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LCR and Eurostar
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many representatives of Government there will be on the Board of LCR and the Eurostar management company; and if their rights, duties and responsibilities will be the same in company law as the private sector directors. [45403]
Ms Glenda Jackson: It is not intended that there will be any Government appointments to the Board of either LCR or the Eurostar management company.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Mr. Prior: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps his Department is taking to protect areas of outstanding natural beauty from overdevelopment; and if he will make a statement. [44478]
Mr. Raynsford: Planning Policy Guidance note 7 affords special protection from development to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, along with other statutorily designated areas. Policies in structure and local plans and development control decisions should in general favour conservation of the natural beauty of the landscape. It would normally be inconsistent with the aims of designation to permit the siting of major industrial or commercial development in these areas. Only proven national interest and lack of alternative sites can justify an exception.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Prior: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the sites of special scientific interest in the United Kingdom distinguishing those which are in (a) England and (b) Norfolk. [44489]
Angela Eagle: As at 5 June 1998 there were 6,517 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the United Kingdom. 3,991 in England and 155 in Norfolk. I shall arrange for a copy of the full list of sites to be placed in the Library of the House shortly.
Local Government Reorganisation
Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what resources he will make available under the local government reorganisation costs scheme to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council for reorganisation costs incurred by them in 1998-99; and if he will make a statement. [45432]
Ms Armstrong:
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council did not submit a bid at the initial stage of the Local Government Reorganisation Costs Scheme for 1998-99. They have since identified £400,000 of costs that are eligible under the scheme. After careful consideration, I have decided that it would be appropriate to allocate a maximum amount of £400,000 to Redcar and Cleveland Council to cover these costs in full.
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Mrs. Ellman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what changes he has decided to make to his policy on international access to regional airports in the United Kingdom following the consultation exercise on this issue earlier in the year. [45433]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Government wish to encourage international access to regional airports by pursuing a policy of liberalisation. We have decided that open access to all UK airports, except Heathrow and Gatwick, should be offered to all of our bilateral air services partners, provided that UK airlines are also allowed to operate on the same routes. My officials will be writing to all of our bilateral partners where such access is not already available with details of this change of policy.
This change in policy will allow both UK airlines and the airlines of the country concerned to operate to and from that country on such routes without restrictions on capacity or frequency, and without the need for international aviation negotiations to establish such services. This will enable UK and foreign airlines to plan the development of services with confidence that future growth will not be limited by bilateral restrictions.
Mr. Leslie:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made on the finance, management and policy review of the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards. [45745]
Mr. Meacher:
My Department has completed the first stage of the review, and we have decided to continue to sponsor the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards. In the light of new evidence emerging on the effects of air pollution, and of growing interest in pollutants not yet covered by the Panel, we believe that the need for expert advice on these issues remains. The Expert Panel is best placed to provide that advice. The Expert Panel has served the Department extremely well over the last five years, and we are grateful for its very significant contribution to the development of air quality policy over the last five years.
The Department will now review how the Panel should operate in future, looking at all aspects of its management, including its membership and working procedures and at its work programme for the next five years.
Direct Labour and Services Organisations
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list by authority and service area the recorded deficits made by local authority direct labour or services organisations in Scotland that have failed to meet the rate-of-return requirements under the terms of the Local Government (Planning and Land) Act 1980 and the Local Government Act 1988 in (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97 and (c) 1997-98 in (i) cash and (ii) constant prices; [43907]
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Mr. Dewar
[holding answer 3 June 1998]: I have arranged for a detailed list, taken from annual reports submitted by authorities, of the surpluses and deficits achieved by direct labour and direct service organisations of Scottish local authorities in 1995-96 to be placed in the Library. A partial list is provided for 1996-97. This covers the authorities for which annual reports have been received. Information for 1997-98 is not yet available.
I am committed to ensuring local authority direct labour and direct service organisations achieve efficiency and value for money. Direct labour and direct service organisations exist to provide quality services competitively and I shall not hesitate to use my powers to deal with those who fail to perform as they should.
Mr. Letwin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the total cost of the investigation which he has ordered into the financial affairs of the direct labour organisations in all Scottish local authorities. [44707]
Mr. Dewar
[holding answer 8 June 1998]: The cost of the inquiries which are being undertaken by my Department and by the Accounts Commission for Scotland will be met within existing public expenditure provision.
Mr. Sarwar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to promote business sponsorship of the arts. [44203]
Mr. Galbraith:
The Government fully recognise the importance of business sponsorship of the arts, which brings a range of benefits both to the sponsor and to the sponsored organisation.
Active encouragement is given to businesses to sponsor the arts, mainly through Government funding of the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts Pairing Scheme, which provides financial awards to arts organisations which have secured sponsorship for individual projects. The Government also provide financial support for specific initiatives which aim to bring relevant business skills and improved management capabilities to arts organisations.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of registered unemployed among 18 to 25 year olds in (a) Dundee, (b) Perth and Kinross and (c) Angus found work and signed off as unemployed in (i) January, (ii) February, (iii) March and (iv) April in each year since 1986. [43411]
Mr. Dewar
[holding answer 4 June 1998]: Data on the destination of leavers from the claimant count are available from the Office for National Statistics for 1998 onwards for the areas requested. Information is not readily
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available on the numbers aged 18 to 25 claiming unemployment related benefits and so the numbers who found work, in the table, are given for those aged 18 to 24.
(2) if he will list by authority and service area the surplus achieved by local authority direct labour or services organisations in Scotland for those services covered under the terms of the Local Government (Planning and Land) Act 1980 and the Local Government Act 1988 in (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97 and (c) 1997-98 in (i) cash and (ii) constant prices. [43908]
| Dundee | Perth and Kinross | Angus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1998 | 55 | 42 | 46 |
| February 1998 | 146 | 108 | 145 |
| March 1998 | 137 | 98 | 117 |
| April 1998 | 139 | 93 | 95 |
(5) Excluding clerical claims and claims with missing or invalid postcodes
Source:
Office for National Statistics
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