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Charities (Funding)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he issues to local authorities in respect of the provision of public funds to charities, with special reference to charities for the aged. [11647]
Sir Paul Beresford [holding answer 25 January 1996]: None.
Local Government Staff (Redundancy Compensation)
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans he has to amend part IV of the
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Local Government (Compensation for Redundancy) Regulations 1994; and if he will make a statement; [11971]
Sir Paul Beresford:
Part IV of the Local Government (Compensation for Redundancy) Regulations 1994 came into force on 28 December 1994 and gave local authorities in England and Wales discretionary powers to make compensatory payments by 28 June 1995 to former employees who had their pensions reduced as a consequence of a Court of Appeal judgment in Allsop v. North Tyneside metropolitan borough council. My right hon. Friend has no plans to introduce further provisions. Thirty-six items of correspondence were received while part IV of the regulations was in force; in addition, 35 items were received prior to the provisions coming into force, and since 29 June 1995.
Mr. Hain:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much in (a) ecus and (b) pounds by standard region and in total the United Kingdom received under the European LIFE programme and its predecessor programmes over the last available five years. [11650]
Mr. Clappison:
Information on the distribution of monies from the EC LIFE fund and its predecessors is available for the last four years only. This is set out, indicating the standard statistical region where the organisation running each project is based.
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(2) how many representations his Department has received in the last 18 months on the operation part IV of the Local Government (Compensation for Redundancy) Regulations 1994; and if he will make a statement. [11972]
| 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value in ECUS | Value in pounds(38) | Value in ECUS | Value in pounds | Value in ECUS | Value in pounds | Value in ECUS | Value in pounds | |
| South West | 961,000 | 768,800 | 1,162,743 | 930,194 | 240,608 | 192,486 | 176,720 | 141,376 |
| South East | 643,000 | 514,400 | 5,015,790 | 4,012,632 | 4,113,498 | 3,290,798 | 4,586,232 | 3,668,985 |
| East Anglia | 1,771,900 | 1,417,520 | 0 | 0 | 300,000 | 240,000 | 0 | 0 |
| West Midlands | 159,048 | 127,238 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| East Midlands | 1,200,000 | 960,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,200,414 | 960,331 | 345,846 | 276,676 |
| North West | 1,720,000 | 1,376,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,452,868 | 1,162,294 | 2,296,450 | 1,837,160 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 0 | 0 | 517,500 | 414,000 | 1,397,801 | 1,118,240 | 503,700 | 402,960 |
| North | 1,868,500 | 1,494,000 | 611,354 | 489,083 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wales | 0 | 0 | 647,283 | 517,826 | 363,408 | 290,726 | 796,000 | 636,800 |
| Scotland | 1,071,500 | 857,200 | 575,151 | 460,120 | 987,022 | 789,617 | 280,500 | 224,400 |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 439,232 | 351,385 | 0 | 0 |
| UK total | 9,394,948 | 7,515,158 | 8,529,821 | 6,823,855 | 1,049,485 | 8,395,877 | 8,985,448 | 7,188,357 |
(38) To take account of currency fluctuations, £1 is considered to be equal to 1.2 ecu.
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Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much in (a) ecus and (b) pounds by standard region and in total is allocated to the United Kingdom from the European LIFE programme under the current financial perspectives. [11651]
Mr. Clappison: There is no allocation of LIFE funds to any member state or region within the European Union. Funds were distributed to the highest quality proposals wherever they may come from, and are paid directly by the EC Commission to the successful applicant.
Mr. Hain:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much in (a) ecus and (b) pound sterling by standard region and in total the United Kingdom
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received under the European SAVE programme and its predecessor programmes over the last available five years. [11664]
Mr. Robert B. Jones:
This information is not centrally available, as levels of funding for specific projects supported under the SAVE programme are a contractual matter between the European Commission and those carrying out each project.
Mr. Hain:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much in (a) ecus and (b) pound sterling by standard region and in total is allocated to the United Kingdom from the European SAVE programme under the current financial perspectives. [11665]
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Mr. Jones:
Payments from European Union expenditure programmes are not allocated to member states in the legislation supporting the programmes.
Mr. Wareing:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the take-up of the rents-to-mortgages scheme in 1996. [11848]
Mr. Clappison:
Returns so far received from local authorities for the period to 30 September 1995 report that 15 sales have already been completed, and around 50 more applications have been accepted which may translate into sales.
Mr. Hardy:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action has been taken in the British coal industry to ensure that the Safety Committee Regulations 1977 are in place, with particular reference to the provision of information relevant to the maintenance of safety in the mine. [11484]
Sir Paul Beresford:
The Health and Safety Commission issued a consultative document in October 1995 on proposed regulations concerning employers' duties to consult their employees about health and safety matters in undertakings where there is no recognised trade union. These regulations would apply to coal mines but they would also extend the provisions of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977, as amended by the Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1992, to coal mines where there are recognised trade unions.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to launch the rural charter initiative promised in his White Paper "Rural England". [12337]
Mr. Clappison:
The rural charter initiative, including the rural services checklist, was launched on 1 November 1995. I have arranged for a copy of the checklist to be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the revised rural planning guidance note PPG7. [12338]
Sir Paul Beresford:
We intend to issue a draft revision of planning policy guidance note 7, "The Countryside and the Rural Economy", later this year. This will fulfil a commitment made in the rural White Paper.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultation he has carried out on the
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introduction of a new rural business use class within the planning system; and if he will make a statement. [12339]
Sir Paul Beresford:
My officials are currently preparing a public consultation paper on the possible introduction of a new rural business use class, as promised in the rural White Paper, Cm 3016. We hope to issue it in the spring.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his consultative document on the new business rate relief scheme proposed in the White Paper "Rural England", and by what date comments on it will be expected. [12340]
Mr. Clappison:
We expect to publish a consultation paper before Easter, and to allow six weeks for comments.
Mr. Frank Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women workers claimed unemployment benefit (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully while their partners remained in work in each of the last 10 years. [9937]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The information is not available. Unemployment benefit is a personal benefit. Questions relating to the claimant's partner are asked only if an adult dependency addition is being claimed.
Mr. Callaghan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the expenditure in 1995 of providing (a) maternity payments, (b) funeral expenses and (c) cold weather payments for the last three years expressed in (1) cash terms, (2) cash terms at 1992-93 prices and (3) as a percentage of total social security expenditure, (i) in total, (ii) by region and (iii) by his Department's offices. [9485]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The information requested by region and district office could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Such information as is available is set out in the table.
1. The percentage of total Social Security benefits expenditure has been calculated by reference to the figures in the Social Security Departmental Report for 1995. They include additional local authority expenditure on Housing Benefit, Community Charge Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
2. Figures for total benefit expenditure figures for 1995-96 are not yet available; a reliable comparison, based on planned expenditure, for a part year cannot be made.
3. Figures for total benefit expenditure figures for 1994-95 are estimated outturn.
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Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was (a) the total social fund expenditure, (b) income from re-paid grants for each year since 1988, (c) the proportion of total income required for administration and (d) the number of loans and grants paid each year. [11672]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: The information relating to total social fund expenditure, recoveries from pre-paid awards, and the number of loans and grants awarded for year since 1988 is contained in the Secretary of State's annual reports on the social fund, copies of which are available in the Library.
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