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School Playing Fields
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what measures his Department proposes to meet the Government's pledge to stop the loss of school playing fields. [64387]
Mr. Caborn: We have published The Town and Country Planning (Playing Fields)(England) Direction 1998 which is one of the key measures in a co-ordinated approach between my Department, the Department of Education and Employment, and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to stop the loss of playing fields. The Direction requires local planning authorities to notify my Department of planning applications where they wish to grant planning permission, but where the English Sports Council advises against the development, because there is, or the development would result in, a deficiency in playing field provision for schools or the wider community in the area.
This Direction applies to local authority-owned playing fields and all others which are currently used, or which have been used in the past five years, by educational institutions. The effect of the Direction will be to give the Secretary of State the opportunity to decide whether to call-in a notified planning applications for his own determination, or leave the matter for the local planning authority to decide. Taken together with measures by the Department for Education and Employment to limit the sale of playing fields, these new controls will help to ensure that playing fields which schools and local communities need are not lost for ever.
16 Dec 1998 : Column: 543
Mr. Bradshaw:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many and what percentage of schemes supported initially by section 180 and section 73 grants have continued to operate after the grants were tapered to 0 per cent. in each of the last five years. [64215]
Mr. Raynsford:
The section 180 (formerly section 73) grant programme run by my Department provides grants to voluntary sector organisations concerned with homelessness. The grants are provided on a tapered basis, initially for up to three years to allow organisations to set up new projects to prevent and tackle single homelessness. All organisations are made aware of the tapered and time-limited nature of the grant when they apply, and are expected to have a fund-raising strategy in place to secure the continuation of the project. This approach allows more new projects around the country to benefit from grants than would otherwise be possible. The taper has been applied flexibly and many organisations have benefited from grant for periods well in excess of three years. This year 79 of the 205 projects in receipt of grant have been funded for between four and eight years. All aspects of project performance are considered when deciding whether funding should be offered beyond the usual three year period.
Detailed records are not kept on whether projects continue to operate when they are no longer in receipt of section 180 grant.
Mr. Swinney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list (a) total expenditure and (b) expenditure by programme by his Department in Scotland on areas covered by the exception under (i) E.1, (ii) E.2 and (iii) E.3 of Head E in Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998. [63805]
Mr. Meale
[holding answer 15 December 1998]: Expenditure by the Department in 1997-98 on research and development, grants and consultancies related to road safety, which is the subject of the exception listed in Head E1 of Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, was £4.2m. The Department does not record separately how much of this expenditure takes place in Scotland.
| DETR expenditure | Total GB | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Payments by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising to train operating companies | 1,425 | (5)136 |
| Freight Facilities Grant | 8 | (6)nil |
| Track Access Grant | 21 | not separately recorded |
(4) These figures include any expenditure incurred in relation to those areas listed in Schedule 5, Head E2 (a-c), to which the exception does not apply, on which separate information is not recorded.
(5) Payments made to Scotrail.
(6) Freight Facilities Grants in Scotland paid by Scottish Office.
Mr. Swinney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list
16 Dec 1998 : Column: 544
(a) total expenditure and (b) expenditure by programme over £50,000 by his Department in Scotland on areas covered by each exception under Head D in Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998. [63798]
Mr. Meale:
[holding answer 15 December 1998]: Expenditure by the Department on the regulation of the energy supply industry under Part 1 of the Environment Protection Act 1990 and the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, which are the subject of the exceptions listed in Heads D1, D2, D3 and D4 of the Scotland Act 1998, is not separately recorded. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions is not responsible for funding the relevant regulatory authorities in Scotland.
Expenditure by the Department in 1997-98 on the Energy Saving Trust, which is the subject of the exception listed in Head D5 of Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, was £19.7m, of which £1.23m was expenditure in Scotland.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he has given his approval of funding towards the Quayside Guided Bus Transit System in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne; and if he will make a statement. [64424]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The details of the annual Local Transport Capital Settlement for 1999-2000 are being announced tomorrow. Information about allocations to individual local authorities, and to passenger transport authorities, will be sent directly to Members of Parliament.
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he intends to make an announcement about the distribution to local authorities of housing capital resources for 1999-2000. [64485]
Ms Armstrong:
Details of housing capital allocations for local authorities for 1999-2000 will be announced tomorrow. I am arranging for tables giving individual Housing Investment Programme and Capital Receipts Initiative allocations to be placed in the Library of the House. These tables will also show the performance band in which each authority has been placed.
Ms Keeble:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will provide financial assistance to Cherwell District Council and Melton Borough Council under the Bellwin scheme for costs incurred following the severe flooding on the weekend of 9 to 12 April 1998. [64486]
Ms Armstrong:
I am satisfied that financial assistance under the Bellwin scheme is justified in the case of Cherwell and Melton councils, given the exceptional nature of the floods and the damage caused. Schemes will, therefore, be established under section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Grant will be paid to each authority to cover 85 per cent. of eligible costs above a threshold and which have been incurred by the authority in dealing with the flooding.
16 Dec 1998 : Column: 545
Mr. Levitt:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he has reached conclusions on the status of the British Board of Agrement; and if he will make a statement. [64559]
Mr. Raynsford:
On 3 February 1998, Official Report, column 637, I announced to the House that a Financial Management and Policy Review of the British Board of Agrement (BBA) would be carried out this year.
The first stage of the Review--the Prior Options Review--was completed by consultants last July. I have since considered the consultants' report very carefully, and having discussed this with the Chairman of the BBA Council, I have reached a number of conclusions:
In order to emphasise the importance to Government of the BBA, I propose that the Secretary of State should be represented on its ruling Council, and, in order to protect previous investments of public funds, that he retains controls over the disposal of the Company or its assets, through specific clawback provisions. Other commercial and organisational issues should, rightly, be passed to the BBA Council to decide. The Secretary of State will cease to make appointments to the Council, but will be consulted upon them.
As part of the process to promote the BBA, I have asked them to commission a survey of the products market to assist in drawing up a strategy for future development of business opportunities.
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the BBA provides an essential service to the construction industry, and should be encouraged to continue to provide that service;
the BBA no longer needs to be constrained by the Government rules and procedures necessary for Non Departmental Public Bodies and should have the commercial freedoms necessary to allow it to develop its business; and
in partnership with Government, the BBA should continue to promote Agrement and European Technical Approvals in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding to be drawn up by my Department and the BBA.
To these ends, I propose to invite the Council to amend the Company's Memorandum and Articles of Association so that the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions can relinquish many of the powers he currently has. The BBA will retain its existing status as a Company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act.
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