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Coastguards
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will list the locations of the permanently manned coast stations planned for 2001 which will have responsibility for marine and coastal safety in the Irish Sea; [16977]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the provision of coastguard services for the North West of England following the proposed closure of the Liverpool Centre in 2000. [16973]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The Coastguard Agency plans that in the year 2001, the following permanently manned coastguard stations will have responsibility for marine and coastal safety in the Irish Sea:
Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) Belfast
MRSC Holyhead
MRSC Milford Haven
Local Authority Spending
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions by how much local authority spending increases for each 1 per cent. rise in the GDP deflator. [16870]
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Mr. Raynsford:
There is no automatic link between inflation in the economy generally, as measured by any rise in the GDP deflator, and local authority spending. The impact would depend on the rate of increase in prices for the particular services and goods purchased by authorities, and on authorities' budgetary reactions to these pressures.
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much has been spent on bus lane cameras since 1 May. [16840]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Traffic Director for London is currently developing a trial in north London as part of a project to test the use of cameras to enforce bus lanes, but nothing has been spent on cameras since 1 May. We understand that the London local authorities are also working towards using cameras to enforce bus lanes but we have no information on how much money they might have spent on cameras.
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people have been successfully prosecuted for driving in bus lanes since 1 May. [16841]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The information requested is not separately identified in the statistics collected centrally.
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the average number of police man hours spent each week studying the film from bus lane cameras. [16843]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
From 5 December prosecutions will begin in the Traffic Director for London's project in north London to test cameras to enforce bus lanes. He estimates that it will then require about two police man hours per week to study the film from the cameras.
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the revenue expected from fines for driving in bus lanes during the next financial year. [16842]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
No estimates are made of future fine revenue for specific offences.
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what annual targets have been set for social housing construction.[16974]
Mr. Raynsford:
My Department has not set annual targets for social housing construction. Official estimates of the newly arising need for social housing in England over the period 1991-2001, published in 1995, indicate a requirement for 60,000 to 100,000 lettings per year.
My Department has commissioned the Department of Applied Economics at Cambridge University to carry out a feasibility study of an economic model of housing need for the period 1996-2006. Ministers have not yet reached conclusions on this research, or on the proportion of housing need which will be met by means other than new construction. A report on the research will be published shortly.
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Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will seek to negotiate an enforcement mechanism for reviewing carbon dioxide emission targets at Kyoto. [16868]
Mr. Meacher:
Both the UK and the EU believe that the targets to be agreed in Kyoto should be legally binding. We consider that targets, as well as other commitments in the Protocol, must be backed by a strong compliance regime. However, the details of the regime provided for in the Protocol will be elaborated after Kyoto.
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he last met Lord Sainsbury in an official capacity; and what subjects were discussed. [16836]
Mr. Prescott:
I met Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 20 October 1997 for the first and only time since the General Election. We had a wide-ranging discussion on a number of issues relating to the policy areas of my Department. In particular, the meeting covered rail freight, lorry weights, mixed-use housing and retail developments and the speed and consistency of the planning process generally.
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions by how much the interest rate bill of local authorities rises for each 1 per cent. rise in interest rates. [16861]
Mr. Raynsford:
I estimate that English local authorities currently hold about £5 billion in variable rate debt, on which additional interest payments of £50 million would arise if interest rates rose by 1 per cent. generally.
Further, if authorities borrow an additional £2 billion in 1997-98, broadly in line with the issue of new credit approvals, then a 1 per cent. rise in interest rates would increase interest payments on this new borrowing by about £20 million.
Local authorities currently hold around £10 billion in bank deposits and other short-term investments and might therefore earn additional interest of up to £100 million, if rates rose by 1 per cent.
However, the additional costs or income arising from the increase in interest rates would tend to be offset over time by compensating changes in HRA subsidy and Revenue Support Grant paid to local authorities by central government.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the adequacy of parking facilities for tourist coaches in London; and what plans he has to make improvements. [16791]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
In London, the provision of coach parking and its enforcement is generally the responsibility of the local authorities. We aim to
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encourage the local authorities, the coach and tourist industries and other interested parties to discuss and implement measures to assist the operation and parking of coaches.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the effect of acid rain on Britain's trees. [17170]
Angela Eagle:
Maps of acid deposition in the UK based on work carried out for my Department have recently been published in reports by the Review Group on Acid Rain and the Critical Loads Advisory Group. Copies have been deposited in the House of Commons Library.
Research into the sensitivity of trees to acid deposition is being carried out both in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. From the research, maps of the sensitivity of forest ecosystems to acid deposition have been developed on a UK and European scale. The areas of the UK forest at risk of damage can be identified by combining the maps of sensitivity and acid deposition.
In addition, surveys of woodland tree condition in the UK are carried out annually. While these do not assess directly the impact of acid rain, the have provided evidence that, during the past few years, the previous decline in tree health has been reversed.
Acid rain and damage to sensitive ecosystems including trees is an on-going transboundary problem. The UK was one of the first countries to ratify the Second Sulphur Protocol under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution. This commits the UK to an 80 per cent. reduction in its 1980 sulphur emissions by 2010. My Department is currently taking an active part in negotiations in the EU and UNECE aiming to provide further protection to the environment from acid deposition.
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list, by region, the amount of money in each of the last five financial years which English Partnerships allocated to (a) housing development, (b) employment, and (c) retail development. [16894]
Angela Eagle
[holding answer: 20 November 1997]: English Partnerships became fully operational in April 1994, with statutory objectives focusing on the sustainable regeneration of areas of need promoting job creation, inward investment and environmental improvements through the reclamation and development of vacant, derelict and underused land and buildings. It operates through broadly based strategic partnerships throughout the English regions with local authorities, the private sector, voluntary bodies and others.
Although English Partnerships does not keep information in the form requested, the table sets out, by region, English Partnerships' approved investment by development type under its Partnership Investment Programme, over its first three years of operation.
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| £ million | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | |
| North East Region | |||
| Housing | 0.584 | 3.408 | 5.022 |
| Retail | 1.453 | -- | 2.670 |
| Other Commercial/Industrial | 16.374 | 8.574 | 47.594 |
| Total | 18.411 | 11.982 | 55.286 |
| North West Region | |||
| Housing | 11.628 | 4.223 | 6.440 |
| Retail | 0.300 | 2.874 | 6.416 |
| Other Commercial/Industrial | 14.878 | 37.137 | 39.086 |
| Total | 26.806 | 44.234 | 51.942 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | |||
| Housing | 1.018 | 4.913 | 1.926 |
| Retail | -- | -- | 2.744 |
| Other Commercial/Industrial | 8.861 | 18.760 | 34.276 |
| Total | 9.879 | 23.673 | 38.946 |
| Midlands | |||
| Housing | 0.805 | 1.777 | 0.845 |
| Retail | 3.370 | 0.982 | 0.546 |
| Other Commercial/Industrial | 34.444 | 37.385 | 44.107 |
| Total | 38.619 | 40.144 | 45.498 |
| London and South East | |||
| Housing | 8.287 | 0.705 | 2.084 |
| Retail | 6.000 | -- | -- |
| Other Commercial/Industrial | 6.800 | 20.694 | 26.700 |
| Total | 21.087 | 21.399 | 28.784 |
| South West | |||
| Housing | 0.113 | -- | 0.200 |
| Retail | -- | -- | 1.400 |
| Other Commercial/Industrial | -- | 9.321 | 26.113 |
| Total | 0.113 | 9.321 | 27.713 |
| Total all regions | 114.915 | 150.753 | 248.169 |
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