| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
27 Nov 2002 : Column 358W—continued
Affordable Housing
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many units of affordable housing have been built in the Beaconsfield constituency in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [82382]
Mr. McNulty: Figures for the Beaconsfield constituency are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The number of dwellings built by Registered Social Landlords and the local authority in south Buckinghamshire district in the last five years are shown in the following table:
| Year | Number of dwellings |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 6 |
| 1998–99 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 8 |
| 2000–01 | 26 |
| 2001–02 | 11 |
27 Nov 2002 : Column 359W
Arson
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on reasons for which data are not available beyond 2000 for the number of malicious fires attended by local authority fire brigades. [83456]
Mr. Leslie: The latest annual data were published in XFire Statistics, UK, 2000" in February 2002. The Statistical Bulletin (XFire Statistics Estimates, UK, 2001") covering the most recent data will be published as soon as it is available, as required under the ONS Code of Practice for National Statistics.
The data in the bulletin are compiled from statistical returns covering some 950,000 fire-related incidents, and are subject to quality control procedures before inputting. The time taken to process and publish is not unusual for complex data collection exercises of this kind.
Civil Partnership Registration
Mr. Key: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he is making with his analysis of the implications of civil partnership registration and associated rights and responsibilities; and if he will make a statement. [82484]
Ms Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.
Civil partnership registration and associated rights and responsibilities raise a number of complex issues, which have prompted a growing debate within society.
These issues potentially have significant financial and administrative implications. The Government is now examining the issues in detail and DTI co-ordinates this work across all Government Departments with an interest in the issues raised by civil partnerships.
As you will understand, the Government cannot commit itself to any changes without conducting a comprehensive analysis of the relevant rights and responsibilities, to provide a better understanding of their potential impact.
Clinical and Medical Waste
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the definition of clinical and medical waste in the context of special collections by local authorities. [81507]
Mr. Meacher: I have been asked to reply.
Clinical waste is defined in XThe Controlled Waste Regulations 1992" as any waste which consists wholly or partly of human or animal tissue, blood or other body fluids, excretions, drugs or other pharmaceutical products, swabs or dressings, or syringes, needles or other sharp instruments, being waste which unless rendered safe may prove hazardous to any person coming into contact with it; and any other waste arising from medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, pharmaceutical or similar practice, investigation, treatment, care, teaching or research, or the collection of blood for transfusion, being waste which may cause infection to any person coming into contact with it.
27 Nov 2002 : Column 360W
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, local authorities are obliged to collect clinical waste generated in the home where the householder asks them to do so. Local authorities may make a charge for these collections. Where someone is receiving healthcare treatment at home, it is the responsibility of the healthcare professional to assess whether waste arising from their illness and treatment poses a risk of infection and should therefore be treated as clinical waste.
Council Housing, Cherwell
Tony Baldry: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will meet the hon. Member for Banbury and a delegation from Cherwell district council and representatives of local tenants groups to discuss the future of council housing in Cherwell. [83023]
Mr. McNulty: The future of Cherwell's council housing will be decided by the tenants and the councillors of the district council who are currently looking at the large scale voluntary transfer of stock option. As with all local authorities, options available for the future management of council housing include: the council retaining ownership and management of its housing stock, large/small scale voluntary transfer, arms length management and the Private Finance Initiative. The Community Housing Task Force have been working with Cherwell district council to help advise on the option appraisal process. At present a meeting would not bring forward any alternatives that have not already been covered.
English Committee of Regions
Mr Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister who the members are of the Committee for English Regions; who funds the Committee; and who is responsible for the Campaign for the English Regions. [82893]
Mr. Leslie: I am not aware of any organisation called the XCommittee for English Regions". There is, however, a Regional Affairs Standing Committee and a EU Committee of the Regions. The former is funded by Parliament and its members are.
| Name | Constituency | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Candy Atherton | Falmouth & Cambourne | Labour |
| Henry Bellingham | North West Norfolk | Conservative |
| Karen Buck | Regent's Park & Kensington North | Labour |
| Louise Ellman | Liverpool Riverside | Labour |
| Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | Conservative |
| Andrew George | St Ives | Liberal Democrat |
| Norman Lamb | North Norfolk | Liberal Democrat |
| John Mann | Bassetlaw | Labour |
| Denis Murphy | Wansbeck | Labour |
| Ian Pearson | Dudley South | Labour |
| Lawrie Qinn | Scarborough & Whitby | Labour |
| Anthony Steen | Totnes | Conservative |
| Derek Wyatt | Sittingbourne & Sheppey | Labour |
The Chair is selected from the Chairman's Panel and will vary from meeting to meeting.
27 Nov 2002 : Column 361W
The EU Committee of the Regions has 16 full members from England. It is funded by the EU. The full members from England are.
| Full Members | Region | Authority | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derek Boden | North West | Bury (Metropolitan District) | Labour |
| Michael Davey | North East | Northumberland (County) | Labour |
| The hon. Joan Taylor | East Midlands | Nottinghamshire (County) | Labour |
| Muriel Barker | Yorkshire & Humberside | North East Lincolnshire (Unitary) | Labour |
| Albert Bore | West Midlands | Birmingham (Metropolitan District) | Labour |
| Ken Bodfish QBE | South East | Brighton & Hove (Unitary) | Labour |
| Dame Sally Powell DBE | London | Hammersmith and Fulham (London) | Labour |
| Margaret Eaton | Yorkshire and Humberside | Bradford (Metropolitan District) | Conservative |
| Gordon Keymer | South East | Tandridge (District) | Conservative |
| Sir Simon Day | South West | Devon (County) | Conservative |
| The rt hon The Lord Hanningfield DL | East | Essex (County) | Conservative |
| The Baroness (Joan) Hanham CBE | London | Kensington and Chelsea (London) | Conservative |
| Ruth Coleman | South West | North Wiltshire (District) | Liberal Democrat |
| Lord Tope CBE | London | Sutton (London) | Liberal Democrat |
| Peter Moore | Yorkshire & Humberside | Sheffield (Metropolitan District) | Liberal Democrat |
| Milner Whiteman | West Midlands | Bridgnorth (District) | Independent |
The Campaign for the English Regions is an independent body, receiving no central Government funding, which aims to secure a commitment to regional government from all political parties.
Fire Service
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which fire brigades are organised around the need to respond to fire incidents. [83253]
Mr. Leslie: All fire authorities have a duty under section 1(1) of the Fire Services Act 1947 to make provision for fire-fighting purposes, including securing for their area the services of a fire brigade and equipment necessary to meet efficiently all normal requirements.
Firefighters
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many former firefighters are on retirement pensions; and how many firefighters there are in service. [82173]
Mr. Leslie: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is a matter for each
27 Nov 2002 : Column 362W
individual fire authority. It is estimated that in England and Wales there are over 22,000 former firefighters receiving ordinary and ill-health pensions. The number of regular wholetime firefighters eligible for membership of the pension scheme on 31 March 2001, the last date for which figures are available, was 33375.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average age of retirement for firefighters has been over the last five years. [82174]
Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average pension received by a firefighter is; what percentage of final salary a firefighter is entitled to after 30 years service; and what the average work-related pension received by a pensioner is. [82177]
Mr. Leslie: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. This is a matter for each fire authority. An analysis of a small sample of brigades at 31 March 2002 suggests that the average ill-health pension is 9,200 per annum, and the average ordinary pension is 11,300 per annum. The percentage of final salary a firefighter is entitled to after 30 years service is 66 per cent. The median income from occupational pensions for single pensioners in 2000–01 was £2,392 per annum.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of the revenue of the fire service the present pension arrangements cost. [82180]
Mr. Leslie: Based on provisional outturn figures for fire authorities in England, the net total of payments under the firefighters' pension scheme for 2001–02 was approximately 16 per cent. of net budgeted expenditure.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |