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Freedom of Information
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish his Department's submissions relating to freedom of information legislation. [6031]
Dr. Reid [holding answer 2 July 1997]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on Friday 4 July, Official Report, column 294.
Shoeburyness Ranges
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has received a report from DERA about the future of the testing ranges at Shoeburyness; and if he will make a statement. [6446]
Mr. Spellar
[holding answer 3 July 1997]: I can confirm that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement has recently received a proposal from the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and
8 Jul 1997 : Column: 426
Research Agency about the test and evaluation ranges at Shoeburyness and Eskmeals. MPs and staff will be informed of the outcome shortly.
Ayrshire and Arran Health Board
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much Ayrshire and Arran Health Board has spent on pursuing its legal appeals against the refusal of planning permission by Cunninghame district council and the Scottish Office for Ravenspark Hospital; what legal advisers acted for the health board in these actions; what monitoring his Department has undertaken of these actions; and if he will make a statement. [5433]
Mr. Galbraith: This is a matter for Ayrshire and Arran Health Board. I have asked the Chairman to write to my hon. Friend. The Scottish Office monitors the full range of health boards' activities and expenditure, and is aware of this ongoing issue.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the time scale and terms of his review of the requirement on local authorities in Scotland to set aside 75 per cent. of their housing capital receipts for debt repayment. [6275]
Mr. Chisholm: We hope to conclude this review, which is looking at the public expenditure implications of the set aside requirement, later in the year.
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary for Scotland if he will list for each local authority in Scotland the annual targets estimated at the start of the financial year 1997-98 for capital receipts, indicating for each authority receipts from (a) right to buy, (b) stock transfer and (c) land sales. [6276]
Mr. Chisholm: No housing receipts targets were set for Scottish local authorities for 1997-98. The estimates made by local authorities of the amounts they expect to raise as capital receipts are set out in the table.
(10) Other HRA estimated receipts include: rent to mortgage receipts, loan repayments, and sale or disposal of land and other assets.
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Beaufort's Dyke
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will institute an independent inquiry into the extent of radioactive dumping in Beaufort's Dyke and the current condition of radioactive waste material; [6616]
- (2) what conditions and restrictions were set on the dumping of radioactive waste in Beaufort's Dyke; [6615]
(3) what assessment his Department has made of the condition of metal drums containing radioactive waste dumped in Beaufort's Dyke. [6613]
(4)which organisations have been given approval to dump radioactive waste in Beaufort's Dyke. [6614]
(5) if he will investigate the accuracy of statements made by Scottish Office ministers since 1984 relating to the dumping of radioactive waste in Beaufort's Dyke.[6612]
Mr. Dewar: As indicated by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food-- 1 July, Official Report, columns 158-160--the discovery that radioactive waste had been dumped within the Beaufort's Dyke explosives disposal site followed a discovery of old papers in the Public Records Office. The lack of awareness of these papers and their contents led to previous Governments inadvertently giving inaccurate assurances.
The papers located thus far reveal that radioactive waste was disposed of at Beaufort's Dyke during the 1950s on behalf of Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities, Babcock and Wilcox Ltd., Ferranti Ltd. and Luminisers Ltd. The accepted practice for dealing with the waste, which was regarded at the time as being non-hazardous, was to encase it in concrete in mild steel drums. If necessary the drums were also weighted with scrap metal to ensure rapid sinking at the disposal location. We cannot be sure of the current condition of the steel drums since it would be extremely difficult to locate them given the large quantities of debris that are present on the seabed.
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However, the amounts of radioactivity that they contain are so small that release of the contents would be of no significance in terms of either public health or the marine environment. I therefore see no merit in initiating an independent enquiry.
Of importance is the fact that regular monitoring of the area has been carried out since the early 1960s; the most recent report entitled "Radioactivity in Food and the Environment 1995" is available in the Library of the House of Commons. This monitoring has not detected any measurable effect on radioactivity levels in the Beaufort's Dyke area, which remain well within internationally agreed safety levels.
My Department and others that were involved in the consultation and consenting procedures that were followed some 40 or so years ago, are currently carrying out an exhaustive check of records and archive material. Any relevant information which emerges will be made available to the House and the public at the earliest opportunity.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the date and title of the oldest document or archival unit retained by his Department which has not been passed on to the Public Record Office for release for public inspection. [7197]
Mr. Dewar:
The records of my Department are specifically exempted from the Public Records Act 1958, and therefore are not passed to the Public Record Office. However, broadly similar procedures apply to the transfer of records to the Scottish Record Office (SRO). In 1994 a review was conducted within the Scottish Office to establish the number of files retained beyond the 30 year point, and this list has since been updated annually. All such files are reported to the Scottish Records Advisory Council (SRAC), with an explanation as to why they have been retained. The oldest recorded file in this category was opened in 1949 and is titled "Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948--Cottars". It has been held for administrative reasons as it contains papers relevant to the eligibility of a rare class of landholder for assistance under the Crofters Building Grants and Loans Scheme.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) arrests, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions have been recorded under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 in Scotland since its introduction, broken down by local authority; and if he will make a statement. [5705]
Mr. McLeish
[holding answer 1 July 1997]: Information on the number of arrests is not collected centrally. The information requested on prosecutions and convictions is not separately identifiable within The Scottish Office Home Department's classification of crimes and offences.
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