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Rights of the Child Convention
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the consultation process involved in the UK fulfilling the reporting requirement relating to the UN convention on the rights of the child; and if he will make a statement on the impact on UK policy of adopting the convention and the practical measures necessary to implement it. [9263]
Mr. Galbraith: The United Kingdom's first report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child was published in February 1994. The Scottish Office and associated Departments contributed to the report co-ordinated by the Department of Health. In addition, a Scottish Office official attended the examination of the report by the UN committee in January 1995 in Geneva as part of the UK delegation of officials.
The convention has had an important impact on shaping policy in Scotland. The influence of the convention is particularly apparent in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 which came fully into operation on 1 April 1997 and the secondary legislation which flowed from that. It has influenced my appointment as Minister for Children's Issues in Scotland. The first step in discharging this remit will be to have a fully comprehensive child-proofing policy for all Scottish Office Departments to ensure that they take into account the effects on children when developing policy.
Urban Regeneration Schemes
Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will allow urban regeneration schemes to be eligible for grants from the national lottery. [9828]
Mr. Banks:
I have been asked to reply.
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A large number of the awards already announced by the lottery distributing bodies will be made a valuable contribution to urban regeneration. The White Paper "The People's Lottery", published on 21 July, makes clear the Government's objective that lottery funding within the existing good causes should contribute to regional and local strategies to encourage regeneration.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what restrictions apply to the use by a local authority of capital receipts obtained from the large-scale voluntary transfer of its housing stock to housing companies; and if he will make a statement; [9093]
- (2) what percentage of the total capital receipts from the large-scale voluntary transfer of its housing stock to housing companies is available to a local authority; and if he will make a statement. [9121]
Mr. Raynsford: Twenty-five per cent. of any capital receipt from a large-scale voluntary transfer is available immediately to spend on housing. If a local authority becomes debt free, at a later date, the remainder of the receipt then also becomes available to it to spend as it wishes. Currently this is subject to one restriction: that it may not be used to support local authority social housing grant. This is being reviewed.
Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in what circumstances a local authority is permitted to use moneys in its housing capital account to reduce its council tax; and if he will make a statement. [9122]
Mr. Raynsford: Capital resources can be used only to fund spending for capital purposes. However, the Secretary of State has powers, under section 40(6) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to issue a direction to capitalise revenue expenditure. Where revenue expenditure is capitalised, there can be a saving to the local authority's revenue account which may enable it to reduce its council tax, or--for spending within the housing revenue account--reduce its council house rents.
Under the capital receipts initiative the Government will issue supplementary credit approvals to enable authorities to invest additional sums in housing. Where authorities incur additional spending under this initiative, they will receive revenue support in the normal way. There should be no effect on the level of council rents or council taxes.
Climate Change
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the Government support the European Union's objective in respect of the maintenance of world average temperatures.[8924]
Angela Eagle:
The Government take the threat of climate change very seriously. We support the draft protocol to the climate change convention which the
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European Union has proposed. This includes a longer-term objective that global average temperatures do not exceed 2 deg C above the pre-industrial level.
Mr. Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what applications are currently being processed for wind farm developments in England and Wales. [9072]
Mr. Raynsford:
Applications for planning permission for wind farms with a capacity of 50 MW or less are normally made to and determined by local planning authorities. Planning applications for developments exceeding 50 MW require the consent of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. I have been informed that she has one such application under consideration for a proposed wind farm at Keilder in Northumberland.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many people are on the housing waiting list of each local authority in Hampshire because they (a) are waiting for a transfer, (b) are homeless, (c) are waiting for elderly persons' accommodation and (d) live in unfit houses. [9402]
Mr. Raynsford:
Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing registers at 1 April each year in their annual housing investment programme--HIP1--returns. The latest available figures for the district councils in England and in Hampshire relate to the position on 1 April 1996 and are given in the 1996 "HIP1 All Items Print", a copy of which is in the Library.
These data do not include households on housing registers for transfer within an authority's stock, nor do they separately identify households who are homeless or are living in unfit houses. The information on households requiring specialised dwellings covers both the elderly and disabled.
For information about other parts of the United Kingdom, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, for Wales and for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Gordon Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance his Department has given to local authorities on planning applications for change of use from class C1 properties to houses in multiple occupation hostels. [9492]
Mr. Raynsford:
This Department wrote to chief planning officers in March 1994 explaining the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) Order 1994. The letter advised that planning permission would, in future, be required for a
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material change of use from a hotel, boarding or guest house to a hostel and vice versa. Copies of the letter and related press notice have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many council houses have been sold under the right-to-buy legislation since 1979 in each district council area in Hampshire; [9318]
Mr. Raynsford:
Tables showing the available information on total right-to-buy sales in each English local authority for each financial year from 1979-80 are in the Library. The next quarterly update, including data for sales in the period January to March 1997, will be placed in the Library during August.
For information on sales elsewhere in the United Kingdom, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, for Wales and for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Sanders:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will amend right-to-buy legislation to include all housing association tenants; and if he will make a statement. [9799]
Mr. Raynsford:
The Housing Act 1996 introduced the right to acquire for housing association tenants. It applies to tenants of housing newly provided by registered social landlords with social housing grant on or after 1 April 1997, and to tenants of stock transferred from other public landlords on or after that date. The scheme is similar to the right-to-buy.
For tenants of existing stock, the voluntary purchase grant scheme, introduced on 1 April 1996, enables them to buy their home at a discount. Associations opt into this scheme at their discretion.
(2) how many people are on the housing waiting list in each local authority in the United Kingdom because they (a) are waiting for a transfer, (b) are homeless, (c) waiting for elderly persons accommodation and (d) live in unfit houses. [9688]
(2) how many council houses have been sold under the right to buy since 1979 in each district council area in the United Kingdom. [9689]
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