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Pressurised Drink Containers
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what evaluation has been undertaken by his Department of the effects of HFC coolants in pressurised drink containers. [6343]
Mr. Meacher: Last month's meeting of the EU Environment Council noted with concern reports about the development of self-chilling drinks cans using certain substances which have a high global warming potential, including HFC--134a which has a global warming potential 1,300 times greater than carbon dioxide. The Council invited the European Commission to investigate this situation and its possible implications for global warming and to bring forward proposals for appropriate action.
My Department has estimated that if self-chilling drink cans using HFC--134a captured 10 per cent. of the UK market by 2000, they would produce emissions equivalent to around 43.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide: equivalent to over half the projected reduction in UK greenhouse gas emissions by 2000.
Arctic Warming
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the global effects of Arctic warming on world temperature. [6344]
Mr. Meacher:
Global surface temperature records are maintained by the Hadley Centre, on behalf of the Government. They take account of the effects of Arctic warming when calculating world temperatures by including long-term observations from nearly 60 land-based monitoring stations in the Arctic in their records. Additional ship-borne measurements from the Arctic are also incorporated.
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Observed temperature trends vary significantly between different regions of the world, but the general trend in Arctic surface temperatures over the past century is similar to that for the global average. In particular, there has been a period of rapid warming in recent decades.
Mr. Tony Colman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he intends to issue new regulations to govern the local government pension scheme in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [6495]
Ms Armstrong:
I have placed in the Library of the House today new regulations for the local government pension scheme (the LGPS) to apply in both England and Wales with effect from 1 April 1998. They provide less central control of pension arrangements, increase the scope of local decision-taking and offer improved flexibility in pension provision.
The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1997 are the product of careful preparation, consultation and discussion with many interested parties. They provide a modernised legal framework and give local government employers greater scope to manage pension scheme benefits. They offer new pension flexibility to both employers and employees while continuing to provide secure, statutory-based pensions for all scheme members and pensioners. Employers will be able to offer members a shared-cost additional voluntary contributions arrangement to improve their pensions. Improved death benefits and spouses pensions have been added to the scheme's benefit package and new options have been added to allow employers and employees greater scope in the provision of retirement benefits, including new criteria to decide when pension benefits may be paid early. New standardised employees' contribution rates, to apply from 1 April 1998, are also included in the package.
The improved regulations ensure that the scheme provides the right qualities and benefits to meet the pension needs of local government employees and pensioners into the next century. The new regulations create a more accountable administrative and benefit framework for local authority employers who are responsible for the scheme's day to day management. They also provide a basis for considering with all the interested parties further scheme developments.
To allow scheme managers and other interested parties sufficient time to adapt their existing policy and administrative procedures to the new arrangements, the regulations come into force on 1 April 1998. My Department's Local Government Pensions Unit will continue to work closely with the interested parties to explain the purpose and operation of the regulations and to monitor their effectiveness. The unit is producing guidance material for scheme members to explain the new provisions and assisting the United Kingdom Steering Committee on Local Government Pensions in the production of explanatory material for local authority employers and other LGPS users.
New regulations governing transitional arrangements to protect the benefit rights for existing scheme members and draft proposals for the management and investment of local authority pension funds will be issued shortly.
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Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has to review the (a) administration of and (b) expenditure on home insulation grants; how much his Department has given in home insulation grants in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement.[6324]
Angela Eagle:
We have no plans to review the administration of the home energy efficiency scheme (HEES), which is carried out by Eaga Ltd. of Newcastle upon Tyne, and which is monitored by my Department. Expenditure on HEES is considered, along with that for all the Department's programmes, as part of discussions on public expenditure.
| Year | Great Britain | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| 1993-94 | 38.3 | 1.8 |
| 1994-95 | 77.0 | 3.7 |
| 1995-96 | 99.7 | 5.2 |
| 1996-97 | 68.2 | 3.4 |
| 1997-98 (estimated) | 69.0 | 3.8 |
Major changes to HEES, which were made by the previous administration, came into force on 1 July. I shall take an early opportunity to review the operation of the scheme in order to check that it is meeting the needs of customers.
European Funds
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the Government are to implement the revised arrangements for administering the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund in England announced by the previous Administration. [6917]
Mr. Caborn: I have reviewed the proposed new arrangements, which are based on action plans, in the light of representations made to me. I recently met Commissioner Wulf-Mathies to hear the Commission's views.
The Government's view is that the action plan approach provides a real opportunity to improve the administration of the structural funds in England. Action plans will allow partnerships to bring together individual projects in a way which reflects regional priorities, tackles issues in a coordinated way and streamlines bureaucracy. However, we recognise that circumstances vary across the country and between regions and we do not wish to impose a uniform system. We have decided, therefore, that it will be for each programme monitoring committee to decide to what extent it wishes to adopt the new action plan approach.
A concern of local partners is that resources should be available to assist with management and administration costs. The Commission has agreed that technical assistance funds could, in principle, be available for
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partnerships where it was clear that they were taking on an additional role which added to the quality and effectiveness of implementation.
I am today writing to the chairmen of the programme monitoring committees to let them know of the Government's decision and to encourage them to take advantage of the potential offered by the new action plan arrangements.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the length of time before (a) the loss of a door and (b) the collision between another train and the door, referred to in paragraph 75 of the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority Report 1995-96, were reported; and what factors underlay the length of time taken. [5873]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Channel Tunnel Safety Authority Report for 1995-96, paragraph 66, says that arrangements for formal reporting by Eurotunnel of incidents and accidents were concluded during the year covered by the report. These arrangements cover the detailed circumstances where Eurotunnel is required to make immediate reports, reports within 72 hours or regular daily, monthly, half yearly and annual reports.
The incident involving the loss of the emergency door from a tourist shuttle on 28 April 1995 occurred before the formal reporting arrangements were in place. The incident was reported in Eurotunnel's daily report received on the day following the incident and a detailed report was received from Eurotunnel on 2 May 1995.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has to limit the use of mobile phones in cars. [6226]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Failure to have proper control of a vehicle is already an offence and the police can and do successfully prosecute driving offences that arise from the use of mobile phones while driving. My noble Friend Baroness Hayman will be meeting representatives of the police this month to consider whether additional measures are required. These are likely to include strengthening the advice in the Highway Code and good practice guidelines for drivers and for employers. Discussions are also being held with the mobile phone industry on how best to publicise the potential dangers of this practice.
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