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Council Tax (Mobile Homes)
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the payment of council tax by residents who live in mobile homes. [7592]
Mr. Raynsford: The council tax is payable in respect of all chargeable dwellings include mobile homes and caravans which are a person's sole or main residence. All dwellings are placed into a valuation band determined by their open market value on 1 April 1991.
Compulsory Competitive Tendering
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if his Department defines a publicly funded body with a contract under a compulsory competitive tendering project as being in the public sector; and if he will make a statement. [7586]
Mr. Raynsford:
A local authority may undertake a defined activity if it has satisfied the six competition conditions set out in the legislation governing compulsory competitive tendering. A joint venture company or other local authority company may also undertake a defined activity and, if the company is controlled or influenced by
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the authority, as defined in Part V of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, it is regarded as being in the public sector.
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in what accommodation he proposes to locate the Regional Development Agency and the Regional Representative Body for East Anglia; and what assessment he has made of the potential of City House, Cambridge, in this respect.[7485]
Angela Eagle:
On 11 June the Government launched a wide-ranging consultation on its proposals for setting up regional development agencies in England. It is too early to say where the head offices of the agencies will be located.
Mr. Timms:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people are classified by his Department as homeless in (a) Newham (b) Tower Hamlets, (c) Hackney, (d) Redbridge, (e) Waltham Forest and (f) Barking and Dagenham; what this figures is as a proportion of the population; and what are the corresponding figures for the United Kingdom. [6857]
Mr. Raynsford
[holding answer 7 July 1997]: Local authorities in England report to my Department, on their quarterly P1E return, the number of households for which they accept responsibility to secure accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985. The latest report date for 1996 for the Boroughs listed are as follows:
| London borough | Households accepted as homeless | Annual acceptances per 1,000 households |
|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | 170 | 2.7 |
| Hackney | (3)830 | (4)13.5 |
| Newham | (5)224 | (4)10.5 |
| Redbridge | 324 | 3.6 |
| Tower Hamlets | (3)536 | (4)10.5 |
| Waltham Forest | 771 | 8.3 |
(3) Part-year information for 3 quarters only.
(4) Scaled up to an annual rate.
(5) Part-year information for 1 quarter only.
The corresponding estimates for England are total acceptances in 1996 of some 116,870 households and 5.9 acceptances per 1,000 households. For information about other parts of the United Kingdom, I refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, for Wales and for Northern Ireland.
Power Boats
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions by what means his Department intends local authorities should control the use of (a) jet skis and (b) other powered boats in the vicinity of bathing beaches in the absence of a general registration system. [6951]
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Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 7 July 1997]: As I said in my reply to the hon. Member for Southport (Mr. Fearn) on 27 June 1997 Official Report, column 672, local authorities already have powers to make byelaws to regulate seaside pleasure boats for the prevention of danger, obstruction or annoyance to persons bathing in the sea or using the seashore.
The safe use of recreation craft is promoted by the Coastguard Agency and other bodies including the Sea Safety Liaison Group established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The Coastguard Agency is analysing the response to the consultative document it issued on "Non-legislative measures for the improvement of safety of non-regulated pleasure vessels".
Staff Relocation, Cambridge
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to relocate staff presently working in Government offices at Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge, in order to free the site for suitable redevelopment. [7484]
Mr. Rooker: The buildings on the Brooklands Avenue site, Cambridge, are of temporary wartime construction and are now reaching the end of their lives. We are therefore looking to provide suitable accommodation for the staff who work on the site. Proposals are being prepared to redevelop the site, in accordance with the Cambridge City Local Plan.
BSE (Organophosphates)
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the relationship between the use of organophosphates in the treatment of cattle and the incidence of BSE. [7352]
Mr. Rooker: The original epidemiological investigation into BSE carried out in 1987 considered any possible association between the use of agricultural chemicals, including organophosphate insecticides, and the occurrence of BSE. None was found.
More recently, SEAC invited Mr. Purdey, a leading proponent of the theory of a link between the use of organophosphates and the occurrence of BSE, to address their meeting of 15 April 1997. The meeting was also attended by experts from the Advisory Committee on Pesticides and the Veterinary Products Committee. They did not form a view on the validity of the theory, but they did agree further avenues of enquiry into this issue. They will consider the matter again when additional data are available.
Beef Imports
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the reliability of the documentation accompanying imported beef in respect of its description and its health status. [7351]
Mr. Rooker:
All consignments of beef imported from third countries are subject to veterinary checks, including a documentary check in all cases, at the point of entry into the Community. Centrally held records of veterinary
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checks on all imports of fresh meat and meat products (beef is not separately identified), revealed documentary irregularities in only 0.6 per cent. of all consignments during 1996.
Production of beef in Member States is governed by harmonised rules which places the onus on the Member State of origin to ensure that the beef has been produced in compliance with those rules. On arrival at a GB premises, Community beef is subject to document and health mark check, either by the Official Veterinary Surgeon or by the owner of the premises, to ensure that the goods have been produced in accordance with these rules. There is no centrally held record of this trade which is governed by Single Market principles.
Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by how much he plans to reduce BSE compensation payments; and what assessment he has made of the effect of this proposal on farmers who rear late developing store cattle. [7321]
Mr. Rooker:
The European Commission, with the support of the Government, has decided with effect from 4 August to reduce Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) compensation payments for cull cows from 0.9 ECU (around 65p) per kilogram to 0.8 ECU (around 58p) per kilogram liveweight. Compensation payments for all other cattle, including clean cattle, remain at 0.9 ECU per kilogram. Compensation for all OTMS cattle will be subject to a limit of 560 kilograms per animal.
Clean cattle (including the late developing store cattle to which the hon. Member refers) will be the principal animals affected by this limit as these tend to be slaughtered at weights above 560 kilograms. However, we believe that farmers should be looking to finish their clean cattle at under 30 months of age and thus to sell them onto the market rather than into the OTMS. The Beef Assurance Scheme nevertheless provides an outlet for clean cattle from low risk, late maturing herds to be finished and sold at up to 42 months of age.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what volume of beef imported into the United Kingdom in 1996 was seized as being suspected of being unfit for human consumption; if he will list the countries of origin of such beef indicating the volume from each country; and if he will make a statement.[4652]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 20 June 1997]: All consignments of beef imported from third countries are, on entry to the Community, subject to veterinary checks at border Inspection Posts specifically approved for this purpose. GB's border inspection posts are operated by local authorities. Production of beef in Member States is governed by harmonised rules which place the onus on the Member State of origin to ensure that the beef has been produced in compliance with those rules. On arrival of the consignment, documentation and health marketing, to show the goods have been produced in accordance with these rules, are required to be checked by the Meat Hygiene Service or, if they are not responsible for the plant (such as a meat product plant), by the owner of the
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premises. Any irregularity should be reported to MAFF. Additionally an officer of the Ministry or local Authority is empowered to inspect a consignment, imported from another Member States, either in transit or at its destination if it is suspected that the consignment presents a threat to public or animal health. I can confirm that beef imports are stopped where they are identified as not meeting import requirements, including being unfit for human consumption. However, no separate figures are held centrally regarding the volume or origin of such trade. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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