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Waste Paper Processing
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the implications of the High Court judgment of November 1998 on the dispute between the Environment Agency and Mayer Parry Recycling Ltd.; and if he will make contact with representatives of the waste paper processing industry on this matter. [76968]
Mr. Meale: A statement on the High Court judgment in the Mayer Parry case, which took account of judgments by the European Court of Justice, was issued by the Environment Agency on 16 November 1998. As matters stand, we do not have anything to add to that statement. We have no plans to make contact with the waste paper processing industry on this matter but we are considering representations which this industry has made about the implications of the judgment.
"A New Deal for Transport"
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has (a) to approve and (b) to initiate developments relating to airports before the completion of the economic impact studies covering airports and air services announced in "A New Deal for Transport"; and if he will make a statement. [76986]
Ms Glenda Jackson: Airport development is promoted by developers through the normal planning process, though major schemes will usually be decided by the Secretary of State following a public inquiry. Airports projects for which planning applications have already been made, or are expected to be made shortly, will not be within the scope of the Regional Air Services studies, because it would cause duplication and delay if we were to study projects which are being considered in the land use planning system at the same time; the study will therefore examine a range of scenarios based on those projects either going ahead or not going ahead, and will concentrate on strategic medium and long term issues.
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made on the study of the economic impact of regional airports and regional air services announced in "A New Deal for Transport"; when these studies will be completed in the (a) North of England, (b) Midlands and (c) South West; and if he will make a statement. [76985]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The studies of regional airports and air services in the North of England, Midlands and South West announced in the "A New Deal for Transport" White Paper have all now been commissioned and are expected to report in the summer. In line with our White Paper commitments, each study will include an examination of the link between air services, economic growth and regeneration in the regions concerned. In
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accordance with our integrated transport policy, the studies will also consider surface access to the airports concerned.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of (a) the level of mercury pollution in groundwater, (b) its source and (c) the remedial action needed. [76952]
Mr. Meale:
Environment Agency monitoring of groundwater has not shown concentrations above the analytical detection limit, and mercury is generally not present in groundwater. However, there may be sites where processes using mercury (including parts of the millinery and electrical industries) have resulted in contamination, with consequent risks to groundwater, although mercury contamination from such sites would not be widespread. The Groundwater Regulations 1998 prohibit the discharge of mercury to groundwater, and provide for controls over activities which might result in the discharge of mercury to groundwater.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many incidents classified as air rage there have been on UK carriers in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [76949]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Under the Mandatory Occurrence Report Scheme currently established by article 106 of the Air Navigation (No. 2) Order 1995, the commander of a UK registered or operated aircraft must report to the Civil Aviation Authority any incident
The CAA's MORS database does not have a classification of "air rage" and it is therefore not possible to provide the figures requested. However, we have recently reviewed the 1997 MORS reports relating to passenger behaviour. This revealed some 88 incidents of disruptive behaviour by passengers which had actual or potential safety implications. Of these, some 24 incidents involved physical violence or the need by the crew to restrain a passenger.
It is because of the lack of accurate information on the scale of the problem that we have established a new system for airlines to report to the CAA all incidents of disruptive behaviour by passengers on board UK aircraft. The first figures from this new reporting system should be available later this year.
Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many responses he has received to his consultation document on leasehold reform; and if he will publish them. [77123]
Mr. Raynsford:
We had received 643 responses to the consultation paper by the requested date of Friday 12 March, and we are likely to receive some additional late ones. All responses will be made available to the
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public, barring those which we have been asked to treat as confidential. We will announce the arrangements for their inspection in due course.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what incentives the Government are providing to increase the use of waste incinerators. [75962]
Mr. Meale
[holding answer 16 March 1999]: The Government are considering the role of waste incinerators with energy recovery as part of the review of the waste strategy for England and Wales. Their consultation paper Less Waste: More Value published in June 1998 said:
They also sought views on this approach and asked how the role of energy recovery as part of an integrated approach to waste management could be enhanced.
A draft of the new waste strategy which takes into account the responses to the consultation document will be published later in the spring.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has had with bus manufacturers on the development of buses to provide improved facilities for (a) elderly and (b) disabled people. [77274]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Manufacturers have been closely involved throughout the process of developing standards for accessible buses. Meetings have taken place with a cross section of representatives of industry and with individual bus manufacturers on both technical and operational matters. An informal consultation on regulations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to require improved access to buses and coaches took place in 1998, and a formal consultation on the draft regulations is planned for this year.
The regulations will progressively require a lower first step height, provision for wheelchair users and other passengers with a wide range of disabilities, starting in January 2000. End dates are also being proposed for all regulated buses and coaches to ensure that over a reasonable timescale they all become fully accessible.
Mr. Greenway:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects to announce his response to the Countryside Commission's report on the future funding and management of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. [77272]
Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects to make a decision about the future status and management of the South Downs. [77313]
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Mr. Meale:
We are still looking carefully at the issues dealt with in the Countryside Commission's advice relating both to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty generally and to the South Downs in particular. We hope to announce some conclusions soon.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the (a) borrowings and (b) borrowing limits of each local authority for each year for which figures are available since 1990. [77440]
Ms Armstrong:
The latest information on levels of debt outstanding for each local authority in England relates to 31 March 1997. I have today placed this information in the Library of the House. Information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
"endangering, or if not corrected would endanger, the aircraft, its occupants or any other person".
The Government's view is that, alongside a move to a higher level of recycling, a move to a higher level of incineration with energy recovery is necessary over the next 10-15 years in order to move to a more sustainable waste management system.
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