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Radon
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance his Department gives to local authority environmental health officers about dealing with householders whose homes have high levels of radon. [117155]
Mr. Meacher: My Department is in regular contact with local authority environmental health officers (EHOs) in the areas most affected by radon. We advise that they should encourage householders with high levels of radon in their homes to carry out remedial measures to reduce the concentration of radon to which those householders are exposed.
In order to assist the EHOs and the householders, maps have been produced showing the areas most affected by radon. Three guidance booklets have been produced:
For over a year, my Department has been working in partnership with three local authorities that have been piloting a new approach to encourage householders to carry out remedial action. A Good Practice Guide is in preparation, and proposals on how we shall work with other local authorities in a similar way in the future are being developed. I hope to make an announcement on these shortly.
Mr. Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has (a) to hold a public meeting in Gloucestershire and (b) to inform the local parish council, about the GM crop trials being conducted in Laverton, Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement about these trials. [117663]
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Mr. Meacher:
There will be a public meeting in Worcester on Thursday 13 April. Representatives of all parish councils, in which GM crop trials, are proposed, in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire have been invited and the meeting has been advertised locally.
The Government's Farm Scale Evaluations programme, which I announced on 17 March, is designed to allow independent researchers to see what effect the growing and management of certain herbicide tolerant GM crops might have on farmland wildlife, compared with equivalent non-GM crops. The programme this year will involve up to 80 field sites.
Up to 12 public meetings will be held in towns near the trial sites, at which officials from my Department and representatives from the independent researchers, the industry body, SCIMAC, and a representative from an environmental group, will give presentations about the Farm Scale Evaluations programme and answer questions.
Mr. Pond:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what provision he intends to make to improve protection of householders against incompetent and dishonest builders; and if he will make a statement. [116166]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
I am pleased to announce that this week the first pilot of the quality mark scheme--in Birmingham--is being opened to builders who want to join. A list of approved builders will be available to consumers in the city later in the summer. The pilots in Birmingham and, later, Somerset are a key stage in testing and developing the scheme. Once we have extracted the lessons from them we will review the quality mark and then roll it out across the country.
Mr. Paul Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made on the delegation of water abstraction appeal decisions to the Planning Inspectorate under the provisions of the Environment Act 1995. [117868]
Mr. Mullin:
I have arranged for the Secretary of State's power to take decisions on water abstraction and impounding appeals, under section 43 of the Water Resources Act 1991, to be exercised by the Planning Inspectorate. This came into effect on 1 April 2000. All decisions will be taken by Inspectors on behalf of the Secretary of State, except in rare cases of major importance or difficulty where the Secretary of State may recover the case to determine himself. The Planning Inspectorate will shortly issue guidance for use by potential appellants.
Mr. Geraint Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what arrangements have been made for the transfer of the London Research Centre, the London Planning Advisory Committee and the London Ecology Committee to the Greater London Authority. [117919]
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Mr. Hill:
As part of the establishment of the Greater London Authority under the GLA Act 1999, the London Research Centre (LRC), the London Planning Advisory Committee (LPAC) and London Ecology Committee (LEC) were abolished on 1 April 2000. At the same time, the appropriate property, rights and liabilities of the three bodies were transferred by means of transfer schemes to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The intention is that these will transfer to the Greater London Authority on 8 May 2000, with the exception of a small number of functions of the LRC which will transfer to Transport for London on 3 July 2000.
I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the very valuable work which the LRC, LPAC and LEC have each undertaken on a wide range of cross-London subjects, since their establishment. I am confident that this tradition will be carried on by the Greater London Authority itself in the future.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received concerning the re-opening of trade in turtle shells. [116490]
Mr. Mullin:
Cuba has submitted two proposals to the forthcoming Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The first seeks to transfer the Cuban part of the Caribbean population of Hawksbill turtles from Appendix I to Appendix II in order to allow the export of existing shell stocks and a subsequent quota of up to 500 turtle shells per year. The second seeks agreement to allow a one-off shipment of existing stocks of shell with no subsequent annual quota.
Several organisations and scientific bodies have provided us with their views. Some believe that populations of Hawksbill turtles remain too vulnerable to allow any international trade. Others consider that carefully managed trade would contribute to species conservation. We have also received a large number of campaign postcards opposing the Cuban proposals.
The European Union looks set to oppose the first proposal but to keep an open position on the second pending further consideration at the Conference. The United Kingdom will continue to argue that international trade quotas should be contemplated only in the context of wider action to secure the future of marine turtles by countering threats from fisheries by-catch and the destruction of nesting and breeding sites.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many planes flying into and out of the UK had to be diverted from their scheduled destination airport as a consequence of air rage in each year since 1995; and what was the estimated cost to the NATS in each case. [116880]
Mr. Mullin:
While comprehensive data on "air rage" incidents are not available for the whole of that period, data collected by the Mandatory Occurrence Reporting scheme are given in the table. Mandatory Occurrence Reports are required for all incidents which affect or could
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affect the safety of a UK registered aircraft, but may not include diversions caused by incidents where safety was not at risk. There is no cost to NATS resulting from such diversions.
A Householder's Guide
A Guide to Reducing Levels in Your Home
A Guide for Homebuyers and Sellers.
These are provided free of charge for householders, and stocks are provided to local authorities for them to distribute. This guidance is supported by two telephone hotlines: one to the National Radiological Protection Board, who give advice on radon measurements and on the health effects of radon; and one to the Building Research Establishment, who give advice on radon remedial measures. These hotlines are provided for the benefit of EHOs as well as householders.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 2 |
| 1996 | 1 |
| 1997 | 4 |
| 1998 | 8 |
| 1999 | 6 |
Data in relation to non-UK registered aircraft are available only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many incidents of air rage were reported in the last five years which involved passengers travelling (a) first-class, (b) business class and (c) by Concorde; [116687]
Mr. Mullin:
Comprehensive data on disruptive incidents occurring on UK airlines have been collected only since April 1999. When initiating the reporting scheme my Department and the CAA undertook to respect the confidentiality of airlines submitting commercially sensitive information. The analysis published in February, therefore, does not include any data that could identify a specific carrier or aircraft type. The data collected show that, in the period April to October 1999, 47 incidents involved first or business class passengers.
(2) if he will list the airlines reporting cases classified as air rage in each year since 1995, indicating for each airline the number of incidents. [116685]
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