| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Janner:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what communication he received from the Secretary of the Scott inquiry, concerning the time needed by the Opposition parties to scrutinise the Scott report; on what date he received such communications; what was the nature of the contents of letters; and if he will deposit copies of those letters in the Library. [16632]
26 Feb 1996 : Column: 416
Mr. Howard
[holding answer 22 February 1996]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 22 February at column 252.
Mrs. Jane Kennedy:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons and at what level in his Department were involved in considering the Government's response to the report of the Scott inquiry; [16558]
Mr. Howard
[holding answer 22 February 1996]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Prime Minister on 22 February at columns 239-40.
Mr. Janner:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he responded to communications received from Mr. Christopher Muttukumaru; what were the dates of letters; and if he will deposit copies in the Library. [16549]
Mr. Howard
[holding answer 22 February 1996]: My officials have responded to a number of letters from Mr. Muttukumaru about evidence which they have given to the inquiry. Sir Richard Scott is free to publish any document he considers relevant to his report.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what hour and minute of which day the report of the Scott inquiry was delivered to his office.[16502]
Mr. Howard
[holding answer 22 February 1996]: A sealed copy of the report was delivered to my office at approximately 3.50 pm on Thursday 15 February.
Mrs. Golding:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make changes in the personnel of his Department following criticisms contained in the report of the Scott inquiry. [16568]
Mr. Howard
[holding answer 22 February 1996]: No. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by the Prime Minister on 22 February at column 239.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he first saw the report of the Scott inquiry. [16588]
Mr. Howard
[holding answer 22 February 1996]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Prime Minister on 22 February at column 240.
Mr. Tony Banks:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the members of his Department who saw the report of the Scott inquiry before it was presented to the House; and when each saw the report. [16529]
Mr. Howard
[holding answer 22 February 1996]: No members of my Department saw the report before it was presented to the House.
Mrs. Jane Kennedy:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Ministers in his Department entered the writing rooms of the Press Gallery on 15 February. [16477]
26 Feb 1996 : Column: 417
Mr. Howard
[holding answer 22 February 1996]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to her by the Prime Minister on 22 February, Official Report, column 242.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the officials in his department who have declared a current interest; what requirements are placed on officials to declare relevant interests; in what form records of such declarations are kept; and if he will establish a central register of officials' interests.[16889]
Sir Paul Beresford:
In accordance with the civil service management code, the Department's staff handbook requires that staff may not use or appear to use their public position to further their personal interests, or those of members of their immediate family or of any other person on the values of whose assets they advise. Should any potential conflict of interest arise, staff must disclose that fact to their line manager and ask that someone else should deal with the matter. Failure to comply with these rules is treated as a breach of discipline.
Staff who disclose relevant interests do so on the understanding that this information, like all matters relating to their employment, is confidential between them and their employer.
Mr. Alfred Morris:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total sum allowed for local authority credit approvals for housing investment in 1996-97; what were the figures for each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [15483]
Mr. Clappison:
The total sum allowed for local authority credit approvals in England for housing investment in 1996-97 is £789 million. The figures for the previous years are given in the table.
(2) how much he estimates the cost of the allocation of persons in his Department to the consideration of the Government's response to the Scott report. [16646]
| Year | Local authority credit approvals (£ million) |
|---|---|
| 1993-94 (outturn) | 1,120 |
| 1994-95 (outturn) | 872 |
| 1995-96 (estimated outturn) | 869 |
The figures exclude credit approvals for the estate action scheme, which has been subsumed into the single regeneration budget. The scheme has been grant funded since 1995-96. The supplementary credit approvals issued to provide cover for specified capital grants are also excluded.
Council Tax
Mr. Dobson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is for 1995-96 and 1996-97 (a) the planned council tax yield for England, consistent with chapter 4 of HC30, (b) the level of those grants which,
26 Feb 1996 : Column: 418
together with council tax, fund local authority budget requirements in England as defined for 1996-97, individually and in aggregate, including within 1995-96, community care grant transferred into revenue support grant in 1996-97, and adjusting for changes in functions and (c) the sum of (a) and (b). [17033]
Mr. Gummer:
The Government do not set plans for the yield of council tax, which depends on decisions made by individual authorities.
| 1995-96 | 1996-97 | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Estimated effect of those decisions on council tax yield, consistent with HC30, gross of council tax benefit | 9,780 | 10,574 |
| (b) External sources of finance to the budget requirement, consistent with HC30 | 33,610 | 34,120 |
| Of which, grants: | ||
| Revenue support grant to local authorities | (42)18,952 | 17,999 |
| Police grant (principal formula and additional rule 1) | 3,036 | 3,158 |
| SSA reduction grant | 261 | 220 |
| Other external sources of finance: | ||
| Non-domestic rates | 11,354 | 12,736 |
| City offset | 7 | 7 |
| (c) The sum of (a) estimated council tax yield and (b) external support | 43,390 | 44,694 |
(42)Includes £648 million community care grant, and £34 million adjustment for metropolitan rail services, net of £26 million for waste regulation transfer.
Mr. Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what calculations underlay his Department's estimate that the planned proportion of local authority expenditure funded by council tax would increase to 26 per cent. by 1998-99. [17129]
Mr. Gummer: The public expenditure plans for local government for 1997-98 and 1998-99 were announced at the time of my right hon. and learned friend the Chancellor's November 1995 Budget Statement. Under these proposals, aggregate external finance--AEF--would increase from £34.69 billion in 1995-96 to £35.70 billion in 1998-99 to support total standard spending, TSS, which would increase from £43.46 billion to £46.30 billion. The Government have assumed that the difference between these two aggregates could be met through local authorities' own resources, primarily the council tax. Our best current estimate is that this would imply that the proportion of TSS funded by council tax would increase from 20 to 23 per cent. between 1995-96 and 1998-99. Decisions on levels of council tax and therefore on the proportion of services funded locally are, subject to capping, for local authorities themselves.
Pollution Inspectorate
Mr. Rooney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what performance target he has set for the inspectorate of pollution as regards answering letters from hon. Members. [16916]
26 Feb 1996 : Column: 419
Mr. Clappison:
Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, as part of my Department, does not reply directly to the letters of hon. Members. Replies normally come from Ministers in my Department. However, if hon. Members' letters concern the work of HMIP, the inspectorate will advise Ministers on a reply. Usually a
26 Feb 1996 : Column: 420
reply should be received by an hon. Member within 10 to 15 working days. Under HMIP's citizens charter statement, any complaint from the public about a particular site is investigated promptly, and anyone making a complaint is informed of the outcome within 15 working days.