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ENVIRONMENT
Landlord and Tenant Acts
Mr. Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the Landlord and Tenant Acts in the light of the recent judgment against Thames Ditton lawn tennis club. [12814]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: We have no plans for a review, but we will keep a careful watch on any further developments in this case.
Greenfinches
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are taken by his Department to ascertain whether greenfinches presented for export from the United Kingdom to (a) Malta and (b) the EU have not been taken illegally from the wild; and if he will make a statement. [12693]
Mr. Clappison [holding answer 27 January 1997]: My Department has no authority to check greenfinches presented for export. It is an offence to take greenfinches from the wild, and to possess or sell them, without a licence. If my Department receives information that such offences may have taken place or are likely to do so, full details are passed to the police, who decide what action to take.
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Local Government Finance
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was (a) the overall percentage increase or decrease in cash terms of the settlement for county councils in England in each financial year since 1979-80 and (b) the rate of inflation at the start of each of those financial years. [13424]
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Mr. Curry: The information requested is in the table. From 1990-91, non-domestic rates have been pooled nationally and then redistributed between areas as a constant amount per head. These redistributed amounts are not included in the table.
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| Rate support grant | Block grant | Revenue support grant | Year on year percentage change in grant | Percentage change in GDP deflator on previous year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (£ million) | (£ million) | (£ million) | |||
| 1979-80 | £2,231 | 16.7 | |||
| 1980-81 | £2,703 | +21.2 | 18.3 | ||
| 1981-82 | £4,003 | 9.7 | |||
| 1982-83 | £3,956 | -1.2 | 7.1 | ||
| 1983-84 | £3,973 | +0.4 | 4.6 | ||
| 1984-85 | £4,010 | +0.9 | 5.0 | ||
| 1985-86 | £3,832 | -4.4 | 5.5 | ||
| 1986-87 | £3,614 | -5.7 | 3.0 | ||
| 1987-88 | £3,846 | +6.4 | 5.3 | ||
| 1988-89 | £3,773 | -1.9 | 6.7 | ||
| 1989-90 | £3,471 | -8.0 | 7.0 | ||
| 1990-91 | (see note 2) | 8.0 | |||
| 1991-92 | (see note 2) | 6.4 | |||
| 1992-93 | (see note 2) | 4.2 | |||
| 1993-94 | £7,108 | 2.9 | |||
| 1994-95 | £7,943 | +11.7 | 1.8 | ||
| 1995-96 | £7,324 | (see note 3) | 2.5 | ||
| 1996-97 | £6,998 | (see note 3) | 2.5 | ||
| 1997-98 | £6,173 | (see note 3) | 2.0 |
Notes:
1. The figures for 1979-80 and 1980-81 include cover in respect of districts.
2. From 1990-91 to 1992-93 revenue support grant for county areas was paid into the collection funds of district councils.
3. The figures for 1995-96 1996-97 and 1997-98 relate only to payments to the county councils as they existed in the relevant year. Local government reorganisation obscures meaningful comparisons of the change in grant for these years.
4. Figures for the period 1979-80 to 1989-90 are from the most recent edition of the rate support grant (England) report.
5. Redistributed national non-domestic rates are not included in the table.
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Ammonium Nitrate
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if health and safety inspectors have visited the port of Tilbury to examine the conditions for the landing, storage and subsequent carriage of imported ammonium nitrate; and if he will make a statement. [13535]
Sir Paul Beresford: Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive have not visited the port of Tilbury to look at this particular activity. However, a visit is scheduled for the week commencing 3 February to consider the land use planning implications of the storage of ammonium nitrate and to inspect the arrangements for its safe storage and transport.
Housing Transfers
Mr. Congdon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the names of the authorities to be included in the programme for housing transfers by councils in 1997-98; and if he will make a statement. [14082]
Mr. Curry: I am today announcing the names of the authorities which will be able to proceed, on a voluntary basis and subject to the approval of their tenants, with proposals to transfer their housing stock to private sector landlords in 1997-98. Eight authorities will be
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transferring all of their housing, amounting to almost 36,500 dwellings in large-scale voluntary housing transfers, generating capital receipts of over £350 million. A further nine authorities will be transferring a total of 18,572 dwellings with the aid of estates renewal challenge fund round 1 funding. The full programme involves 17 local authorities and over 55,000 dwellings.
This reflects the Government's commitment to a continuing programme of transfers as a means of generating private finance to repair and improve the condition of social housing.
The authorities which have gained a place on the programme, together with the intended recipient registered social landlord are as follows:
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To date, 53 authorities have disposed of all or part of their stock to new landlords and a further three more are due to do so by 1 April 1997. The Government are committed to a continuing programme of transfers and to extending the benefits of transfer to urban and non-traditional housing. The range of recipient landlords has been widened from traditional housing associations to local housing companies, and the indications are that some authorities on the 1997 programme will take advantage of the new legislation and select a local housing company as their recipient landlord. In addition to increasing the diversity of acquiring landlords, the Exchequer levy on certain transfers has been lifted for a period of three years, the size limit has been increased to up to 12,000 dwellings, and certain restrictions on the use of capital receipts generated from transfers have been removed.
Transfers will remain voluntary and require tenant support as they do now but, as a result of these and other measures, we expect an expanding programme of transfers over the coming years.
Ms Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) White Papers, (b) Green Papers, (c) consultation papers, (d) draft regulations and (e) circulars, for which his Department has been responsible issued in 1996 which his Department assesses could give rise, (i) directly and (ii) indirectly to significant environmental effects. [12702]
Dr. Liam Fox
[holding answer 27 January 1997]: The 1996 FCO departmental report describes those activities of both wings of the FCO connected with the
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environment. On 20 December, a Command Paper on the measures adopted at the 19th consultative meeting of the Antarctic treaty was presented to Parliament, CM3483. The measures include the designation of specially protected areas and their management. On 1 November, section 7 of the Antarctic Act 1967 concerning the conservation of Antarctic fauna and flora came into force, No. 2666(C77).
(i) Borough of Allerdale (4,800 dwellings) to existing housing associations
(ii) Bexley council (9,037 dwellings) to Orbit Housing Association and London and Quadrant Housing Trust
(iii) Cheltenham borough council (6,058 dwellings) to a newly created local housing company
(iv) Congleton borough council (4,258 dwellings) to a new housing association or local housing company
(v) Eden district council (1,623 dwellings) to Eden Housing Association
(vi) Kerrier district council (3,761 dwellings) to Kerrier Homes
(vii) South Oxfordshire district council (5,067 dwellings) to South Oxfordshire Housing Association
The following nine authorities will be transferring their stock with the aid of ERCF funding and also have a place on the programme:
(viii) West Somerset district council (1,889 dwellings) to West Somerset Rural Housing Association.
A further application to transfer a number of dwellings to a local housing company is presently being considered.
(i) London borough of Brent (1,505 dwellings) to a subsidiary of Ealing Family Housing Association
(ii) London borough of Hackney (3,112 dwellings) to three new local housing companies
(iii) London borough of Lambeth (500 dwellings) to Metropolitan Housing Trust
(iv) London borough of Merton (972 dwellings) to Pollards Hill Housing Association
(v) Sandwell metropolitan borough council (7,053 dwellings) to three new local housing companies
(vi) Sheffield city council (1,802 dwellings) to a new community-based local housing compnay
(vii) Stoke city council (935 dwellings) to a new community-based housing association
(viii) Tameside metropolitan borough council (904 dwellings) to West Ashton Homes
(ix) London borough of Tower Hamlets (1,789 dwellings) to Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association.
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