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Contaminated Land
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what effect the contaminated land regime which came into force for England on 1 April will have on the programme of financial support to English local authorities and to the Environment Agency to meet the costs of dealing with contaminated land. [118940]
Mr. Mullin: The new contaminated land regime (under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990--inserted by section 57 of the Environment Act 1995) came into force in England on 1 April 2000. The Contaminated Land Supplementary Credit Approval (SCA) programme will continue to provide support to English local authorities to deal with contamination. The SCA programme will assist these local authorities in dealing with sites, for which they are responsible, that are deemed to be "contaminated land" under Part IIA. £21 million has been made available under this programme for 2000-01.
The SCA programme has provided valued support to English local authorities in dealing with contaminated land and, in later years, provided additional grand in aid to the Environment Agency. Under the new regime the grant will be available to the Agency in respect of their new duties for contaminated sites that are designated "Special Site" under Part IIA.
Authorities with on-going contractual commitments for projects funded in previous years have already received notification that support will continue to be available this year. I have agreed the programme for new projects to start this year and my Department has written today to the successful authorities and to the Environment Agency notifying them of the financial allocations which are being made.
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The Department will discuss the other bids with the authorities concerned and expects to make some further allocations. It will also decide new bids when they are received.
The table sets out the allocations which have been made so far this current financial year.
| Local authority | Number of sites | Allocation for each authority (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Alnwick DC | 1 | 17,000 |
| Bedfordshire CC | 1 | 70,000 |
| Bexley LB | 1 | 50,000 |
| Bristol City | 1 | 100,000 |
| Calderdale MBC | 1 | 100,000 |
| Derby City | 2 | 49,000 |
| Derbyshire CC | 5 | 288,462 |
| Devon CC | 7 | 213,500 |
| Dudley MBC | 1 | 540,000 |
| Durham CC | 3 | 88,500 |
| Ealing LB | 1 | 23,851 |
| Exeter City | 1 | 332,414 |
| Gateshead MBC | 3 | 2,499,350 |
| Hillingdon LB | 1 | 20,000 |
| Lancaster City | 1 | 43,481 |
| Leicester City | 5 | 123,700 |
| Merseyside WDA | 3 | 397,000 |
| Milton Keynes C | 1 | 100,000 |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme BC | 1 | 7,000 |
| Newham LB | 2 | 1,432,860 |
| North East Lincolnshire C | 1 | 44,000 |
| North Lincolnshire C | 1 | 2,278,570 |
| Nottingham City | 2 | 401,713 |
| Oldham MBC | 3 | 30,300 |
| Oxfordshire CC | 9 | 493,793 |
| Plymouth City | 1 | 6,361 |
| Portsmouth City | 1 | 50,000 |
| Rotherham MBC | 2 | 177,628 |
| Sandwell MBC | 17 | 373,249 |
| Solihull MBC | 1 | 89,229 |
| South Holland DC | 1 | 12,750 |
| St. Helens MBC | 1 | 150,000 |
| Tameside MBC | 2 | 28,000 |
| Trafford MBC | 1 | 20,500 |
| Vale Royal BC | 1 | 10,000 |
| Warwickshire CC | 2 | 247,400 |
| Warrington BC | 2 | 76,135 |
| West Sussex CC | 1 | 672,000 |
| Worcester City | 1 | 5,000 |
| Worcestershire CC | 1 | 6,000 |
| Environment Agency | 8 | 1,164,000 |
Roads (Greater London)
Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which roads are to become the first Greater London Authority roads and Greater London Authority side roads; and if he will make a statement. [119094]
Mr. Hill: We consulted extensively in 1998 on which roads should be the responsibility of the Mayor and we announced the Government's intentions for the GLA road network in February 1999. The GLA road network is based on the current red and primary route networks with some adjustments in central London and docklands. Earlier this year, we consulted further on the detail of the orders needed to create the network we had announced. We received 53 responses. Many of these were technical drafting suggestions, but there were 26 which either
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supported or opposed the inclusion of Belgrave Road in Pimlico. I have placed a summary of all the representations in the Library of the House.
I have considered carefully all the representations received. In the case of Belgrave Road, the Traffic Director for London has confirmed he is content with Westminster City council's proposals for traffic management in the area and the council has given assurances that they will undertake the necessary works. In the light of this, I have concluded that Belgrave Road should not be designated as a GLA road now. From 8 May, it will be for the Mayor to keep the GLA road network under review. The Mayor may change the GLA road network with the agreement of the local borough, or in the absence of such agreement, with the confirmation of the Secretary of State.
I have placed maps of the first GLA road network in the Library and shall shortly lay orders to designate the first GLA roads for which Transport for London, the Mayor's new transport executive, will be the highway and traffic authority from 3 July. I shall also be laying 32 GLA Side Roads Orders, one for each borough in which there are GLA roads. These orders will give Transport for London traffic authority powers over small sections of side roads associated with the GLA roads which are currently subject to red route controls.
Oil Stores (Water Pollution)
Mr. Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to prevent water pollution from oil stores. [119203]
Mr. Meacher: I am today announcing the issue of a consultation paper seeking comments by 12 July on proposals to introduce new controls on water pollution from oil stores in England. I understand that the National Assembly for Wales is considering introducing similar proposals in due course.
Oil-related water pollution incidents in England accounted for 30 per cent. of all water pollution in 1998, mainly due to leaks from unbunded oil storage tanks. It is my intention to introduce new Regulations later this year to reduce the number of such oil-related incidents in England by about a half by the year 2005. This would be achieved by setting design standards for all above ground oil stores and requiring that secondary containment, such as a "bund" (a surrounding wall) or "drip tray" is in place to prevent oil escaping into controlled waters.
Oil pollution of fresh waters has grown in recent years, causing harm to wildlife, damage to our rivers and disruption to water supplies. These proposed new Regulations would be a cost-effective measure that would help to protect the environment.
Those mainly affected by the proposed new Regulations would include anyone storing oil on industrial, commercial, institutional (residential and non-residential) premises. There would be exceptions in certain circumstances, for example, where other controls exist or where the controls would not be cost-effective. Underground oil storage tanks can be regulated by the Environment Agency under the Groundwater Regulations 1998 and it is not considered necessary to introduce further controls.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Personal Envoys
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what code of conduct personal envoys operate. [116354]
Mr. Hain [holding answer 28 March 2000]: Any individual acting on behalf of the Government is subject to the normal requirements including confidentiality and accountability to Ministers.
Kosovo
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which NATO member states' parliaments passed resolutions endorsing NATO's military action over Kosovo. [117828]
Mr. Vaz [holding answer 6 April 2000]: According to our information, the parliaments of Germany, Denmark and Turkey passed formal resolutions on NATO's military actions over Kosovo. The Hungarian parliament approved the use of Hungarian airspace and airbases by NATO. The US House of Representatives also passed a resolution expressing support for the US Armed Forces engaged in military operations against FRY.
Russian Nuclear Arsenal
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to President Putin of Russia in respect of his recent statements on the capacity of the Russian nuclear arsenal. [118495]
Mr. Vaz: We have noted Acting President Putin's recent comments on the need for a reduced but more effective nuclear deterrent. We welcome his call for the early ratification of START II and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; and for early negotiations on the START III treaty.
These issues were most recently discussed at senior official level during last month's annual UK-Russian strategic stability talks.
UNIFIL
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the British Government have been asked to consider contributing troops to an expanded UNIFIL in the event of an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon by (a) the Israeli Government, (b) the Lebanon Government and (c) other Governments. [118311]
Mr. Hain: The British Government have received no requests to consider contributing troops to an expanded UNIFIL in the event of an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon by either (a) the Israeli Government, (b) the Lebanon Government or (c) other governments.
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