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Minister for the Environment
(Financial Interests)
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the Minister for the Environment (1) has taken action in accordance with the terms of paragraphs 119 and 120 of the Ministerial Code of Conduct (a) to remove a risk of conflict between his financial interests and his ministerial position and (b) to avoid involvement in relevant decisions; [148046]
- (2) has submitted a minute to the permanent secretary at DETR concerning his financial interests, under the terms of paragraph 123 of the Ministerial Code of Conduct; [148045]
(3) has consulted the Prime Minister concerning his financial interests under the terms of paragraphs 121 and 123 of the Ministerial Code of Conduct. [148047]
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Mr. Meacher: I have ensured that there is no risk of a conflict between my ministerial position and conduct and my personal interests. Handling of these issues within Government falls within exemption 2 of part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
National Air Transport Services
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place in the Library a copy of the contracts of senior management of National Air Transport Services which contain clauses relating to performance-related bonuses. [148136]
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: It has always been Government policy not to interfere in the day to day running of the Civil Aviation Authority and its subsidiary, National Air Traffic Services Ltd.
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There are over 100 senior managers in NATS whose contracts entitle them to participate in the company's performance-related bonus scheme. The company has the right to vary the terms of the scheme at its sole discretion and without notice. In common with many organisations in the public and private sectors, a significant part of the overall remuneration package of members of the Senior Management Group is provided in the form of a performance bonus scheme. The current scheme operates on the same basis as the Civil Aviation Authority scheme, with performance being assessed against a range of company-wide targets and individual targets. The targets are reviewed annually. For the current financial year there are four company-wide targets against which members of the Senior Management Group are assessed. These are as follows:
- 1. a safety target, based on the number of risk-bearing Airproxes where NATS contributed to the cause;
- 2. a delay target, based on the overall level of air traffic delays attributable to NATS;
- 3. an efficiency target, based on the cost per flight of NATS operations; and
- 4. a project performance target based on the progress of the Swanwick project.
In addition, individual targets are set for senior managers which vary depending on the role of the individual within the company. There is also a small discretionary element available to reward outstanding performance unrelated to specific targets.
Below the level of the Senior Management Group, there are a number of staff employed on personal contracts with the company. These staff are also entitled to participate in a performance bonus scheme. However, in line with practice in the Civil Aviation Authority, the NATS scheme for this group of staff is based on performance against individual targets agreed between the individual and his line managers. There is also a general, company-wide performance bonus scheme in which all NATS staff participate, except those in the Senior Management Group. This scheme was negotiated and accepted by the trade unions (principally the IPMS and PCS) as part of the annual pay negotiations.
Water and Sewerage
Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the average cost was of (a) water supply charges and (b) sewerage charges for English households in each decile income group; and what percentage of total household income within each decile these charges represent in each of the last five years. [148289]
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: The average charge for (a) water supply and (b) sewerage charges for all households in England and Wales since 1996-97 was as follows.
| Year | Water | Sewerage |
|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | 102.73 | 115.79 |
| 1999-2000 | 112.64 | 134.45 |
| 1998-99 | 108.67 | 128.59 |
| 1997-98 | 105.34 | 122.40 |
| 1996-97 | 102.15 | 118.37 |
Information bearing on the subject of water and sewerage charges and their relation to household income is to be found in three published sources which are in the Library.
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First, the Office of Water Services publish the charges of each water and each sewerage undertaker and national averages in an annual series of reports, "Tariff Structure and Charges".
Secondly, my Department commissioned and published a report by Maxwell Stamp, "Incidence Effects of Charging for Domestic Water and Sewerage Services", in July 1998. This includes tables modelling the gains and losses for households in each income decile of alternative water charging arrangements. Third, "Quality of Life Counts" included an indicator showing the percentage of households spending more than 3 per cent. of their net income on water for each of the past four years from 1994-95 to 1997-98.
Both the Maxwell Stamp report and the "Quality of Life Counts" indicator used data from the DSS Family Resources Survey. The production of the information in the form requested will require fresh calculations, and I shall write to my hon. Friend when these are complete.
Unlicensed Vehicles
Mr. Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many owners of vehicles found in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster were prosecuted by the DVLA for (i) not registering their vehicle and (ii) not taxing their vehicle in 2000. [148618]
Mr. Hill: Vehicle excise duty and vehicle registration offences detected in the Barnsley and Doncaster areas are all prosecuted by the DVLA local office in Sheffield. It is not possible to split the number of cases into specific areas but during the period January to December 2000, 519 people were prosecuted by the Sheffield office for not registering their vehicle and 4,680 people were prosecuted for not taxing their vehicle. In addition, 492 people settled out of court for failing to register a vehicle and 10,452 for failing to relicense or make a statutory off-road notification.
Registered Social Landlords
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his estimate is of the total number of properties owned by (a) registered social landlords and (b) each of the 20 largest registered social landlords. [148640]
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: Registered social landlords in England own an estimated 1,380,000 properties, comprising approximately 1,280,000 units of self- contained stock and approximately 100,000 bedspaces.
The properties owned by the 20 largest registered social landlords are as follows:
Note:
The figures are as at 31 March 2000 and derive from The Housing Corporation's Regulatory and Statistical return.
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Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness with which registered (a) social landlords and (b) housing authorities manage resources. [148639]
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: We want to see a step-change in social landlords' performance. Tenants deserve an effective and high quality service. The best value regime will drive continuous improvement in housing management. Its framework of performance indicators and targets will enable a direct comparison of performance between the registered social landlord and local housing authority sectors. The work of the Housing Inspectorate and the Housing Corporation's inspection regime will underpin the effective delivery of best value.
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