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ENVIRONMENT

Housing Stock (London)

Mrs. Bridget Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the current housing stock in each London borough in the (a) private rented, (b) council owned and (c) housing association categories. [10888]

Mr. Clappison: The number of local authority and housing association dwellings in each London borough on 1 April 1995 reported by local authorities on their 1995 housing investment programme--HIP1--returns, were as follows.

	Local authority (1)	Housing association
Barking and Dagenham	26,648	596
Barnet	13,242	4,100
Bexley	8,673	2,890
Brent	16,673	9,076
Bromley	80	17,849
Camden	29,789	6,520
City of London	2,256	195
Croydon	16,393	6,655
Ealing	16,204	6,517
Enfield	15,558	2,857
Greenwich	32,297	5,443
Hackney	39,560	10,552
Hammersmith and Fulham	16,417	8,977
Harringey	20,842	7,687
Harrow	6,551	1,533
Havering	13,302	1,332
Hillingdon	12,881	4,151
Hounslow	16,476	4,044
Islington	37,045	8,363
Kensington and Chelsea	7,958	11,007
Kingston upon Thames	5,548	1,254
Lambeth	43,068	11,275
Lewisham	35,095	7,500
Merton	9,458	2,500
Newham	25,818	7,730
Redbridge	6,761	2,131
Richmond upon Thames	7,703	2,786
Southwark	54,266	9,801
Sutton	10,038	2,538
Tower Hamlets	37,578	7,200
Waltham Forest	16,179	4,166
Wandsworth	21,522	9,139
Westminster	15,701	12,143
London total	637,580	200,507

(1) Includes any dwelling owned by the authority outside its own area.

Corresponding figures for private rented stock are not available; data are collected from local authorities on total private sector stock, but this is not split between owner-occupied and rented dwellings.

Local Government Finance

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each local authority in England for each year from 1991 to 1996-97 in cash and real terms the amount of (i) revenue support grant and (ii) capital expenditure. [11597]

Sir Paul Beresford: A list of revenue support grant and capital expenditure for each local authority in England has been placed in the Library of the House.

31 Jan 1996 : Column: 783

Dr. Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce the outcome of consultation on the local government finance settlement, and if he will make a statement. [12731]

Sir Paul Beresford [pursuant to his reply, 29 January 1996, c. 576]: I regret that certain sub-totals were incorrect on the first page of the table, "1996-97 Standard Spending Assessments, Business Rates, Revenue Support Grant and Special Grant Entitlements", copies of which were placed in the Library and the Vote Office on 29 January. The line "Total England" in the table, and the figures for individual local authorities, are unchanged.

A revised table has now been placed in the Library. Copies are available in the Vote Office.

Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the proposed or actual total external support in 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1996-97 for each of the districts in Somerset and Devon, with an explanation of any significant changes of function affecting grant. [11828]

Sir Paul Beresford: The information is given in the following table.

Under the system in operation in 1992-93, total external support for principal authorities in both tiers of local government was paid to district councils: counties precepted on districts for their share. From 1993-94, each principal authority has been paid its share of TES direct.

Total external support (revenue support grant + income from non-domestic rates + damping grants)£ million

Local authority	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97
East Devon	57.665	6.227	6.826	6.718	6.648
Exeter	50.506	8.253	8.601	8.425	8.353
North Devon	43.102	6.307	6.531	6.627	6.668
Plymouth	130.640	24.443	24.514	24.012	22.604
South Hams	38.536	4.613	4.864	4.764	4.471
Teignbridge	53.749	6.595	7.250	7.254	7.169
Mid Devon	31.387	4.340	4.388	4.363	4.230
Torbay	60.739	8.740	9.165	9.117	10.386
Torridge	26.114	3.763	3.945	4.008	4.161
West Devon	22.149	2.936	3.149	3.133	3.072
Mendip	46.734	5.739	6.163	6.108	6.028
Sedgemoor	50.003	6.269	6.931	6.789	6.721
Tauton Deane	47.125	5.714	7.045	6.978	6.770
West Somerset	17.425	2.425	2.600	2.563	2.591
South Somerset	71.162	8.278	8.939	9.193	9.140

Great Crested Newt

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many licences have been applied for in respect of the great crested newt since 1981; how many of these have been approved; how many of these have been refused; what conditions have been attached to them; and what monitoring has been undertaken to assess their level of success or failure. [11866]

Mr. Clappison: English Nature is the licensing authority for a wide range of activities relating to great crested newts and my Department is the appropriate authority for safe licensing of this species.

31 Jan 1996 : Column: 784

The information to answer the question is not readily available. However, in addition to licences issued for other purposes, a recent review of the five-year period 1990-1995 has shown that 141 licences were issued to permit the translocation of great crested newts. Subsequent monitoring of projects has shown that in 92 per cent. of cases adults were found in subsequent years and in 61 per cent. of cases breeding was confirmed.

Mr. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria will be used to judge whether the receptor sites, within the Orton brick pits site of special scientific interest, are mature enough to support translocated newts; and if he will ensure that newts will not be translocated to the receptor sites before these criteria are fulfilled. [11865]

Mr. Clappison: A view of the suitability of the habitat for receiving translocated newts will be made by appropriate specialists. English Nature will not grant licences to translocate great crested newts until they are satisfied that the receptor sites appear suitable to receive the likely number of animals that will be captured during the translocation from any area of the Orton brick pit site.

Mr. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultation procedures will take place before a licence is issued for the translocation of great crested newts from any part of the Orton brick pits site of special scientific interest. [11863]

Mr. Clappison: The normal procedure for evaluating licence applications is that they are considered by English Nature, and a decision is made following consultation with their specialist and local team staff. This procedure will be followed before licences are issued for the translocation of great crested newts from any part of the Orton brick pits area.

To allow open discussion of methods, English Nature has convened a liaison group with non-governmental organisations. That group will meet for the first time on 16 February.

Mr. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conditions are attached to any applications for a licence to translocate great crested newts from any part of the Orton brick pits site of special scientific interest. [11864]

Mr. Clappison: The conditions that would apply to any applications for a licence to translocate newts from any part of this site are as follows: that the existing site must have been given planning consent and the notification of the site as an SSSI was taken into account; that the receptor site is suitable for the number of animals that is intended to move; that the translocation is of conservation benefit to the animals concerned; and that anyone carrying out the translocation is sufficiently qualified and able to do the work. Subsequent to any translocation of animals, the receptor site must be monitored to determine the level of occupation of the newts at the site.

Mr. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what applications for licences English Nature has received, and what licences they have issued for the translocation of great crested newts from any part of the Orton brick pits site of special scientific interest, Peterborough, since the statement of intent was signed

31 Jan 1996 : Column: 785

between English Nature and Peterborough Southern Township Ltd. [11862]

Mr. Clappison: The Government's statutory scientific advisers, English Nature, advise that no applications have been received and no licences issued since the statement of intent was signed on 15 July 1995.

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