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Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is his estimate of expenditure on all forms of hospitality and entertainment by (a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies, for (i) 1979-80, (ii) 1989-90, (iii) 1991-92, (iv) 1993-94, (v) 1994-95, (vi) 1995-96 and (vii) 1996-97; [11428]
- (2) what is his estimate of the expenditure of his Department, his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies on all forms of overseas travel, overseas accommodation and other associated expenses for (a) 1979-80, (b) 1989-90, (c) 1991-92, (d) 1993-94, (e) 1994-95, (f) 1995-96 and (g) 1996-97. [11431]
Sir Paul Beresford:
The tables set out the available information in respect of expenditure on hospitality and entertainment, and on overseas travel, accommodation and related expenses.
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| 1989-90 | 1991-92 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 (forecast) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOE (Central) | 51 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 71 |
| Property Holdings | n/a | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| Total Department | 51 | 64 | 75 | 84 | 81 |
| Planning Inspectorate | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Building Research Establishment | 4 | 17 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| The Buying Agency | n/a | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Security Facilities Executive | n/a | n/a | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| QEII Conference Centre | n/a | 10 | 14 | 15 | 12 |
| PSA Services | 0 | 98 | 50 | 2 | 0 |
The figures for the planning inspectorate for 1989-90 is included within the departmental total.
The Buying Agency figure for 1991-92 is for the period 1 April to 31 December. The figure for 1993-94 is for the period 1 January to 31 December 1993.
These figures exclude Property Holdings.
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30 Jan 1996 : Column: 649
The remaining information requested is not held centrally in the form required and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of his Department's expenditure on newspapers and magazines in (a) 1993-94, (b) 1994-95 and (c) 1995-96, to date; and if he will list the publications purchased for the latest year for which information is available. [11432]
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Sir Paul Beresford:
My Department's expenditure on newspapers, magazines and other periodicals since 1994 is as follows:
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Titles include daily and regional newspapers, weekly magazines and trade and technical journals. To list each would involve disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of departmental expenditure on administration for (a) 1979-80, (b) 1989-90, (c) 1991-92, (d) 1993-94, (e) 1994-95, (f) 1995-96 and (g) 1996-97. [11429]
Sir Paul Beresford:
Figures for departmental administration for year (a) are found in sections 3.7 and 3.8 of the "Government's Expenditure Plans 1985-86 to 1987-88", Cm 9428-II, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House. No separate figures for departmental running costs are available.
The figures for departmental running costs for years (b) to (f) are set out in my department's 1995 annual report, Cm 2807, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House. Revised figures for 1996-97 taking account of the transfer of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to the Environment Agency will be published in the 1996 departmental report to be published in March.
Mr. Hardy:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many hectares within sites of special scientific interest have been (a) seriously damaged and (b) destroyed in respect of their conservation value during the last 10 years. [11486]
Mr. Clappison:
Statistical information on damage to SSSIs in Great Britain is set out in the annual reports of the former Nature Conservancy Council. Since 1 April 1991 similar details for England, Scotland and Wales have been contained in the annual reports of the country agencies and, for Great Britain, in that of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Copies of these reports are in the Library.
Mr. Hardy:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by what percentage the funding of nature conservation is planned to change between 1995-96 and 1996-97. [11702]
Mr. Clappison:
English Nature's grant in aid settlement for 1995-96 was £40.419 million. In 1996-97 it will be £39.166 million, representing a reduction of 3.1 per cent.
Mr. Hardy:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what additional measures will be provided to achieve the awaited biodiversity action plan. [11703]
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.
A biodiversity steering group, chaired by my Department, with members drawn from all sectors, was set up to advise the Government on individual costed action plans for selected species and habitats, a forward programme for improving biological recording and
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monitoring in the UK, and a programme for improving public awareness and involvement in conserving biodiversity.
The group published its findings on 13 December 1995. "Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report" contains a number of proposals including costed action plans for 116 species and 14 key habitats. It also recommends that costed action plans for a further 286 species and 24 key habitats be produced within three years.
The Government expect to publish their response to the report in the spring of 1996.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on plans for water quality improvement within the framework 4 and framework 5 plans of the EC. [11737]
Mr. Clappison:
Research on water quality issues is included in the fourth European Community framework programme of research, technological development and demonstration, 1994 to 1998. Proposals for the fifth framework programme, beginning in 1998-99, are expected to be submitted to the Council and the European Parliament, by the Commission, next year. My Department's view on plans for "Framework Five" will be strongly influenced by how successful the current programme is at meeting its objectives.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was total Government spending in (a) Pendle, (b) Bath and (c) Bournemouth. [12618]
Sir Paul Beresford:
Central Government support comprises support for capital spending as well as revenue spending. The latest available figures for 1995-96 are as follows. Differences between districts' overall level of revenue support depend on a large number of factors including the size of the tax base from which council tax can be raised, as well as the Government's assessment of relative expenditure needs.
The figure for 1993-94 was £385,700 which includes expenditure on behalf of the DOE and DOT under joint supply arrangements.
1994-95: £276,700
1995-96: £250,700 (to date)
| Pendle | Bath | Bournemouth | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue support grant | 3,462 | 3,687 | 8,562 |
| Redistributed non-domestic rates | 2,872 | 2,780 | 5,347 |
| Specific and special grants inside AEF, excluding SSA reduction grant | 181 | 253 | 683 |
| SSA reduction grant | 540 | 0 | 646 |
| Specific and special grants outside AEF | 10,242 | 10,939 | 34,113 |
| Total revenue support | 17,297 | 17,659 | 49,351 |
| Credit approvals | 1,183 | 484 | 1,956 |
| Capital grants | 1,277 | 1,517 | 480 |
| Total central Government support | 19,757 | 19,660 | 51,787 |
Source:
Revenue support items: Budget Estimates from RA96 return.
Credit approvals and capital grants: most recent capital payments return. The figures for credit approvals relate to basic and supplementary credit approvals issued less receipts of specified capital grant.
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Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each local authority in (a) Lancashire and (b) the rest of England the capital receipts held by them resulting from the sale of land, property and other assets. [12617]
Sir Paul Beresford: A list of the amounts of accumulated usable receipts from all assets at 31 March 1995 for each English local authority was placed in the Library of the House in response to the question of 22 January 1996 from the hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith), Official Report, column 85. The figures for authorities in Lancashire are:
| Usable receipts | |
|---|---|
| Lancashire county council | 0.751 |
| Blackburn | 0 |
| Blackpool | 7.480 |
| Burnley | 2.066 |
| Chorley | 1.047 |
| Fylde | 0.451 |
| Hyndburn | 0.315 |
| Lancaster | 0 |
| Pendle | 1.385 |
| Preston | 1.839 |
| Ribble Valley | 0.796 |
| Rossendale | 0.056 |
| South Ribble | 5.738 |
| West Lancashire | 1.131 |
| Wyre | 0.159 |
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