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Waste Disposal (Worcestershire)

26. Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the level of fly-tipping and other illegal waste disposal in Worcestershire; and if he will make a statement. [124015]

Mr. Mullin: None. There are strict controls in place to ensure that waste is disposed of without danger to the public or the environment. The responsibility for their enforcement rests with the Environment Agency and, in some circumstances, with local authorities as waste collection authorities and planning authorities.

The Environment Agency is investigating allegations of illegal waste disposal in Worcestershire in co-operation with Worcestershire County Council, Wychavon District Council and, because of the nature of the allegations, the West Mercia Police. The allegations concern activities at Mucknell Farm, Badgers Hill, Crabbe Yard and other locations in central Worcestershire. The purpose of the Environment Agency's investigation is to establish whether the waste management controls of Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 have been contravened and, if there is evidence of contravention, action will be taken in line with the Agency's published Enforcement Policy.

Parish Council Names

27. Mr. David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received from parish councils concerning cyber-squatting of parish council names. [124016]

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Ms Beverley Hughes: I am not aware of any representations on cyber-squatting of parish council names. UK Governmental bodies, including parish councils, are entitled to set up websites using the ".gov.uk" suffix, making it clear that the site is an official part of Government.

Household Waste

28. Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his target for recycling household waste. [124017]

Mr. Mullin: The Government's waste strategy sets ambitious targets for increasing recycling of household waste--doubling recycling in three years, and nearly trebling it in five. This is a substantial step forward, which will require authorities to provide householders with doorstep recycling services.

Housebuilding Targets

29. Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to issue new regional planning guidance on housebuilding targets. [124018]

31. Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the proposed regional planning guidance on new housebuilding targets. [124020]

Mr. Raynsford: The timetable for the production of new Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) is set out in the table. RPG includes guidance on the future level of provision of housing, which may be provided either through new build or conversion of existing buildings.

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Region	Draft RPG advice from Regional Planning Body to Secretary of State	Public Examination	Target for issue of revised RPG by Secretary of State
Eastern (RPG6)	August 1998	February 1999	Summer/autumn 2000
North East (RPG1)	December 1999	(6)June/July 2000	Spring/summer 2001
East Midlands (RPG8)	November 1999	(6)June 2000	Summer 2001
South East (RPG9)	December 1998	May 1999	Autumn 2000
South West (RPG10)	August 1999	March/April 2000	Winter 2000/01
West Midlands (RPG11)	(6)End 2001	(6)Early 2002	Autumn 2002
Yorkshire and the Humber (RPG12)	November 1999	(6)June/July 2000	Spring/summer 2001
North West (RPG13)	(6)June/July 2000	(6)February 2001	Winter 2001

(6) Target

Notes:

1. The entry against Eastern Region is for RPG6 covering East Anglia. Draft RPG in this case was issued for consultation by the Government Office.

2. The review of RPG9 covers London, the Government Office area for the South East and Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire.

3. In London the GLA will produce a statutory spatial development strategy (SDS) instead of non-statutory Regional Planning Guidance. Hence there is no separate entry for London.

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Telecommunications Masts

30. Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on planning controls on mobile phone masts. [124019]

Mr. Raynsford: In its response to the report of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, issued on 11 May 2000, the Government said that they were minded to introduce a requirement for an application for full planning permission for all new telecommunications

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masts, but would need to consult widely before doing so, including on the principle and precise scope of any new arrangements. We shall issue a consultation paper on this and related guidance as soon as practicable.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the announcement of a review of planning policy with respect to telecommunications masts on the number of new planning applications to build such masts. [125888]

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Ms Beverley Hughes: In their response to the report of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, issued on 11 May 2000 and placed in the Libraries of both Houses, the Government said that they were minded to introduce a requirement for an application for full planning permission for all new telecommunications masts, but would need to consult widely before doing so, including on the principle and precise scope of any new arrangements.

We have made no assessment of the impact of the response on the number of applications to build telecommunications masts. In considering applications, local planning authorities should continue on the basis of current legislative arrangements and policy guidance.

New Deal for Communities

32. Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress in ensuring that the needs of ethnic minorities are recognised in the New Deal for Communities. [124021]

Ms Armstrong: We assess all New Deal for Communities proposals for evidence of their capacity to work with, and involve, people from ethnic minorities. To help partnerships achieve this objective, we have issued specific race equality guidance, developed by a steering group of experienced practitioners. We will monitor progress at our annual reviews with partnerships.

Neighbourhood Renewal

33. Ms Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what responses he has received to the consultation on the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal. [124022]

Ms Armstrong: Consultation on the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal continues until 30 June. Later in the year, the Social Exclusion Unit will make known the number of responses and the main issues raised.

Road Charging (Motorways)

34. Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on plans for road charging on motorways. [124023]

Mr. Hill: We have no current plans to introduce widespread charging on the motorway network. The Transport Bill contains tightly defined powers to charge on limited parts of the trunk road network (which includes most motorways). These are on tunnels and bridges of at least 600 m, or in order to support a local authority charging scheme (and then only at the request of the charging authority). We have no plans to charge on bridges and tunnels that are currently free from tolls.

Brownfield Sites

35. Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what further proposals he plans to bring forward for the use of brownfield sites in rural areas. [124024]

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Ms Beverley Hughes: Planning Policy Guidance note 3: Housing, sets out the Government's policy for maximising the re-use of previously-developed land for housing. It requires local planning authorities to make sufficient land available either within or adjoining villages to meet the needs of local people.

Directly Elected Mayors

36. Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the benefits of directly elected mayors. [124025]

Ms Beverley Hughes: There is considerable international experience of the benefits which directly elected mayors can bring for local communities.

The Local Government Bill [HL] will give local people the choice of three broad frameworks for effective, dynamic and accountable leadership, including the option of a directly elected mayor.

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