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Local Government Finance

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the effect on local authority costs of inflation at 2.75 per cent. per annum during the period 1997-98 to 1999-2000. [18803]

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Mr. Raynsford: The impact of inflation on local authority costs would depend on the rate of increase in prices for the particular services and goods purchased by authorities.

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list for 1998-99 the annual (a) SSA and (b) capping limit for Harrogate Borough Council for each year between 1990-91 and 1998-99. [19474]

Mr. Raynsford: The Standard Spending Assessment and capping limit for Harrogate Borough Council for each year between 1990-91 and 1998-99 is as follows:

£ million

SSACapping limit
1990-91(14)8.679--
1991-92(15)11.11915.000
1992-9311.66315.000
1993-9411.71815.234
1994-9512.84115234
1995-9612.59415.234
1996-9711.86714.936
1997-9811.85314.942
1998-99(16)12.92514.942

(14) Harrogate Borough Council was not given a capping limit.

(15) Harrogate Borough Council had a budget less than £15 million and under the capping regime of 1991-92 the cap limit was effectively £15 million.

(16) The 1998-99 SSA and capping limit are provisional.

Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list for 1998-99 the proposed (a) revenue support grants and (b) standard spending assessments for (i) district councils and (ii) shire councils as a sum per head of their populations ranked and numbered in descending order. [19526]

Mr. Raynsford: As the tables showing the figures for shire districts and shire countries are lengthy, I have placed them in the Library.

Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the percentage changes in (a) standard spending assessments and (b) revenue support grants for (i) shire

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counties and (ii) district councils between the settlement for 1997-98 and the proposals for 1998-99, ranked and numbered in descending order. [19525]

Mr. Raynsford: The figures for shire counties and shire districts are shown in tables which I have placed in the Library. The 1997-98 figures for Revenue Support Grant and Standard Spending Assessments are not comparable with the provisional figures for 1998-99 because of changes in local authority functions (e.g. in relation to under-fives) and local government reorganisation (for 1998-99 this affects the county areas of Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Devon, Essex, Hereford and Worcester/Worcestershire, Kent Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Shropshire).

Empty Council Properties

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many council properties in each of the London boroughs are empty; and how many have been empty for (a) up to six months, (b) up to one year and (c) over one year. [18581]

Mr. Raynsford: Local authorities in England report the numbers of their vacant dwellings at 1 April each year, together with the length of time they have been vacant, in their annual Housing Investment Programme (HIP1) returns. The latest available figures for the London boroughs relate to the position on 1 April 1996 and are given in the 1996 "HIP 1 All Items Print", a copy of which is in the Library.

Air-Sea Rescue Service

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for changes in the operation of, and what assessment he has made of future employment levels at, the air-sea rescue service from HMS Daedalus. [18881]

Ms Glenda Jackson: HMS Daedalus was a former naval base and is where the Coastguard Agency leases accommodation for Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter facilities from the Ministry of Defence. Following the announcement of HM Coastguard's five-year strategy, there will be no change to the Coastguard helicopter provision at Portland and Lee-on-Solent. New five-year contracts have been let recently to Bristows Helicopters Ltd. for the provision of Coastguard (SAR) helicopters at both locations thus ensuring their continuing presence until at least 2002. There are no plans to relocate these major SAR resources. The crewing of these helicopters is a matter for the contractor.

Heathrow Airport

Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will (a) obtain from BAA plc and (b) publish details of those flights which landed at or departed from Heathrow Airport between midnight and 7 am on Christmas morning 1996, indicating airline, aircraft, origin or destination and schedules and actual times of arrival and departure. [18995]

Ms Glenda Jackson: The information from Heathrow Airport Ltd. is as follows:

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Arrivals

AirlineAircraftOriginActual time of arrivalDue
British AirwaysB747Hong Kong04170425
Virgin AtlanticA340Hong Kong04210445
British AirwaysB747Hong Kong04320430
British AirwaysB777Jeddah05030520
British AirwaysB777Boston05090520
British AirwaysB747Kuala Lumpur05120520
Singapore AirlinesB747Singapore05160530
LufthansaB737Bonn05200520
British AirwaysB747Singapore05260535
British AirwaysB747Delhi05330510
Cathay PacificB747Hong Kong05360515
QantasB747Singapore05380530
British AirwaysB747Bangkok05410540
British AirwaysB747Johannesburg05560525
British AirwaysB767Kuwait06030620
Malaysian AirlinesB747Kuala Lumpur06060555
American AirlinesB767New York06080625
United AirlinesB777Newark06100640
United AirlinesB777Washington DC06130630
American AirlinesMD11Chicago06150630
QantasB747Bangkok06170625
Royal Brunei AirlinesB767Dubai06200630
Thai AirwaysB747Bangkok06210620
British AirwaysB747Buenos Aires06220625
Japan AirlinesB747Anchorage06240605
Virgin AtlanticA340Washington DC06260645
British AirwaysB747Singapore06270620
British AirwaysB747New York06290655
British AirwaysB767Bahrain06310640
CanadianB767Toronto06330625
United AirlinesB767New York06350655
Air CanadaB767Montreal06370645
British AirwaysB747Bombay06390650
United AirlinesB767Delhi06420650
American AirlinesB767New York06430650
United AirlinesB767Chicago06450710
Virgin AtlanticB747New York06480710
Pakistan International AirlinesB747Lahore06500625
Air CanadaB747Toronto06560650
Kenya AirwaysA310Rome07000640

Of these landings, all those between midnight and 0600 counted against the movements limit and against the noise quota, in accordance with the night flying restrictions. There were no departures between midnight and 7 am.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority

Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he will take to ensure that the Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority has sufficient funds to meet (a) its statutory duties and (b) its minimum recommended standard of service in 1998-99; and if he will make a statement. [18989]

Mr. Raynsford: Statutory responsibility rests with the Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority to set a budget which will allow it to meet its statutory duties and maintain the national standards of fire cover. As part of the provisional local government finance settlement, announced by the Deputy Prime Minister on 2 December,

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the Authority will be able to increase its budget requirement for 1998-99 by up to £1.736 million (4.5 per cent.)

Channel Tunnel Rail Link

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects work on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (a) to begin and (b) to be completed; and if he will make a statement on negotiations concerning the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. [19236]

Ms Glenda Jackson: Under the Development Agreement with the Government, London and Continental Railways (LCR) are contracted to complete the Channel Tunnel Rail Link within five and a half years of raising finance for the project. LCR say that this is planned for around mid-1998, that they are currently discussing related proposals with a number of parties and that main construction should begin next April.

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