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Fur Imports
Mr. Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he expects to implement European regulation 3254/91; [3916]
(2) if he will list the countries which under the European Regulation 3254/91 are banned from importing certain furs to the European Union. [3917]
Mr. Clappison: Under EC regulation 3254/91, use of the leghold trap has been banned in the European Union since 1 January 1995. The ban on the import of certain furs was postponed until 1 January 1996. The college of Commissioners intends to submit proposals to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament seeking postponement of the import ban. We will consider these when we see the details.
Local Authority Attendance Allowances
Mr. Dunn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the percentage change in attendance allowances between 1995-96 and 1996-97 for each local authority in England; and for each local authority, which political party is in control. [3796]
Sir Paul Beresford: My Department neither collects nor holds information in respect of attendance allowances set by local authorities.
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 236
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the budget for each regional Government office in (a) 1994-95 and (b) 1995-96; and what is to be the budget for 1996-97. [4318]
Sir Paul Beresford:
Detailed information about the budgets for the Government office in each region in 1994-95 and 1995-96 is provided in "GO MINIS 1", copies of which were placed in the Library in July. The budgets for 1996-97 have not yet been agreed.
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the number of refugees who will be in need of accommodation following the implementation of the social security orders in January; and what provision he has made to provide emergency accommodation for such refugees. [4074]
Mr. Clappison
[holding answer 5 December 1995]: Following implementation of the Social Security (Persons From Abroad) Miscellaneous Regulations 1995, asylum seekers who apply for asylum after entering the United Kingdom, and those whose applications for asylum have been refused, will have no entitlement to social security benefits and will be expected to make their own arrangements for accommodation while they are in this country. Asylum seekers who meet the statutory homelessness criteria will continue to be eligible for assistance under the homelessness legislation.
Under provisions in the Asylum and Immigration Bill, currently before Parliament, the Secretary of State would have the power to specify by order classes of persons requiring leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom who would not be eligible for assistance under the homelessness legislation, and classes of persons who would not be entitled to be allocated council accommodation. We intend to use these powers to align the entitlement to public housing assistance of persons who require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, including asylum seekers, with their entitlement to social security benefits.
Persons who are granted refugee status, or exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom, will continue to be entitled to public housing assistance.
Mr. Spearing:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his oral statement on last year's local government finance 30 November, Official Report, columns 1333-39, if the increased resources for education announced by her Majesty's Government will be included in the standard spending assessments for financial year 1996-97; and how many councils who are also local education authorities will have increases in their revenue support grant that will permit them to expand their annual resources on education without reducing the levels of other services provided in 1995-96 or increasing the amount of council time levied in that year. [4178]
Sir Paul Beresford
[holding answer 5 December 1995]: Education standard spending will increase by 4.5 per cent. in 1996-97. The provisional capping criteria will allow all authorities to increase their spending in line with
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 237
the increase in their education SSAs. Aggregate external finance, which includes revenue support grant and is not hypothecated, will increase by 2.8 per cent., as against an increase in total standard spending, excluding the provision for local government reorganisation, of 3.1 per cent.
Mr. Austin-Walker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the likely reduction in private funding in housing through the private finance initiative as a result of the reduction in funding to housing associations announced in the recent Budget. [4334]
Mr. Clappison
[holding answer 5 December 1995]: An estimate of the private finance which is expected to be attracted by the Housing Corporation's approved development programme will be available in late January, when the programme has been finalised.
Mr. Betts:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much capital expenditure is forecast to be included in the private finance initiative for the current financial year and the next five financial years. [3825]
Sir Paul Beresford:
The projected figures for the years 1995-96 to 1998-99 are set out in the table. Estimates for subsequent years are not yet available.
| Year | Forecast private finance (£ billion) |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 4.5 |
| 1996-97 | 6.0 |
| 1997-98 | 6.0 |
| 1998-99 | 5.0 |
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative (a) capital and (b) revenue costs (i) under the PFI and (ii) estimated to have been incurred had the scheme been wholly funded within the public sector. [3820]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Department of the Environment and its sponsored bodies attracted around £4 billion in private investment in support of its programmes in 1994-95 and expects to increase that figure in 1995-96. This will assist the delivery of a very large number of projects, most notably ones relating to housing, inner cities and regeneration. It is not practicable for the Department to collect detailed information on each project being advanced under private financing arrangements.
Yorkshire Water
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received over the last year from individuals and organisations expressing concerns about the ability of Yorkshire Water to supply water, and its investment programmes; and what action he or his officials have taken following such representations. [4214]
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 238
Mr. Clappison: A number of representations have been received over the past year from interested parties about various aspects of Yorkshire Water's activities. The Government have announced a review of the lessons to be learnt from this summer's drought and of the action to be taken to enable a sensible balance to be struck between customers' expectations and costs of providing the service and protecting the environment.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) on what dates in the last year he, other Ministerial colleagues or officials have met (a) representatives of Yorkshire Water and (b) the director of Ofwat or Ofwat officials to discuss matters relating to Yorkshire Water; [4215]
(2) how many representations and on what dates he has received from Ofwat over the past three years, about the ability of Yorkshire Water to supply water to all its customers during periods of drought; and on what dates he or his officials made contact with Yorkshire Water about such representations; and if he will make a statement. [4216]
Mr. Clappison: Ministers have met Yorkshire Water officials on several occasions over the year. There is frequent contact between officials and the Director General of Water Services and his officials. No representations have been made by Ofwat to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment about Yorkshire Water.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will establish an independent public inquiry into all aspects of Yorkshire Water; [4217]
(2) what plans he has for encouraging Yorkshire Water to invest more in infrastructure to enable it to move water within the region and to repair leaks and maintain pipes. [4218]
Mr. Clappison: A public inquiry would not be appropriate. The performance of Yorkshire Water is a matter for the Director General of Water Services, who has already written to the company about various aspects of its operations.
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