---

CITES Conference

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the voting position registered by the United Kingdom delegation to the CITES Conference of the Parties in Harare on each of the species listing proposals and draft resolutions presented to the conference for which a vote was called. [8165]

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment to my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley, East and Mexborough (Mr. Ennis) on 8 July, Official Report, column 449, which reports the main decisions taken by the Conference. The United Kingdom's position in the final votes taken on substantive matters is set out below. The UK delegation voted in accordance with the European Union's Common Position on all the species proposals and on those draft resolutions or decisions for which there was EU competence.

Of the 34 substantive votes listed, 12 were taken by secret ballot. Under the current rules of procedure in CITES, any vote can be determined by secret ballot if at least 10 Parties request this. The UK is opposed to the use of secret ballots for votes on policy issues in CITES, especially on such a large scale, and we will be seeking to persuade other Parties to limit their use in future.

Issue	Support	Oppose	Abstain
Downlisting of Eschrichtius robustus (Gray whale) to Appendix II	--	X	--
Downlisting of the Okhotsk Sea West Pacific stock of Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Minke whale) to Appendix II	--	X	--
Downlisting of the Southern Ocean population of Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Minke whale) to Appendix II	--	X	--
Downlisting of two Atlantic populations of Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Minke whale) to Appendix II	--	X	--
Uplisting of all remaining European, Eurasian, Caucasian and Asian populations of Ursos arctos (Brown bear) to Appendix I	--	--	X
Separate consideration of the uplisting of various individual populations of Ursos arctos (Brown bear) to Appendix I	--	X	--
Amendment to annotation on the South African population of Ceratotherium simum simum (southern White Rhinoceros) to allow trade in rhino products	--	X	--
Uplisting of Vini kuhlii (Kuhl's lorikeet) to Appendix I	X	--	--
Uplisting of Vini peruviana (Blue lorikeet) to Appendix I	X	--	--
Uplisting of Vini ultramarina (Ultramarine lorikeet) to Appendix I	X	--	--
Inclusion in Appendix II of Liocichla omeiensis (Omei Shan liocichla)	X	--	--
Inclusion in Appendix I of Padda oryzivora (Java sparrow)	X	--	--
Inclusion in Appendix II of Graptemys spp (Map turtles)	--	X	--
Downlisting of the Cuban population of Eretmochelys imbricata (Hawksbill turtle) to Appendix II	--	X	--
Downlisting of the Bangladesh population of Varanus bengalensis (Bengal monitor) to Appendix II	--	X	--
Downlisting of the Bangladesh population of Varanus flavescens (Yellow monitor) to Appendix II	--	X	--
Inclusion of Pristiformes (Sawfish) in Appendix I	--	X	--
Amendment to an annotation to indicate that seeds and pollen with the exception of seeds from Mexican cacti originating in Mexico, were included in Appendix II	X	--	--
Inclusion of all neotropical populations of Swietenia macrophylla (American mahogany) on Appendix II	X	--	--
Inclusion of Hydrastis canadensis (Goldenseal) on Appendix II	X	--	--
Inclusion of Picrorhiza kurrooa (Kutki) in Appendix II	X	--	--
Inclusion of Nardostachys grandiflora (Spikenard) on Appendix II	X	--	--
Proposals to downlist the Botswanan, Namibian and Zimbabwean populations of Loxodonta africana (African elephant) to Appendix II	--	--	X
Conditions for the resumption of trade in African elephant ivory from populations transferred to Appendix II	--	--	X
Conditions for the disposal of ivory stocks and generating resources for conservation in elephant range states	X	--	--
Principle of drawing down on the Convention Trust Fund to fund the Budget for 1998-2000	X	--	--
Budget for 1998-2000--0 per cent. increase in contributions	--	X	--
Budget for 1998-2000--5 per cent. increase in contributions	X	--	--
Establishment of Working Group on Illegal Trade in CITES specimens	X	--	--
Resolution on Relationship with the International Whaling Commission	--	X	--
Amendment to Annex 6 of Document 10.52 (implementation of Convention for timber species)	--	X	--
Revision of Document 10.7 (Regional representation)	--	--	X
Proposal to register the Falcon Centre Halvesiek as a commercial captive breeding operation	--	X	--
Establishment of a Working Group on Marine Fish Species	X	--	--

14 Jul 1997 : Column: 13

Travellers

Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will review the guidance issued to local authorities regarding the removal of travellers from unauthorised sites; [8161]

(2) if he will list the cases where local authorities have been challenged in the courts regarding their policy towards the removal of travellers from unauthorised sites, including the outcome in each instance. [8162]

Mr. Raynsford: My Department has no knowledge of any case involving a challenge to a local authority's policy towards the removal of unauthorised campers. There have, however, been three cases of which we are aware where an authority's decision to evict, using powers in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, has been challenged in the courts. In the case of R v Wealden District Council ex parte Wales and others, the direction issued by the local authority under section 77 of the 1994 Act, and the magistrates' court order, were both quashed by the judge. In the parallel case of R v Lincolnshire County Council ex parte Atkinson the judge exercised his discretion not to quash the direction and the eviction order, and those travellers were evicted. R v Wolverhampton MBC ex parte Dunne followed, and approved, the Wealden judgment. There may also be other cases in which a local authority's use of either planning enforcement powers, or of possession proceedings to remove trespassers, has been challenged, or where an application by travellers for leave for judicial review has been refused by the courts. My Department would not necessarily be notified of these.

We have no plans to review the advice in my Department's Circular No. 18/94, "Gypsy Sites Policy and Unauthorised Camping", that local authorities should take into account existing statutory responsibilities under health and welfare legislation when deciding whether to evict unauthorised campers. Those responsibilities exist independently of the Circular, and would apply even if it had not been issued.

Local Authorities' Pension Schemes

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his estimate of the cost to local authorities in (a) 1998-99 and (b) 1999-2000 of the Budget proposals to abolish the payable tax credits for pension schemes; how local authorities are to be compensated; and if he will make a statement. [8320]

Mr. Raynsford: The extent to which local authorities will be affected by the Budget proposals will depend upon the outcome of the next triennial actuarial valuation, due on 31 March 1998 in England and Wales, and to subsequent discussions between actuaries and their local authority clients. I will consider carefully any representations made in the light of those considerations.

Credit Approvals

Mr. Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what additional credit approvals will be allocated to (a) Colchester Borough Council and (b) Tendring district council as a result of the capital receipts initiative announced in the Budget. [8464]

14 Jul 1997 : Column: 14

Mr. Raynsford: The Government provided figures illustrating alternative methods of distributing additional Supplementary Credit Approvals to individual local authorities in a table accompanying the consultation paper on proposals for implementing the capital receipts initiative in England. That paper was issued on 19 June and copies have been deposited in the Library of the House. Final allocations to individual authorities, however, will not be available until the consultation period has ended and we have given careful consideration to the comments received.

Ministerial Speech

Mr. Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place in the Library a copy of the speech given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr. Raynsford) on 5 July at Birkbeck College to the Conference on the Future of London. [8483]

Mr. Raynsford: A copy has been placed in the Library.

---