| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Releases to the Environment
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the advisory bodies his Department would consult in advance of a decision to invoke Article 16 of Directive 90/220. [16200]
Angela Eagle: My Department would consult the statutory Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment.
Right to Buy
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to include bungalows for elderly and disabled people with the right-to-buy scheme. [16483]
Mr. Raynsford:
Disabled or elderly people are already able to buy bungalows under the right-to-buy scheme, unless the dwelling is sheltered accommodation which is specially built for people with disabilities, or let to elderly people and part of a group of dwellings with support services or facilities provided nearby. Under paragraph 11 of Schedule 5 to the Housing Act 1985, landlords may exclude from the right to buy non-sheltered bungalows if
17 Nov 1997 : Column: 9
they were first let to elderly people before 1990 and are particularly suitable for such people; however, tenants who disagree with their landlords have a right to appeal to the Secretary of State against such decisions. Housing which has been adapted to make it suitable for disabled people is not excluded from the right to buy.
Mr. McNulty:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he intends to undertake a review of the Local Government Commission for England; and if he will make a statement. [16713]
Ms Armstrong:
We have today set up a finance, management and policy review of the Local Government Commission for England (LGC), as part of a programme of reviews of non-departmental public bodies.
This review will be conducted in two stages. The first will be a "prior options" study focusing on whether the functions carried out by the LGC are needed and, if so, whether those functions are best undertaken by the LGC or some other body. Subject to the outcome of this first stage, the second stage will consist of a more detailed review of the LGC's structure, funding, financial management and methods of operation.
I have appointed Robert Hazell, Director of the Constitution Unit in the School of Public Policy at University College London to undertake the prior options study. To oversee the review, I am establishing an Advisory Group, on which we are inviting representatives from the Local Government Association; Departmental officials and the Chairman and Chief Executive of the LGC will also serve on the Group.
In carrying out the study it is intended that Mr. Hazell will consult with a wide range of interested parties and would welcome written representations from anyone who has views on the Commission and its work.
Mr. McNulty:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the search and rescue co-ordination provided by Her Majesty's Coastguard. [16728]
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to review the coastguard service; and if he will make a statement. [16176]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
To improve still further the high level of service provided by Her Majesty's Coastguard I am able to announce today that I have endorsed a strategy for HM Coastguard which involves a substantial investment in new technology and which will take the Service into the next century. That investment will introduce operational flexibility which will increase the safety of those who use our sea and shores, and will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of an already highly proficient Service. The key to the strategy is the introduction of digital communications technology at Coastguard rescue centres and remote radio sites to replace aging equipment. Once the new technology is in place HMCG will be able to concentrate their operational expertise within fewer rescue co-ordination sub-centres by
17 Nov 1997 : Column: 10
closing the rescue sub-centres at Oban and Pentland (Orkney) by the end of 1999, and Tyne-Tees and Liverpool by the end of 2000. Portland and Solent rescue sub-centres at present in unsuitable buildings will be bought together under the same roof by March 2002.
By carefully planning the process we expect to be able to achieve the reduction of staff by a combination of natural wastage, early retirement and early severance. Staff and trade unions will be closely involved in the implementation.
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the total expenditure on official hospitality by his Department in the current session. [12583]
Angela Eagle
[pursuant to her reply, 4 November 1997, c. 138]: The correct figure for total expenditure is £103,000.
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to review funding for the private education of diplomatic personnel provided by his Department; and what is the estimated cost of such funding in the current financial year. [15823]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
An independent review of Diplomatic Service allowances was carried out last year by Sir Derek Hornby. The review confirmed the need for allowances to ensure continuity of education for many Diplomatic Service children. It also recommended some adjustments in the way the allowances are administered. Further detailed work is being carried out on these recommendations. The cost to this Department for the education of Diplomatic Service children worldwide during the current financial year is estimated to be £10.9 million.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Chinese Government concerning the environmental impact of the damming of the Yangtse. [15732]
Mr. Fatchett:
We have not raised the "Three Gorges" project with the Chinese.
Mr. Collins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the ownership of mineral rights around the Chagos Archipelago. [15829]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The mineral rights on the continental shelf around the British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) are vested in the Crown. But the Territory and the mineral rights will be ceded to Mauritius when the Territory is no longer required for defence purposes. Meanwhile we have no intention of allowing mineral prospecting.
17 Nov 1997 : Column: 11
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has obtained about Camilla Carr and Jon James; and what steps are being taken to ensure their will-being. [16036]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch) on 10 November 1997, Official Report, column 389.
There has been no news of Camilla Carr and Jon James for several weeks. We do not know who has taken them, or where they are held. Their employers, the Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development, and we are doing what we can, in the difficult conditions of Chechnya, to contact anyone who may be able to help secure the couple's safe release.
Mr. Peter Bradley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press the Government of the People's Republic of China for the early release of the Tibetan nun Ngawang Sangdrol. [16050]
Mr. Fatchett:
We are deeply concerned about many individuals detained in China, including Tibetans. We take every opportunity to raise with Chinese authorities our concerns about religious and political freedoms in Tibet. I last did this when I met the Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister on 3 November.
Ms Jenny Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the report by the United Nations Human Rights Committee's inquiry of 30 July into breaches of human rights in India. [15932]
Mr. Fatchett:
Parties to the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights are obliged to report to the Human Rights Committee every five years. The inquiry to which my hon. Friend refers is the Committee's routine examination of India's latest periodic report. We welcome the Indian Government's constructive responses to the points of concern raised by the Committee.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Budget on the United Kingdom film industry's capacity. [15444]
Mr. Tom Clarke:
The introduction in the Budget of accelerated 100 per cent. write-off on film production and acquisition has been widely welcomed as an incentive to increase investment and hence capacity. The British Screen Advisory Council has estimated that the new tax relief will generate a 31 per cent. increase in investment in film production over the next three years.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of United Kingdom and co-produced films were (a) released
17 Nov 1997 : Column: 12
nationally, (b) released in the West end and arthouses only and (c) unreleased in the last year for which figures are available. [15445.]
Mr. Tom Clarke:
In 1995, 23.1 per cent. of United Kingdom and co-production films were released nationally; 34. 6 per cent. were released in the West End and arthouses only; 42.3 per cent were unreleased.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what plans his Department has to encourage the wider distribution of a greater number of United Kingdom and co-produced films; [15446]
Mr. Tom Clarke:
We have established an all industry working group, headed by myself and Mr. Stewart Till, President of International at PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, with the aim of doubling the domestic market share for British films. The working group includes representatives from several of the main distributors in the UK and has also invited evidence from the distribution sector. The recommendations of the Film Review will be published early next year.
(2) what discussions his Department has had with the main film distributors in the United Kingdom to encourage a greater distribution of United Kingdom and co-produced films. [15447]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |