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Drought Orders
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many drought orders have been made in the south-west in 1995; what rivers they affect; how much water is to be extracted; and what is the duration of the order. [2061]
Mr. Clappison: Seven drought orders have been made so far in 1995 affecting the area for which South West Water Services Ltd. is the water undertaker. The details are as follows:
Made 7 September; in force for up to six months.
1. The South West Water Services Limited (Drought) Order 1995
The order authorised the imposition of restrictions on non-essential uses of water in parts of Carrick, Kerrier and Penwith districts.
2. The South West Water Services Limited (Drift Reservoir) (Drought) Order 1995
The order halved the minimum flow of compensation water required from Drift reservoir into the Newlyn river from 0.016 cubic metres a second to 0.008 cubic metres a second.
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3. The South West Water Services Limited (Stithians Reservoir) (Drought) Order 1995
The order halved the minimum flow of compensation water required from Stithians reservoir into the River Kennal from 0.0316 cubic metres a second to 0.0158 cubic metres a second.
4. The South West Water Services Limited (River Hayle) (Drought) Order 1995
The order reduced the minimum flow required to be maintained in the River Hayle below the St. Erth intake from 0.222 cubic metres a second to 0.105 cubic metres a second.
5. The South West Water Services Limited (Leswidden Pool) (Drought) Order 1995
The order authorised the abstraction of not more than 5,460 cubic metres of water a day from Leswidden pool to boost the flow in Sancreed stream.
Made 20 September; in force for up to six months
6. The South West Water Services Limited (Hawks Tor Pit) (Drought) Order 1995
The order authorised the abstraction of up to 10,000 cubic metres of water a day from Hawks Tor Pit and its transfer by pipeline to the De Lank water treatment works.
Made 31 October; in force up to 31 December 1995
7. The South West Water Services Limited (Colliford Lake) (Drought) Order 1995
The order increases the amount of water that may be abstracted from Colliford Lake reservoir in 1995 from 5,390,000 cubic metres to 8,000,000 cubic metres.
Water Services
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will order an investigation into the investment activities of Yorkshire Water and Welsh Water. [1901]
Mr. Clappison: No. This is a matter for the Director General of Water Services.
Education Expenditure
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was (a) the total education standard spending assessment for England and (b) the latest estimate of the actual expenditure by local authorities on education for 1995-1996. [2249]
Sir Paul Beresford: The information is as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| (a) Standard spending assessment | 17,024 |
| (b) Budgeted net revenue expenditure | 17,821 |
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Ministerial Transport, London
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many times in the last year he has used (a) London Underground and (b) London Transport buses while on official business. [379]
Mr. John. M. Taylor: I have used neither London Underground nor London Transport buses on official business in the last year.
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Mr. Boateng:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many legal aid certificates were issued for advice and/or representation in cases arising out of the operation of the Immigration Acts; and what was the total cost for each of the past five successive years. [205]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
It is not possible to identify separately the number of civil legal aid certificates arising out of the operation of the Immigration Acts. The figures for green form payments on all immigration and nationality matters are as follows. It is not possible to break them down any further.
| Year | Number of cases | £ Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 14,660 | 2,652,770 |
| 1991-92 | 23,556 | 5,017,978 |
| 1992-93 | 30,443 | 7,247,751 |
| 1993-94 | 45,493 | 11,294,855 |
| 1994-95 | 51,828 | 14,572,056 |
Human Rights
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department upon which date before 1 January 1996 and with effect from which retrospective date the Lord Chancellor will introduce a measure to provide the effective remedy required under article 13 of the European convention on human rights for a violation of a citizen's right under article 6 of that convention where such violation is or was caused by the failure of the Law Society in the performance of its duties towards the supervision of solicitor officers of the court. [208]
Mr. John M. Taylor: The Government have no such plans. No further action is required of the Government to comply with article 6 of the European convention on human rights. It follows that article 13 has no application here.
Asylum Appeals
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many appeals against a refusal of asylum are currently outstanding with the Immigration Appellate Authority; and what was the equivalent figure on (a) 1 January 1995 and (b) on 1 January 1994. [569]
Mr. John M. Taylor: There were approximately 9,980 appeals outstanding on 31 October 1995, 3,400 on 1 January 1995 and 480 on 1 January 1994.
Local Government
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the Acts of Parliament and Consolidation Acts that affect local government that have been introduced by his Department since January 1994. [45]
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Mr. John M. Taylor: My Department has introduced no Act of Parliament during this period containing provisions which affect local government exclusively. However, the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1995 effected the repeal of certain obsolete and unnecessary local enactments.
Jurors (Counselling)
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what provisions are made for jury counselling at the conclusion of murder trials. [337]
Mr. John M. Taylor: The Court Service makes no specific provision for jury counselling at the conclusion of murder trials. Where jurors who are distressed contact court staff, they are advised to contact their general practitioner or, if they prefer, a freephone healthline number which details counselling services available. Where the evidence in a case is particularly distressing, the Court Service offers further advice or assistance, where this is considered appropriate.
Immigration Adjudicators
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will provide a breakdown of the number of full-time and part-time special adjudicators employed by the Immigration Appellate Authority (a) at the present time, (b) on 1 January 1994 and (c) on 1 January 1993. [568]
Mr. John M. Taylor: There were no special adjudicators on 1 January 1993 as the Immigration Appeals Bill had not yet been enacted. The first special adjudicators were designated by the Lord Chancellor in July 1993. On 1 January 1994 there were 16 full-time immigration adjudicators and 15 part-time immigration adjudicators who were designated as special adjudicators by the Lord Chancellor. At the present time 25 full-time and 52 part-time immigration adjudicators are so designated.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Audiovisual Eureka
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what has been the outcome of the United Kingdom's presidency of the pan-European Audiovisual Eureka initiative. [3072]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: I am pleased to announce that I have today formally made the London declaration setting out a new role and objectives for Audiovisual Eureka. I do so having been notified by Ministers of 25 of the 33 participating Audiovisual Eureka countries, as well as by the Council of Europe, that they are content to see the declaration adopted. A copy of the declaration has been placed in the House Libraries.
The London declaration, negotiated under the United Kingdom presidency of Audiovisual Eureka--AVE-- takes forward the recommendations of an independent evaluation of the initiative undertaken by management consultants, Coopers and Lybrand. The declaration
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refocuses the pan-European media initiative more narrowly and in keeping with its limited resources. The redefined objectives are to:
These objectives will be achieved through a four-year work programme prepared by the United Kingdom and Poland, as the current and future presidencies of AVE, which was approved by national co-ordinators from participating countries on 23 and 24 November in Strasbourg.
strengthen and promote the audiovisual industry in the wider Europe, taking into account new technology;
concentrate its activities on acting as an intermediary on the one hand between AVE countries not presently members of the European Union and, on the other, the members of the European Union, as well as European Community and other programmes and instruments applicable to the audiovisual sector;
initiative and further appropriate structural projects principally in the areas of training audiovisual professionals and the development and distribution of European audiovisual works; and
provide a range of project-related services targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular to foster partnerships involving countries with limited audiovisual capacity.
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