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Beacon Council Scheme
Mrs. Ellman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will consult on proposals for a beacon council scheme; and if he will make a statement. [70218]
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Ms Armstrong:
We intend to publish a prospectus tomorrow inviting views on proposals for a beacon scheme to identify and select the best councils, so that others can benefit from their experience, and in the longer term allow new freedoms and flexibilities to be tested.
Mr. Fallon:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects to announce details of the revised criteria and ring-fenced annual budget for the Highways Agency for new measures to reduce motorway noise. [69784]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
We announced in "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England" that we propose to establish revised criteria and a ring-fenced annual budget to provide noise mitigation on some existing trunk roads. We will make an announcement on this shortly.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans the Government have to ban vehicles with bull bars from public roads. [69258]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Having considered the responses to a consultation exercise on options for national action on bull bars, we are currently in the process of identifying how best to take matters forward. As we have always made clear, any action on aggressive bull bars must deal effectively with the complexities involved. It is also clearly sensible for us to take the opportunity to consider bull bars in the context of the wider issue of making all new cars more pedestrian friendly.
Mr. Gummer:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his target date for the publication of the new UK Climate Change Programme. [69567]
Mr. Prescott:
The Government aim to publish the new UK Climate Change Programme in good time for UK ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.
Ms Lawrence:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the Organisation Instruction and Guidance issued to the new Strategic Rail Authority in relation to Rail Passenger Partnership funding will allocate a fixed proportion of this funding for use in rural rail infrastructure. [69205]
Dr. Reid:
My right hon. Friend is currently considering the terms of revised planning criteria for the Franchising Director to apply in appraising support for passenger rail services. These will guide the allocation of funds for Rail Passenger Partnerships by the Strategic Rail Authority, which will be operating in shadow form from April pending legislation. I cannot anticipate publication of the revised criteria, but applications in respect of rural rail infrastructure will be welcome.
Mr. Letwin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will take
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steps to provide for a defence to a charge arising from breach of regulations relating to vehicle emissions where the car in question has passed its MOT within 28 days before the date of a roadside check. [69568]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Government are currently reviewing the way in which compliance with vehicle emissions standards is enforced at the roadside. The question of mitigating circumstances is being taken into consideration in that process and an announcement on future policy will be made in due course.
Mr. Letwin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to assist young, homeless persons. [69598]
Mr. Raynsford:
For young people to be without a suitable home can blight their lives and future development and lead to the social exclusion that this Government are determined to tackle. The problems of youth homelessness go beyond the simple provision of accommodation; many other factors are involved and all sectors, statutory, voluntary and business have a contribution to make.
That is why we have established the Youth Homelessness Action Partnership to bring together senior representatives of central governmental, local government and the voluntary sector. The Partnership is currently working on producing an agreed definition of youth homelessness and estimating the numbers involved. It will also identify what works in tackling and preventing youth homelessness, including the role of local strategies, and disseminate good practice to all the key players. The Partnership will also contribute towards the evaluation of the impact of Government policies on youth homelessness. The work of the Partnership will be underpinned by research to be commissioned later this year.
We have refocused our DETR section 180 grant programme, which provides grants to voluntary sector organisations concerned with homelessness, to give priority to projects that prevent and tackle youth homelessness. £8.1 million is available in 1998/99 and over 200 projects around England are benefiting from these grants.
The Government are committed to reducing the most extreme example of homelessness--rough sleeping--to as near to zero as possible in our towns and cities. The Prime Minister asked the Social Exclusion Unit to address the issue of rough sleeping as one of its first priorities. Their report sets a tough initial target of reducing the number of people sleeping rough throughout England, to a third of its current level by 2002.
A new Ministerial Committee, chaired by my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Housing, has been established to ensure effective co-ordination of Government policy in preventing and tackling rough sleeping. The DETR will be responsible for co-ordination of the overall strategy for England on rough sleeping; including housing, health access to employment and training and benefits.
We will establish a new body for London which will be responsible for reducing the numbers of people sleeping rough in the Capital. The new body will have an
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integrated budget of £143 million over the three years until 2002 to combat rough sleeping and the causes of rough sleeping.
Outside London, the SEU confirmed that local authorities are in the best position to take the lead on tackling rough sleeping and single, including youth, homelessness. To support local authorities in achieving the target reduction in rough sleeping in their area we have launched a new Homelessness Action Programme which will provide £34 million over the next three years to help voluntary organisations outside London to tackle and prevent rough sleeping. We announced details of over 250 voluntary sector projects which will benefit from this programme on 5 February.
We have also strengthened the safety net for families and vulnerable individuals who are homeless unintentionally. The revised Code of Guidance on Allocations and Homelessness which will be issued later this year will provide more advice to help local housing authorities develop effective strategies to assist single homeless people including young people.
Mrs. Roe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on any additional costs for recycling packaging waste arising from recent changes in the law and the method for distributing such costs. [69611]
Mr. Meale:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member of Hazel Grove, (Mr. Stunell) on 28 January 1999, Official Report, column 335.
Mrs. Roe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will take steps to ensure that wasteholders have a right of access to the Packaging Waste Recovery Note System in respect of waste they deposit for recycling. [69610]
Mr. Meale:
The Advisory Committee on Packaging referred to this issue in its further advice set out in Sir Peter Parker's letter of 22 December to my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment, a copy of which is in the Library. The Committee recommended that
We are grateful for the Committee's advice and my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment hopes to make an announcement on this and other aspects of the Packaging Recovery Note system shortly.
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many applications for the sale of school playing fields have come before him since 1 May 1997. [69613]
Mr. Raynsford:
The Secretary of State's consent to the disposal of land by local authorities under their general powers is only required where they wish to do so at less than the best reasonably obtainable consideration,
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which is normally open market value. No such applications for consent for the sale of school playing fields have come before him since 1 May 1997.
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many applications for school playing fields development he has approved. [69614]
Mr. Raynsford:
The information requested is not held on this basis. The results of appeals and called-in applications are not classified by sites of this type. It is, therefore, not feasible to assemble such information, except at disproportionate cost.
"individual businesses, who are obligated members of the packaging chain and bring waste for reprocessing, should be given first refusal on the PRN when waste is accepted for reprocessing and that reprocessors should make reasonable forward provision for such parties who wish to have PRNs".
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