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 20 June 1995, Official Report, column 140-43, a second list of candidate special areas of conservation would be sent to the European Commission once points raised in the public consultation launched on 31 March had been considered and satisfactorily resolved. That list, which consists of 75 sites, including a first tranche of 10 marine sites, was sent to the Commission on 8 January.

Further sites will be forwarded to the Commission when the remaining points raised during consultation have been fully considered. Particular attention is being given to addressing general concerns raised by consultees about the possible designation of marine sites.

The list of sites sent to the Commission is as follows:

Sites
Asby Complex	England
Avon Gorge Woodlands	England
Bath and Bradford on Avon Bats	England
Braunton Burrows	England
Breckland	England
Bury Inlet: Saltmarsh and Estuary/Cilfach Burry: Cors heli ac Aber	Wales
Cardigan Bay/Bae Ceredigion	Wales
Carn non Tri-Tighearnan	Scotland
Clyde Valley Woods	Scotland
Coll Machair	Scotland
Conon Islands	Scotland
Cotswold Beechwoods	England
Dartmoor	England
Dornoch Firth and Morrich More	Scotland
Downton Gorge	England
Drigg Coast	England
Duddon Mosses	England
Dungeness	England
Dunkeld--Blairgowrie Lochs	Scotland
Ensor's Pool	England
Epping Forest	England
Fenn's, Whixall, Bettisfield, Wem and Cadney Mosses	England/Wales
Flamborough Head	England
Flow Country	Scotland
Foinaven	Scotland
Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment	England
Fontmell and Melbury Downs	England
Gower Commons/Tiroedd Comin Gwyr	Wales
Isles of Scilly Complex	England
Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau/Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau	Wales
Loch Etive Woods	Scotland
Loch Lomond Woods	Scotland
Loch Maree Complex	Scotland
Lower Derwent Valley	England
Lundy	England
Magilligan	Northern Ireland
Mells Valley	England
Moine Mohr	Scotland
Mole Gap to Reigate Escarpment	England
Moor House--Upper Teasdale	England
Morecambe Bay Pavements	England
Murlough	Northern Ireland
North Meadow and Clattinger Farm	England
North Norfolk Coast and Gibraltar Point Dunes	England
Orfordness--Shingle Street	England
Ouse Washes	England
Peak District Dales	England
Penhale Dunes	England
Rannoch Moor	Scotland
Rhidorroch Woods	Scotland
Rodborough Common	England
Ronas Hill--North Roe	Scotland
Roudsea Wood and Mosses	England
Roydon Common and Dersingham Bog	England
Salisbury Plain	England
Sandwich Bay	England
Sefton Coast	England
Sidmouth to West Bay	England
South Dartmoor Woods	England
South Hams	England
St. Albans Head to Durlston Head	England
Strangford Lough	Northern Ireland
Strathglass Complex	Scotland
Studland Dunes	England
The Broads	England
The Lizard	England
Thursley	England
Tintagel--Marsland--Clovelly Coast	England
Tiree Machair	Scotland
Torrs Warren--Luce Sands	England
Waveney and Little Ouse Valley Fens	England
Winterton--Horsey Dunes	England
Wormley Hoddesdonpark Woods	England
Wye Valley Woodlands/Coetiroedd Dyffryn Gwy	England/Wales
Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Bat Sites/Safloedd Ystlumod Dyffryn Gwy a Fforest Ddena	England/Wales

9 Jan 1996 : Column: 8

---