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UN Earth Summit II
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department has taken to involve other Government Departments in preparations for the UN's earth summit II. [18394]
Mr. Clappison: "Agenda 21", the blueprint for sustainable development agreed at the Rio earth summit, covers the activities of most Government Departments. We are, therefore, ensuring that these Departments are involved in all aspects of the preparations for the special session of the UN General Assembly in June.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will support proposals for negotiations at the UN's earth summit II on a forest convention. [18395]
Mr. Clappison:
It is the Government's view that the special session of the UN General Assembly in June should be used to review progress since the Rio earth summit, and to take a forward look, seeking to renew the political momentum for achieving sustainable development. The Government believe that negotiations
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on a forest convention should begin as soon as possible. We want the UN General Assembly special session to endorse this.
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will support proposals for negotiations on (i) a freshwater convention and (ii) a forest convention at the Earth summit II. [18497]
Mr. Clappison:
The Government believe that negotiations on a forest convention should begin as soon as possible. We want the special session of the UN General Assembly to endorse this.
Negotiations on a global convention on the non-navigational uses of transboundary watercourses commenced last autumn in the sixth committee of the UN General Assembly. The proposed convention, which is the result of long work in the International Law Commission, addresses most significant aspects of freshwater. The United Kingdom supports, and is making constructive contributions to these negotiations, which are planned to resume just before Easter.
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what preparations his Department is making for Earth summit II; and for the preparatory conferences leading up to the summit. [18499]
Mr. Clappison:
Preparations for the special session of the UN General Assembly began in June 1996 with a seminar involving Government, business, non-governmental organisations and local government. A consultation paper was issued in December 1996, setting out the Government's approach to the special session. Comments on this are now being considered, and a revised version will be published in due course. A report setting out the United Kingdom's progress since Rio, together with some of our objectives for future action, is also being prepared for presentation to the special session. The current intersessional meeting, and the main session in April, of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development will be used to prepare the ground for the special session.
Mr. Merchant:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the 1997-98 charging scheme for local air pollution control under part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. [18920]
Mr. Clappison:
Charges to cover the costs of local enforcing authorities in regulating processes which are subject to part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 were introduced in April 1991.
With the approval of the Treasury, and following consultation with local authority associations and industry, my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales have made a revised scheme specifying the scale of fees and charges to take effect from 1 April 1997.
The main changes are that the standard application fee is increased by £25 to £1,040, the substantial charge fee is increased by £15 to £665, and the annual subsistence charge is increased by £15 to £640.
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In addition, an adjustment has been made to the scheme this year to introduce variable payment arrangements for operators of mobile crushing and screening plant allowing for reduced payments for multiple plant.
The scheme has been laid before both Houses and a copy placed in the Libraries.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much more fuel it takes to heat a typical semi-detached house with (a) gas central heating and (b) non-white meter electric heating in (i) Braemar, (ii) Lerwick, (iii) Aberdeen, (iv) Edinburgh, (v) Dundee and (vi) Glasgow than a similar house in Bristol using the data contained in the climatic severity index. [18687]
Mr. Clappison:
The percentage of extra fuel required to heat a typical semi-detached house with (a) gas central heating is estimated to be as follows for each of the specified locations:
The percentage of extra fuel required to heat a typical semi-detached house with (b) non-white electric heating is estimated to be as follows for each of the specified locations:
These figures have been calculated using the Building Research Establishment domestic energy model and taking Bristol as the base case.
Mr. Congdon:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what Government funding is going to be offered in the areas invited by his Department and the Department of Health on 31 October 1996 to develop strategies to tackle rough sleeping. [19079]
Mr. Curry:
The Government's aim is to ensure that there is no necessity for people to sleep rough. On 31 October last year, I announced that, following detailed evaluations in 23 areas which were co-ordinated by Shelter on contract to the Department of the Environment, funding would be offered to support expansion of the rough sleepers initiative to the London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea, and to Brighton; and that a new rough sleepers revenue fund would be made available to support local strategies drawn up jointly by local authorities and voluntary sector agencies to tackle rough sleeping in Bath, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Ealing, Exeter, Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and Richmond upon Thames. I have received and considered strategies from each of these areas and have reached decisions on the projects which
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the Government will support. My Department, in conjunction with the Department of Health, has today written to each of the local authorities explaining these decisions in detail, and invitations to bid for funding will be issued shortly to voluntary sector organisations and housing associations identified in the strategies as potential providers of the services that we have agreed to fund. The Department of Health will be writing separately to local authorities about funding arrangements under the homeless mentally ill initiative.
My announcement on 31 October last year also referred to expansion of the existing central London rough sleepers initiative zones to encompass the W1 and W2 postal districts of Westminster. My Department is discussing separately with Westminster city council and local voluntary sector agencies the arrangements for this expansion, which may result in some extra funding for outreach and resettlement work.
I am pleased that each of the strategies includes existing or new projects provided by statutory and voluntary sector organisations. This local input is particularly important as a demonstration of the partnership approach that underlies the success of the rough sleepers initiative. In some areas, Government funding will be subject to clarification of the local authority housing contribution to the strategy.
This national programme of Government help is being targeted on areas where the most significant rough sleeping problems have been identified. Local authorities have an obligation to consider the housing needs of everyone residing in their areas, including people sleeping rough, and to reflect those needs in their general housing strategies. My Department has produced comprehensive guidance to enable local authorities to conduct detailed evaluations of the extent of rough sleeping in their areas and to develop effective strategies to tackle any problems that exist. The Government will consider offering funding to support local rough sleeping strategies in other areas where a major problem is identified.
(i) Braemar +32 per cent.
(ii) Lerwick +48 per cent.
(iii) Aberdeen +32 per cent.
(iv) Edinburgh +25 per cent.
(v) Dundee +25 per cent.
(vi) Glasgow +23 per cent.
(i) Braemar +32 per cent.
(ii) Lerwick +47 per cent.
(iii) Aberdeen +32 per cent.
(iv) Edinburgh +25 per cent.
(iv) Dundee +25 per cent.
(vi) Glasgow +23 per cent.
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