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Local Authority Housing
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people have been put on local authority housing waiting lists in London boroughs in each of the last six months. [104363]
Mr. Mullin: Information is not held centrally on the numbers of people joining and leaving local authorities' housing registers/waiting lists.
Beacon Councils
Mr. Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many beacon councils have reached the Government's target of 25 per cent. recycling; and if he will list (a) the level achieved by each Beacon Council for waste management and (b) the councils not awarded beacon status which have achieved a higher level. [104290]
Mr. Meacher: There is no recycling target which each individual local authority is expected to meet. There is a national goal to recycle or compost 25 per cent. of household waste by 2005 or earlier.
From the data supplied for the 1997-98 Municipal Waste Survey, three authorities chosen as Beacon Councils in the "Sustainable Development: Dealing with Waste" category have recycling rates of 25 per cent. or over:
12 Jan 2000 : Column: 164W
Gosport Borough Council
Havant Borough Council
New Forest District Council.
Other non beacon authorities which are achieving 25 per cent. or more, are:
Adur District Council
Chichester District Council
Chiltern District Council
Christchurch Borough Council
East Dorset District Council
Eastleigh Borough Council
North Dorset District Council
Purbeck District Council
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
South Bucks District Council
Tandridge District Council
The remaining Beacon Councils are achieving the following recycling rates:
| Percentage | Councils |
|---|---|
| Between 20 and 25 | Rushmoor District Council |
| St. Edmondsbury Borough Council | |
| Test Valley District Council | |
| Between 15 and 20 | East Hampshire District Council |
| Fareham District Council | |
| Winchester City Council | |
| Between 10 and 15 | Basingstoke District Council |
| Bath and North East Somerset Council | |
| Hart District Council | |
| London Borough of Bexley | |
| Portsmouth City Council | |
| Less than 10 | London Borough of Hounslow |
| Southampton City Council | |
| Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council | |
| Wealden District Council |
Notes:
1. Recycling rates are calculated as the quantity of household waste collected for recycling, expressed as a percentage of total household waste. These calculations exclude recycling of building rubble, and make no allowance for home composting.
2. In non-unitary areas, the figures cover amounts collected within the area by both the Waste Collection Authority and the Waste Disposal Authority. In most cases, figures for total household waste (apart from amounts collected for recycling) are taken from returns from Waste Disposal Authorities.
Employment Statistics
Mrs. Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many (a) men and (b) women in each of the standard age groups were employed in (i) his predecessor departments and English local authorities in 1979 and (ii) his Department and English local authorities in 1999. [104026]
Ms Beverley Hughes: (i) Available records indicate that on 1 January 1979, 26,438 staff were employed in the Department of the Environment and the Department of Transport. Age and gender analysis is not available for that time.
| Age | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-17 | 1 | 7 |
| 18-19 | 67 | 101 |
| 20-24 | 366 | 474 |
| 25-29 | 609 | 693 |
| 30-34 | 793 | 1,047 |
| 35-39 | 935 | 1,332 |
| 40-44 | 1,091 | 1,240 |
| 45-49 | 1,187 | 1,064 |
| 50 and over | 2,745 | 1,768 |
| Totals | 7,794 | 7,726 |
12 Jan 2000 : Column: 165W
Homelessness
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people were registered homeless in London boroughs in each of the last six months. [104362]
Mr. Mullin: Information is published on households accommodated under statutory homelessness provisions in a quarterly Information Bulletin, "Statistics of local authority activities under the homelessness legislation: England". Information on a monthly basis is not collected centrally. Table 2 of the Bulletin presents a quarterly summary by region, including Greater London, of those households accepted as homeless and in priority need under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 and 1996 Housing Acts.
Copies of the Bulletin are in the Library, and the latest edition, published on 10 December 1999, presents statistics up to the third quarter of 1999.
DEFENCE
Iraq
Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flights by United Kingdom and allied aircraft have taken place over Iraq during the last month; and what quantities of missiles were discharged into Iraq during that period. [103640]
Mr. Hoon: RAF aircraft undertook some 200 operational sorties during the period 18 November to 15 December in pursuit of their mission to prevent Saddam's air forces from persecuting the Kurds and Shia Muslims of northern and southern Iraq. Over this period, the RAF dropped six laser-guided bombs over Iraq in response to Iraqi threats.
Insensitive Munitions
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the exploratory talks on insensitive munitions. [104108]
Mr. Kilfoyle: This is a matter for the Chief executive of the Defence Procurement Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from John Howe to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 12 January 2000:
12 Jan 2000 : Column: 166W
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) the British members of the High Level Steering Group of the NATO Defence Capability Initiative and (b) the number of meetings so far which they have attended; and when the Defence Capability Initiative is expected to produce conclusions. [104270]
Mr. Hoon:
The UK's representative at the High Level Steering Group is the Director General for International Security Policy (DGISP), who is supported by the Defence Counsellor at the UK Delegation to NATO. DGISP has attended, or been represented at, all four of the Group's meetings to date. It will be some years before the DCI is complete but work is well under way.
Dr. Godman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 December 1999, Official Report, column 260W, if he will list the types of vessels which have undergone the programme to eliminate asbestos from on board; when he expects the programme to be completed; what is the estimated cost; and if he will make a statement. [104349]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
The comprehensive programme to eliminate asbestos is in its early stages and is expected to continue over the next 10 years, being undertaken during planned maintenance periods and refits. There are likely to be cases where it may be safer to leave the asbestos in place, undisturbed and sealed for the service life of the vessel. The use of asbestos in Royal Naval vessels is governed by the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987, as amended. Safe alternatives have been fitted wherever practicable since the inception of the Regulations.
I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about representations received on the exploratory talks on insensitive munitions. This matter falls to me to answer within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.
It is not clear from the question which exploratory talks you have in mind, but if there are any further details you can let me have I will of course be happy to give a full reply. However, I can assure you that it is Ministry of Defence policy to ensure that munitions comply with NATO safety standards. One of these standards is that munitions shall be as insensitive as is practicable but still operate as intended.
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