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EU Environment Legislation

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the effect of European legislation on wildlife and the management of (a) nature conservation areas and (b) green belt sites since 1997. [139065]

Mr. Mullin: Nature conservation areas in England are generally notified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because they host the best examples of our national heritage of wildlife habitats, geological features and landforms. In relation to the first part of his question I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 November 2000, Official Report, column 727W.

In relation to the second part, green belt designation has no bearing on the notification of wildlife sites for the purposes of European Union legislation.

School Transport

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement about those local authorities which require school transport to meet R66 standard. [138843]

Mr. Hill: I am not aware of any local authority requiring school buses to meet the UN ECE Regulation 66 standard, which applies to the strength of superstructure of coaches. This standard is required for single-deck coaches first used in the UK on or after 1 April 1993. However, local authorities can specify the age and type of vehicle used for school transport and could require ECE Regulation 66 compliance by specifying coaches first used after April 1993 in their contracts.

Bus Companies

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list those bus companies which have had prohibition notices issued against them in the last 12 months. [138844]

Mr. Hill: Details of operators and any prohibitions which they receive are not released because they might be open to misinterpretation.

Prohibitions issued to bus operators by the Vehicle Inspectorate are monitored by Traffic Commissioners. They consider whether an operator should be called to appear at a Public Inquiry (under the Public Passengers Vehicles Act 1981) and decide whether disciplinary action is appropriate.

In the financial year ending 31 March 2000, disciplinary action was taken against bus and coach operators on 172 occasions.

Park Homes

Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to review the regulations relating to static caravans; and if he will make a statement. [139254]

Mr. Mullin: Recommendations for changes to the control regime applying to mobile homes were included in the report of the Park Homes Working Party, published earlier this year. We have consulted on, and are considering, the Working Party's recommendations.

20 Nov 2000 : Column: 21W

Greenhouse Gases

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions who Her Majesty's Government's representatives were at the Hague Conference on curbing emissions of greenhouse gases; and what conclusions were reached to which Her Majesty's Government acceded. [138532]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 17 November 2000]: The Deputy Prime Minister and I will represent the Government at the Sixth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is currently taking place in The Hague. The ministerial segment begins on 20 November and the Conference is scheduled to end on 24 November. The Government will inform the House about the outcome of the Conference in due course.

Rough Sleepers (East Sussex)

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many rough sleepers there were in (a) East Sussex and (b) the Lewes constituency in the last year for which figures are available. [139038]

Ms Armstrong: The latest available figures for the number of rough sleepers in each of the local authorities in East Sussex are shown in the table. There are no specific figures available for the parliamentary constituency of Lewes.

These figures show the position as at June 2000. These figures are compiled on the basis of local authority data from local street counts, and estimates provided by local authorities.

	Number of rough sleepers
Brighton and Hove	26
Eastbourne	1
Hastings	3
Lewes	(3)0
Rother	(3)0
Wealden	(4)0

⁽³⁾ Estimated

⁽⁴⁾ No estimate made by local authority

Automatic Train Ticket Machines

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what progress his Department has made in ensuring that all automatic train ticket machines have facilities for accepting rail cards held by disabled people; [138782]

(2) if his Department will take steps to ensure that all automatic train ticket machines are able to provide discounted tickets to groups of people with a statutory entitlement to a discounted fare. [138781]

20 Nov 2000 : Column: 22W

Mr. Hill: Automatic ticket machines inherited by train operators from British Rail offer a limited number of ticket options and train operators have had to decide which tickets to include on the basis of greatest demand. The new generation ticket machines gradually being introduced by train operators will allow a wider range of tickets to be sold and we expect train operators to include discounted tickets for Disabled Persons Railcard holders.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Newcastle)

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many grants have been awarded under the home energy efficiency scheme in the Newcastle upon Tyne, Central constituency from 1997-98 to 1999-2000; and what was the (a) total and (b) average value of grants in that period. [139159]

Mr. Meacher: The number of grants and their total value and average value for each year from 1997-2000 is shown in the table. Also shown is the comparative information for the current year to date.

Period	Number of grants	Average value of grant £	Total value of grant £
1997-98	606	142	85,900
1998-99	450	135	60,600
1999-00	511	162	82,800
2000-01(5)	1,133	371	420,100
For overall period 1997-2000	2,700	241	649,400

⁽⁵⁾ Up to 13 November 2000

The average value of grant has increased substantially in the current year following the launch of the new Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) for England on 1 June 2000. It replaced the more basic scheme that operated since 1991. HEES provides packages of insulation and heating measures, linked to the condition of the property and the type of householder. The grant maximum increased from £315 up to £2,000.

South East England Regional Assembly

Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the cost to public funds to date of the South East England Regional Assembly, broken down into provision for (a) salaries of staff, (b) premises, (c) disbursements to members and (d) others. [138783]

Ms Beverley Hughes: Expenditure for the year 2000-01 as at the end of September 2000 is as follows:

	£
(a) Salaries of staff	128,729
(b) Premises(6)	0
(c) Disbursements to members	22,226
(d) Others	89,425
Total	240,380

⁽⁶⁾ Rent free office provided by the Government Office for the South East

20 Nov 2000 : Column: 23W

Emergency Tug (Pentland Firth)

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2000, Official Report, column 488W, on the emergency tug in the Pentland Firth, if he will place a copy of the correspondence in the Library. [139078]

Mr. Hill: I am unable to provide this information as correspondence between Ministers and their correspondents is treated in confidence unless the originator chooses to make such issues public.

British-Irish Council Environmental Sectoral Group

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the British-Irish Council Environmental Sectoral Group meeting held in London on 2 October. [138742]

Mr. Meacher: A copy of the Communique issued at the end of the meeting which sets out very clearly all the matters covered has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what data he provided to the British-Irish Council Environmental Sectoral Group on the environmental impact of munitions dumping in the Beaufort's Dyke. [138744]

Mr. Meacher: I did not provide any information on the environmental impact of munitions dumping in the Beaufort's Dyke to the 2 October meeting of the British-Irish Council Environmental Sectoral Group. The meeting reviewed the conclusions of the OSPAR Regional Quality Status Report on the Celtic Seas which has been made public.

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