| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
A130
33. Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects to reach a decision on the PFI bid for the A130 improvement scheme. [63598]
Ms Glenda Jackson: We are continuing to consider the Essex County Council proposals for the A130. We will announce our decision on the project as soon as possible.
Beacon Status
36. Mr. Michael J. Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress is being made on selecting councils for beacon status. [63601]
Ms Armstrong: We are working closely with the Local Government Association in developing the scheme for beacon councils, and will be consulting on our proposals shortly. We aim to invite applications for beacon status in the Spring.
Houses in Multiple Occupation
37. Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to reform the law relating to people living in houses in multiple occupation. [63602]
Mr. Raynsford: We will fulfil our commitment to introduce a national licensing system for houses in multiple occupation. We plan to consult on proposals for such a system early next year. We will also seek views on changes to the existing law.
Road Networks
Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to improve the condition of road networks; and if he will make a statement. [63581]
Dr. Reid: The Government have accepted a target to end the decline in condition of the motorways and trunk roads in England by 31 March 2002. We are also committed to restore the cuts in maintenance of English local authority principal roads.
Our commitment is clear in decisions:
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 168
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out his proposals for a successor to city challenge. [63584]
Mr. Meale:
The successor to City Challenge is the Single Regeneration Budget which began in 1994. Following the Comprehensive Spending Review my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister set out details of a refocused SRB in his Housing and Regeneration Policy statement on 22 July 1998.
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans the Government have to agree criteria with the European Union for Objective 4 status relating to industries and areas adapting to industrial change. [64510]
Mr. Wills:
I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment reached agreement with the European Commission on a programme to implement Objective 4 of the European Social Fund in all parts of Great Britain on 13 March 1998.
Mr. Campbell-Savours:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of 18-year-olds hold (a) a provisional and (b) a full driving licence. [64507]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The proportion of 18-year-olds holding licences is 40.5 per cent. for provisional licences and 34.9 per cent. for full licences.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if his rural action scheme will continue beyond 31 March 1999; and if he will make a statement. [64671]
Mr. Meale:
Rural Action for the Environment was established with funding from the Rural Development Commission, the Countryside Commission and English Nature to cover the scheme's initial three-year development phase until 31 March 1995. Following the successful completion of this phase, the three agencies extended their funding until 31 March 1999. By that point it was expected that Rural Action would no longer need to rely on Government funding.
Two of the funding agencies--the Rural Development Commission and the Countryside Commission--are due to merge on 1 April to form the Countryside Agency. Both they and, provisionally, English Nature have agreed to commit sufficient funds in 1999-2000 to support the monitoring and advisory costs of the Rural Action county networks which help administer the scheme. This will help to safeguard Rural Action by putting it in the best possible position to bid for project funding, while allowing the new Countryside Agency, together with English Nature, time to consider the scheme and make a decision on its longer term future.
I welcome this approach.
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 169
Mr. Harvey:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reasons the calculation of the sparsity factor in the social services elderly domiciliary care standard spending assessment is made on an enumeration district basis. [64575]
Ms Armstrong:
The measurement of sparsity for small areas minimises the extent to which sparsity is obscured through the grouping together of sparsely populated areas with more densely populated areas. Enumeration districts are the smallest areas for which the data enables population sparsity to be calculated consistently for all local authorities.
Mr. Harvey:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reasons the City of Westminster is to be allocated money for sparsity within the social services elderly domiciliary care standard spending assessment sub-block. [64576]
Ms Armstrong:
Standard spending assessments (SSAs) are calculated in a consistent way by applying the same formula to all relevant local authorities. Four of the City of Westminster's 631 enumeration districts are sparsely populated. It therefore receives a very small amount by reference to the sparsity indicator in the formula. The amount within the social services domiciliary care Standard Spending Assessments (SSAs) is some £1,500, which represents 0.0006 per cent. of the total SSA for Westminster City Council.
Mr. Harvey:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which local authorities he consulted prior to the provisional standard spending assessment settlement concerning the decision not to include those in residential care, nursing homes and long stay hospitals when counting the number of people aged 65 years or over for the purposes of calculating the social services elderly residential care standard spending assessment; and what their responses were. [64578]
Ms Armstrong:
The Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) Sub-group is the forum for discussions between local government and Government Departments about possible changes to SSA formulae.
Details of options for changes to the personal social services formula are set out in the Report of the SSA Sub-group for 1999/2000. Records of discussions with local government representatives on the appropriate client base for the elderly residential social services formula can also be found in the Sub-group reports for 1997-98 and 1998-99. Copies of these reports of the Sub-group are in the Library and are also available to local authorities on the internet.
Mrs. Brinton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimates he has made of the emissions of (a) CO 2 , (b) SO 2 , (c) NOx, (d) fine particulates, (e) black smoke and (f) radiation created by the use of coal as a fuel for electricity generation; and what reductions in these emissions would be achieved by the use of gas as an alternative to coal. [65332]
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 170
Mr. Meale:
The following table provides estimates of the emissions created by the use of both types of fuel in 1996:
to give first priority to maintenance in the Highways Agency's future investment plans; and
to increase the principal road maintenance element of the local transport capital settlement from £80 million to £113 million (or by over 40 per cent.).
| Coal | Natural Gas | |
|---|---|---|
| Emissions in tonnes per GWh if electricity generated (1996) | ||
| CO 2 | 224 | 116 |
| SO 2 | 8.22 | 0.003 |
| NOx | 2.64 | 0.33 |
| Fine particulates (PM10) | 0.20 | -- |
| Black smoke | 13.2558 | -- |
| Radiation | (5)5 to 25 | (5)5 to 25 |
(5) Radiation measured in MBq per GWh
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |