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17 July 2006 : Column 126W—continued
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent guidance her Department has issued on whether local authorities may require (a) planning obligations and (b) section 106 payments from a developer to pay for mitigation measures in relation to development in a Special Protection Area. [85693]
Yvette Cooper: Government’s policy guidance on the use of planning obligations is contained in Circular 5/05 Planning Obligations. This does not refer to the use of planning obligations in Special Protection Areas.
Government office for the south east in conjunction with English Nature are encouraging local planning authorities to develop ‘mini-plans’ of programmes of land or enhancement of existing land which could be used as mitigation against development around the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area in the short to medium term. Developers could contribute
towards mitigation of their development by agreeing provision as set out in the local authority’s mini-plan by way of a s106 legal agreement.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent guidance the Government Office of the South East has given to councils in relation to special protection areas in the South East. [85711]
Yvette Cooper: Government Office for the South East in conjunction with English Nature have advised councils in the vicinity of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area that there is no moratorium on housing development in their areas and are encouraging local planning authorities to develop ‘mini-plans’ of programmes of land or enhancement of existing land which could be used as mitigation against development in the short to medium term.
English Nature’s Thames Basin Heaths SPA Project Delivery Plan, along with other research evidence, will be considered at the Examination in Public of the South East Plan in November. The plan is due to be adopted in 2008 and will set a regional spatial strategy for the South East region with strategic policies on the SPA which will inform local councils’ local development frameworks.
In addition the Government have commissioned further research to inform English Nature’s considerations as well as planning considerations which will be concluded later this year.
Post Office Network Services
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what services (a) her Department and (b) its associated public bodies (i) make available and (ii) have made available in the last five years through the Post Office network; through how many outlets the service is or was made available; and how many relevant transactions were undertaken in each case in the most recent year for which figures are available. [79204]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested is not held centrally and cannot be supplied without incurring disproportionate cost.
Second Homes
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the costs and benefits of second homes in rural areas. [83410]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 10 July 2006]: The Affordable Rural Housing Commission, which was set up by my Department and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, considered the impact of second homes on housing in rural areas. The Government are currently considering their response to the Commission's recommendations in this area.
Chris Huhne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the amount of money local authorities have allocated to affordable and social
housing as a result of setting second home council tax discounts lower then 50 per cent.; and if she will make a statement. [84634]
Mr. Woolas: In 2005-06 local authorities raised an additional £92 million (and £84 million in 2004-05) from the reduced council tax second homes' discount to spend on local priorities. The Department has made no estimate of the proportion of this additional revenue allocated by authorities to affordable and social housing.
Telecommunications
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government why her Department has re-issued the consultation paper on local loop unbundling valuations. [85700]
Mr. Woolas: The Department has not re-issued the consultation paper on local loop unbundling. During a re-organisation and re-branding of the Department's website, information suggesting the consultation had been extended was inserted in error on the website.
The error has now been corrected.
Thames Gateway
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister had during February 2006 with the Thames Gateway partnership; which officials were in attendance; which other organisations were represented at the meetings; and if she will publish the minutes of the meetings. [85453]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 14 July 2006]: I chaired the fourth meeting of the Thames Gateway Strategic partnership on 9 February 2006.
The minutes of that meeting, showing the officials in attendance and other organisations represented, have been placed in the Library of the House.
Trade and Industry
Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will assess the risk to the public caused by the cracking of the graphite bricks in the core of the advanced gas-cooled reactors; what assessment he has made of (a) the reasons for the cracking and (b) whether the cracking will worsen; and if he will make a statement. [85024]
Malcolm Wicks: Graphite brick cracking is a well known life-limiting feature of British Energy's advanced gas-cooled reactors, and all of these reactors are undergoing the same degradation process at varying rates. All of the UK's nuclear power stations are subject to robust regulation by the independent regulator, HSE's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), and I am advised on nuclear safety matters by the NII's Chief Inspector.
I am satisfied that the NII would not allow any nuclear power station to continue to operate if there was an unacceptable risk to the general public.
Arms Trade
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to review the process by which his Department gathers and presents information about the quantities and countries of destination of arms brokered overseas by UK citizens and UK registered companies. [84366]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government’s Annual and Quarterly Reports detail licences issued and refused for the brokering of controlled goods between third countries. While I have no plans to review the format, I always give careful consideration to any recommendation made by the Quadripartite Committee on Strategic Export Controls, concerning the Annual Report.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to review his Department’s policy on monitoring the end use of licensed arms exports. [84368]
Malcolm Wicks: I have no plans to review the Department’s policy on end-use monitoring. I refer the hon. Member to my response to the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey) on 8 June 2006, Official Report, column 778W.
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what transit and trans-shipment licences have been issued since 2003 for the movement of small arms and light weapons from Bosnia via the UK to other destinations; and what quantity of goods was allowed by each licence. [84992]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 13 July 2006]: No standard individual transhipment licences have been issued to UK companies wishing to transfer small arms and light weapons from Bosnia via the UK to other destinations since 2003. The Government publishes details of standard individual transhipment licences issued in its Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls. The Government's annual reports are available from the Libraries of the House, and the quarterly reports from the DTI Export Control Organisation website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/europeantrade/strategic-export-control/index.html. We expect to publish the 2005 annual report in July 2006.
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what import licences have been issued since 2003 for small arms and light weapons from Bosnia to the UK; and what quantity of goods was allowed by each licence; [84994]
(2) what import licences have been issued since 2003 for military goods from Bosnia to the UK; and what type of goods were imported under each licence. [84995]
Malcolm Wicks
[holding answers 13 July 2006]: Details of import licences issued from 1 January 2005 that would allow the import from Bosnia of small arms
and light weapons (as defined by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) are listed. Similar lists for 2003 and 2004 could only be drawn up in the time available at disproportionate cost.
The list is divided into those licences that specify Bosnia as a country of consignment (BA) and those that could be used for importing weapons from any country including Bosnia (AY).
The Department does not issue import licences for military equipment other than firearms and ammunition falling to Chapter 93 of H M Revenue and Customs' Integrated Tariff of the United Kingdom and not imported by the Ministry of Defence. No such licences in respect of Bosnia other than those listed have been issued since 1 January 2005.
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